{"id":97172022,"date":"2016-07-14T10:00:50","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T10:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/?p=97172022"},"modified":"2023-07-05T15:27:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-05T15:27:30","slug":"top-spots-celebrate-bastille-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/top-spots-celebrate-bastille-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Vive la France! Top 5 Spots to Celebrate Bastille Day Like the French"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was last updated July 5, 2023.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Joyeuse F\u00eate Nationale, mes amis! <\/em><\/p>\n

If there’s any one holiday that’s a serious Francophone celebration, it’s\u00a0 Bastille Day. On July 14th, 1789, when French rioters stormed the Bastille, a fortress then used as a prison in Paris, they sparked the fire that ignited the French Revolution. These days, Bastille Day is celebrated as something akin to French Independence Day. “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem, is sung, lavish parties are held, traditional foods are eaten, and \u2014 bien sur \u2014 <\/em>fireworks are set off. It\u2019s a super fun holiday, and a great excuse to eat some \u00e9clairs and down that extra glass of French ros\u00e9. <\/em><\/p>\n

So, where can you get in on the fun \u00e0 la <\/em>fran\u00e7aise? <\/em>Never fear! We know exactly where to send you. Au revoir!<\/p>\n

Paris<\/h1>\n

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Bastille Day<\/a> is a major event in Paris<\/a>, and if you\u2019re in town this week, you definitely don\u2019t want to miss it! Kick the day off on the Champs-\u00c9lys\u00e9es, where you can catch a military parade, often headed by the French president. Afterward, you can check out music and dance performances, including those at the Op\u00e9ra National de Paris<\/em><\/a>. Or you can head to the Louvre, where access to all its permanent collections is free on July 14th. And of course, don\u2019t forget to swing by the actual Bastille itself. The prison is gone, but an impressive monument stands in its place, amidst plenty of charming caf\u00e9s where you can stop for lunch.<\/p>\n

End the day at Trocadero, <\/em>the best vantage point to view the Eiffel Tower and the insanely elaborate fireworks show that will happen around it once night falls. Vive la France!
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Marseille<\/h1>\n

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The largest city on France\u2019s Mediterranean coast\u2014 and the namesake of the French national anthem\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 Marseille<\/a> really knows how to throw one incredible celebration for Bastille Day. Make that deux <\/em>incredible celebrations, actually, as the party starts on July 13th\u00a0and rages for a full two days.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s on deck for la F\u00eate Nationale \u00e0 Marseille<\/a><\/em>? A folk parade, a ball, live music and dancing at the Cour d’Estienne d’Orves<\/em>, and a grand fireworks display over the Vieux Port. Watching fireworks over the harbor, lighting up the water, the boats, and the iconic Notre Dame de la Garde<\/em> below? It doesn\u2019t get any better than that.<\/p>\n

You Might Also Enjoy: Obsessed with Paris? Enjoy the City Like a Local!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

New Orleans<\/h1>\n

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Famous for its Mardi Gras and Carnival celebrations, New Orleans<\/a> is also a vestige of French colonialism in the Americas. While most of the French colonial influence is concentrated in Canada \u2014 largely within the province of Qu\u00e9bec \u2014 New Orleans still has strong ties to French history and culture. What does that mean for Bastille Day? It\u2019s a big deal on the Bayou!<\/p>\n

Bastille Day<\/a> is celebrated for a full long weekend in New Orleans. The four-day celebration includes a Bastille Day dinner, an organized bike ride through the town, a dog costume contest, a musical extravaganza and \u2014 of course \u2014 fireworks. Finish out the weekend watching the regatta and rocking out to the jam-packed music show on Sunday. C\u2019est magnifique! <\/em><\/p>\n

Montr\u00e9al<\/h1>\n

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\nIf you’re looking for flights<\/a> in July, try to one that heads up to the locus of French colonial heritage in the Americas: Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. The city is another awesome place to ring in Bastille Day \u2014 without the transatlantic flight to France. On July 14th, the Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois<\/em> can\u2019t deny their French roots, and the local French Union organizes a festival filled with awesome food and live music.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re not busy enjoying the dedicated Bastille Day festival, just wandering the streets of this Canadian city will have you feeling like you\u2019ve teleported to the Old World. Filled with French restaurants, bakeries, churches, bookstores, and signage, the city will make you feel like you stepped across the pond to France \u2014 without having to fly over the ocean. Bon voyage! <\/em><\/p>\n

Milwaukee<\/h1>\n

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Yup, Milwaukee.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the most surprising spot on this list, Milwaukee hosts one of the U.S.\u2019s biggest and best Bastille Day celebrations. Who knew this Midwestern city had so much Francophile charm?<\/p>\n

The festivities take place\u00a0from July 14 through July 17, in the city\u2019s Cathedral Square Park. Events include a wine tasting, a \u201cStorm the Bastille\u201d themed run, live music, roaming street performers, French and Cajun food galore, and a 43-foot Eiffel Tower replica complete with hourly light shows. When it comes to Bastille Day, Milwaukee<\/a> really is le grand fromage<\/em>!<\/p>\n

Do you know of another destination where you can celebrate Bastille Day? Let us know in the comments!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was last updated July 5, 2023. Joyeuse F\u00eate Nationale, mes amis! If there’s any one holiday that’s a serious Francophone celebration, it’s\u00a0 Bastille Day. On July 14th, 1789, when French rioters stormed the Bastille, a fortress then used as a prison in Paris, they sparked the fire that ignited the French Revolution. These […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":97213250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1416,31],"tags":[564,624,238,627,495,183,455,156,325,629],"class_list":["post-97172022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-guide","category-trending-stories","tag-mke","tag-montreal","tag-msy","tag-nola","tag-ory","tag-par","tag-paris","tag-top-5","tag-xrf","tag-ymq"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97172022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97172022"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97172022\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97219560,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97172022\/revisions\/97219560"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97213250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97172022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97172022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cheapoair.com\/miles-away\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97172022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}