Bastille Day in Paris: Your Guide as a Tourist – Should You Visit?
As a foreigner having lived in Paris for almost 4 years, Bastille Day remains as my ultimate favorite day of the year in France – but should you visit Bastille Day as a tourist?
View of fireworks on Bastille Day from Rue de Monttessuy in Paris, France; July 2024
I’m going to provide a full-break down for everything you’ll need to know when visiting Paris on July 14th as a tourist – from what to do in Paris on Bastille Day, which tourists attractions and shops will be open, and my local tips to make sure you enjoy this very loved and patriotic French holiday!
A Tourist’s Guide to Bastille Day in Paris
What is Bastille Day?
Bastille Day, better known to the French as quatorze juillet or le 14 jullet, is a pivotal national holiday in France which marks the Storming of the Bastille in Paris in 1789 – which is a considered a milestone during the French Revolution.
Essentially, Bastille Day is one of France’s most celebrated national holidays – with many people taking long weekends and infamous fireworks at the Eiffel Tower’s Champ des Mars every year.
What American Holiday is Like Bastille Day?
A good way to think of Bastille Day is to think of it as the French version of the Fourth of July in the United States – except instead of a classic American barbeque, the French usually opt for a long-summer meal outside sur la terrasse.
Ultimately, both the 4th of July and Bastille Day serve as patriotic celebrations for both France and the United States: complete with fireworks, parades, and big celebrations to share complete pride in your nation.
Quiet street in Paris, France; June 2025
Should You Visit Paris on Bastille Day?
Yes, you should absolutely plan a trip to Paris around Bastille Day! Personally, as an American living in France – July 14th is my favorite day of the year in Paris, as the streets are usually quieter with most Parisians heading south for the summer and the firework show at the Eiffel Tower every year never disappoints.
Is Bastille Day a Day Off in France?
Yes, Bastille Day is always what we call a, “jour férié” – otherwise known as a public holiday, and is always a day off for employees in France
Bastille Day is always on July 14th, regardless of the day of the week it falls out on. In 2026, Bastille Day falls out on a Tuesday – meaning the majority of French residents will take Monday off and make it a 4-day long weekend.
Will Shops Such as Grocery Stores be Open on Bastille Day?
Generally, supermarkets, or supermarchés, will be open on Bastille Day – but more specialty stores such as smaller boutiques, shops, or organic food stores are likely to have, at the bare minimum, exceptional or early closing hours on July 14th in Paris.
Golden sparkles against a blue Eiffel Tower on Champs des Mars in Paris, France; July 2025
Biggest Mistakes Tourists Make On Bastille Day
As someone who has now spent over 5 Bastille Days in Paris, I have a pretty good understanding of what tourists tend to get wrong.
Here’s what I really recommend keeping in mind if you’re visiting Paris on Bastille Day for the first time:
Camp Out for Fireworks: Tourists visiting Paris on Bastille Day don’t understand how many hours you have to wait outside Champs des Mars and even inside the park to secure a spot for the fireworks. Simply put, don’t expect to show up at a rooftop bar, bridge, or the Eiffel Tower lawn thinking you’ll get a spot. Give yourself several hours in advance to settle into the place you plan to watch the annual fireworks, otherwise – you run the risk of arriving too late for the show. Trust me, the main park for the fireworks on Bastille Day (Champ des Mars) gets extremely crowded – with most people arriving up to 8 hours before the fireworks.
Don’t Use the Metro at Peak Times: I’m lucky enough to live right by the Eiffel Tower, so I can walk home after the fireworks – but I have seen friends try to get onto the metro after the fireworks at 11:30pm and let me tell you – it’s a disaster. I really recommend planning to either walk back to your hotel, or at least halfway, and then calling an Uber or a taxi rather than suffer on the metro and run the risk of being pickpocketed.
Closed Bridges: A lot of people visiting Paris for the first time on Bastille Day not realizing that several bridges and metro stations often close. Therefore, if you’re trying to take some Instagram worthy pictures of the Eiffel Tower on Bastille Day – keep in mind that it might be a little more challenging on July 14th.
Need a snapshot of the main events usually going on in Paris on Bastille Day?
The table below will break down the national holiday’s main events and what I think of them as a local.
