Bastille Day

Bastille Day is France's equivalent of the U.S.'s Independence Day. Most of the celebrations occur between the nights of July 13th and July 14th. We were in the Bastille area on the 13th. The streets were blocked off around the monument and several stages with bands were set up around the perimeter. Other acts were performing impromptu here and there. It was a festive occasion, but it was difficult to hear with everything going all at once.

July 14th, Nate & I took the Metro to a stop near the little Statue of Liberty. We found an empty median to sit on with a great view of the right side of the Eiffel Tower. At 10:45 the fireworks began. The Eiffel Tower sparkled and glowed, while the fireworks exploded in the air all around it. It was quite a sight! They lasted about a half an hour. We were close enough to the Metro stop to hop right on after the show and we got back to our hotel quickly. It was actually a lot easier than the last few times I tried to see the fireworks at Tom Brown Park on the 4th of July!

See a short digital film of the fireworks below: