This year, the celebrations for the 14th July – Bastille Day – are back, mostly, after having been cancelled last year. Get ready for the 2-hour long military parade on the Champs-Elysees in the morning, and the concert and fireworks by the Eiffel Tower (not far from our hotels) in the evening!

The only things missing are the firemen’s balls 😥 Here are all the details…

So, the military parade on the Champs-Élysées (here) is back, with no less than 4,357 people marching, 221 vehicles, 200 horses, 73 planes and 24 helicopters!

To see where every single person, machine and beast will be placed, the army has produced a smart infographic that you can check out here (PDF).

The parade starts at 10am with the arrival of our president, Emmanuel Macron, then there’s an opening ceremony entitled “Concorde nationale” at 10.20am. The first flyover is at 10.35am, and the troops start marching down the most beautiful avenue in the world at precisely 10.45am.

You’ll have to wait until 11.25am for the helicopters to go by, followed five minutes later by the motorised troops (tanks? motorbiked?), and then the soldiers on horseback at 11.40am. The closing celebration called “Une jeunesse engagée” is at 11.45am, then everything wraps up with the departure of the president at midday.

After the parade, you might like to go to Invalides (here) and donate blood (from 10am-6pm). There’s also a display of helicopters on the esplanade from 2-6pm.

On the evening of the 14th July, it’s time to head to the Eiffel Tower for the traditional concert at 9pm and fireworks at 11pm (mask obligatory).

And if you don’t want to or can’t get down there, national TV station France 2 will be showing the whole thing live. Click here to stream the event.

Have a great Bastille Day everyone!

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