🎆🎉 Bastille Day in Paris at a Glance 🎉🎆
| 🎉 Event | ⏰ Time | 🤔 Worth It? |
|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Military Parade | Morning (usually between 10 AM and 12 PM) | I think it's worth seeing at least once, especially if you have kids, as they're usually fond of the planes. That being said, it's not something I personally do every year as a local. |
| 🎆 Fireworks | 11:00 PM | 1000% yes. This is the must-see event when visiting Paris as a tourist on Bastille Day. You simply can't miss it. I've seen more than five Bastille Day fireworks shows while living in Paris and I'm never disappointed. |
| 🚒🎉 Firemen's Balls (Bal des Pompiers) | Evening | Yes if you're young and big on nightlife. No if you're like me and prefer a quieter evening in. |
| 🎻 Champ de Mars Concert | Evening | It's nice, but after hearing it every year, it's usually more or less the same thing. It's more of a background soundtrack while chatting with everyone around you waiting for the fireworks at 11 PM. The music is often drowned out by the thousands of people talking in the park anyway, so I personally wouldn't come just for the concert. |
What to Do as a Tourist in Paris on Bastille Day?
As a local, I and other friends of mine living in Paris usually take it easy during the day on July 14th – and the real fun is at night with parties for the fireworks.
Here are some of the ways I usually spend Bastille Day as a local in Paris:
🌳 Relax in a Park
After living in Paris for years, I always appreciate how Bastille Day is one of the calmest and quietest days of the year in Paris, making it the perfect time to chill in a park with no rush. It's especially enjoyable since us locals always have the day off work.
🚒 Go to a Bal des Pompiers
You can't get much more local than this. If you're young, love nightlife, and happen to be in Paris on July 12, 13, or 14, you'll want to spend some time at a Bal des Pompiers (Firefighter's Ball), an annual party that often goes until 4 or 5 AM.
In 2026, this is planned to take place in the Latin Quarter at the fire station in the 5th arrondissement.
🥂 Visit a Rooftop Bar
Like I said, Bastille Day is one of the quietest days of the year in Paris, meaning some of the city's most beautiful rooftop bars will be much calmer than usual.
It's an amazing time to take in the city views, as many locals take advantage of the long weekend and vacation elsewhere in France rather than staying in Paris.
Check out how I usually spend Bastille Day in my vlog below!
Things to Do As a Tourist in Paris on Bastille Day
However, as a tourist in Paris on Bastille Day, there is a lot to take of advantage of seeing and experiencing, such as:
Parade on the Champs-Élysées: In the days leading up to Bastille Day, I can always hear various aircraft noises from my apartment and may even see random jets flying in the sky across Paris. This is all in preparation for the famous military parade that takes place on Avenue des Champs Elysées. During this parade, military troops parade down the iconic avenue in Paris all the way to Place de la Concorde and perform an aerial show – which is adored by families and even the president in France. You can absolutely attend the parade on the Champs-Élysées as a tourist, just bear in mind that it’ll be crowded. The parade usually starts around 11 in the morning and lasts an hour.
Visit the Louvre for Free: Every year, the Louvre opens its door for free on July 14th – making it the perfect opportunity for tourists to see iconic Parisian paintings such as the Mona Lisa during the day on Bastille Day.
Fireworks on Champ des Mars: There is a beautiful firework show that takes place on the Champs des Mars every year around 11pm and lasts for around 15 minutes. However, every single year I have been living here, the line has been getting longer and longer to enter the park. If you really want a spot dead center of the Eiffel Tower for the fireworks on July 14 – I recommend going as early as possible in the morning and camping out there all day. Don’t worry, there are portable toilets inside the park on July 14 – but bear in mind that you will be packed like sardines in a can. Personally, I opt to be a little bit on the side every year – as there will be less crowds and makes it a little easier to get back to my apartment afterwards. I only live a few minutes away by foot from Champ Des Mars, but it usually takes me at least 20 minutes to get home in the crowds. Therefore, bear in mind that the metro will be extremely crowded after the fireworks show – and getting an Uber may take a few extra minutes.
View of fireworks on Bastille Day from Champs des Mars in Paris, France; July 2023
Where is the Best Place to See the Fireworks in Paris on Bastille Day?
