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Bastille Day: Where to go
Monday, July 11th, 2011
Photo: flickr @irenetong
Bastille Day in France is a grandiose affair. Held on July 14 of each year, it’s officially known as La Fête Nationale, and more informally known as le quartorze juillet. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789. With this symbol of royal authority overthrown, revolutionary France was born. This date marks the beginning of the modern nation of France.
Revelry abounds on July 14, and it behooves one to plan ahead. The pyrotechnical displays from the jardins du Trocadéro and le Pont d’Iéna are hard to miss, but of course there are some better views than others. If you’re lucky enough to be able to view the Eiffel Tower from a hotel room or an apartment, you can avoid the crowds. If you are going to see the displays from one of the city’s many vantage points on the ground, get there early to save your spot. Also, avoid going by car or bus and opt for the metro or RER.
The show starts at 23:00 and lasts 30 minutes. This year’s musical theme is, “Les Comédies Musicales, de Broadway à Paris”
The best metro stations to attend the fireworks show in the center:
- Line 8: La Motte-Piquet
- Line 6: Dupleix, Cambronne
- Line 10: Emile Zola, La Motte-Piquet, Segur
- Line 13: St-François-Xavier, Varenne
- RER: Javel, Austerlitz and Invalides
The best spot for viewing the fireworks in this area is the Champ de Mars near the Eiffel Tower (the side of the river opposite the gardens of the Trocadero), as the Trocadero will be closed to the public. (click here to see area on Google maps)
Transportation information:
- Stations: Iena, Alma Marceau and La tour Maubourg will be closed on July 14 at 19:00 and will not reopen
- Traffic: The traffic around a wide perimeter of the Trocadero will be closed at 17:00
- Velib: The Velib stations located near Champ de Mars will be closed throughout the day on July 14
Bastille Day 2010
L'intégralité du feu d'artifice du 14 juillet 2010 par mairiedeparis
For those who want to delve deeper into the history of fireworks displays in Paris, head over the the city’s free historical museum, Musée Carnavalet. There is an exhibition there tracing the history of fireworks celebrations from the times of Louis XIV to Napoleon I. As with the rest of the museum, the exhibition is free. It is showing until September 25
For more events read on: Continue reading “Bastille Day: Where to go” »
