Bastille Day Scene

Though you say you don't have much interest in the Bastille Day parade, I'll bet the two 10-year-olds would love it! A trip on one of the Seine boats would fill an hour or two, and maybe a HO/HO bus tour for another couple of hours.. The idea of taking two kids to the Louvre on a free day is not a good one, by the way.

We did the Louvre on Bastille Day about 10 years ago and it wasn't crowded at all. As my husband said 'tourists don't know about it and the locals have better things to do on Fete Nationale'. That may not be true now since apparently tourists now have the word on this.

By the way the French do not call it Bastille Day and some are insulted if you do. It is Fete Nationale.

You can do pretty much whatever you would normally do in Paris; most things are open. If it is a nice day, the parade can be fun, but if not go to museums or parks or on neighborhood strolls, whatever you would normally do that day. Check websites to be sure things are open you want to do, but generally the museum closing days are Dec 24, Jan 1 and May 1 not July 14.

While I haven't been in Paris on Bastille Day, a friend of mine has and said that the firehouses of Paris open to the public on the 13th and 14th with music and dancing. He said it was really fun. I don't know much more about it, or if it is even appropriate for children, but it might be worth checking out...

My first choice is usually to focus on the holiday activities on the theory that the museums "will always be there." In the Louvre, the room with the Mona Lisa is always crowded and some other wings much less so.