How do the French celebrate Bastille Day?
Bastille Day is a national holiday celebrated across the country with fireworks, parades, picnics, and parties.
Paris is the epicenter of Bastille Day festivities. The French capital is packed with revelers, and blue, white, and red tricolor flags flutter in the streets. The day's highlight is the Défilé Militaire du 14 Juillet (14 July military parade). French troops march down the Champs-Élysées in front of a large crowd, including the French president and other special guests, while military planes fly overhead. In the evening, there is a free fireworks display and a concert on the grounds of the Eiffel Tower!
You can participate in the festivities in a variety of ways. Watch the parade and marvel at the fireworks display (find a good vantage point in the city, such as Montparnasse Tower or the Sacré-Coeur, and arrive early!). You can even attend a ball at one of the city's fire stations (more on this below!).
You can also bring the French festivities into your own home this year! Make delicious French dishes, decorate in French colors, sing La Marseillaise (the French National Anthem), and dance the night away!