No doubt, the best place to see the amazing firework show in Paris on Bastille is on the Champ Des Mars – but given this is getting increasingly difficult to secure a spot at every year, my other recommendations as a local living in Paris include either standing at Pont Alexandre III, Bir Hakim, or making a reservation at a rooftop bar in Paris to see the fireworks.
Some of my favorite rooftop bars that would have excellent views for the fireworks on July 14 in Paris include:
Hôtel Dame des Arts
Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers
Le Flow (a river boat-style bar near Pont Alexandre III)
Georges at Centre Pompidou (currently closed until 2030)
View of fireworks on Bastille Day from Rue de Monttessuy in Paris, France; July 2024
How Do I Say “Happy Bastille Day” in French?
The short answer is, you don’t – as there is no direct translation for “Bastille Day” in French, it’s just the name that English-speaking countries have assigned to it.
If you’re wandering around Paris and want to say something to a French person about July 14th, you can say, “Bon 14 juillet” or “Bonne fête nationale.” If you want to try and make a French person laugh, you can simply say – “Vive la France!” which translates to, “Long Live France!”
What Do the French Call Bastille Day?
The French refer to Bastille Day as Fête nationale française, la fête nationale, or simply le 14 juillet.
Ultimately, a closer English translation would be, “French National Day”, “French National Celebration” or simply “July 14th” (directly translated from le 14 juillet) the same way Americans refer to Independence Day in the U.S. as “July 4th”.
View of French flags in the 7th arrondissement of Paris; May 2025
Read more below for answers to frequently asked questions for tourists in France on Bastille Day:
🇫🇷 FAQ for Bastille Day in Paris 🇫🇷
| 🎡 What tourist attractions are open on Bastille Day? | Several tourist attractions are open on Bastille Day such as the Arc de Triomphe, Notre-Dame, Louvre, and the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. However, note that the Arc de Triomphe will only be open in the afternoon as a massive national parade takes place on the Champs-Élysées in the morning on July 14th. |
| 🗼 Is the Eiffel Tower Open on Bastille Day? | If you’re traveling to Paris on or around Bastille Day, I would personally avoid trying to go up the Eiffel Tower in the days leading up to July 14th – as they usually run random light show tests in the days before Bastille Day. Check the official website for more info, but as someone having lived through almost 5 Bastille Day’s in Paris – I can almost guarantee there will be some sort of exceptional closure or shortened opening hours. |
| 🚇 What Time Does Public Transportation Close? | Don’t fret as a tourist, the metro is always open on Bastille Day – usually operating under normal hours from 5:30 am to 1:15 am. However, sometimes on national holidays such as July 14th in France – the metro may be open for an additional hour to accommodate large crowds, meaning it usually closes closer to around 2:15 am. |
| 📦 What Will Be Closed on July 14 in Paris? | Contrary to what you might think, in general, many stores and tourist attractions are open per usual on July 14th. However, certain restaurants, stores, or museums you may want to visit may operate under holiday working hours – so it’s always best to search or even call the place you want to go in Paris on July 14th beforehand. |
| 🎆 How Long Do the Bastille Day Fireworks Last in Paris? | Usually starting right on the dot at 11:00 PM, this exciting and colorful annual fireworks show lasts for around 15 minutes every year — ending at approximately 11:15 PM. Keep this in mind if you plan to go to the Champ de Mars with young kids, as it can take a long time to find a taxi or get on the metro afterward. |
| 🇺🇸 What American Holiday Is Bastille Day Most Like? | The closest American equivalent to Bastille Day is the Fourth of July, as both are patriotic celebrations featuring parades, fireworks, and large public gatherings. While the history behind each holiday is different, the overall atmosphere feels quite similar. |
Is Bastille Day in Paris Worth Seeing?
Yes, I think visiting Paris on Bastille Day is an excellent idea – and is one of the best ways to truly immerse yourself in the patriotic spirit that the French feel – and to see them at their most joyous!
Want to see more of Bastille Day in action? Check out my Bastille Day vlog below!
Looking for more information on Paris as you plan your trip during Bastille day?
Click here to discover more, as I have several articles like this to help you plan the perfect trip to Paris and the rest of France.
Additional articles you may find helpful include:
15 Best Rooftop Bars in Paris You’ll Actually Want to Visit in 2026
Your Guide to a First Trip to Paris: A Local-Approved 5-Day Itinerary
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Last updated: June 17, 2026