Paris --July 14 (la fete nationale) what not to miss?

They close off the Champs Elsysees and have a big military parade . I hate parades,, lol so I avoided the area myself. It seemed they set up seating stands on lower end near Place du Concorde, but these are apparently for VIPs.. others just line the street.

The military parade was worthwhile for us (2012) because the United States rarely parades military equipment. You do need to get there early enough to have a view, and perhaps avoid the most crowded spots. Some Metro stops are closed for security and crowd safety. If you don't go to the parade, be in a spot to see the aircraft flyovers that follow the Champs Elysee at the start and end of the parade - which doesn't run that long. I don't mean to sound snooty, but the 2012 fireworks (at the Eiffel Tower) were much less impressive than in 2010. In 2010, there were extra lights, TV projections, and fireworks mortars right ON the Eiffel Tower. In 2012, it wasn't any better than our town's (big...) display fund-raiser for the fire department. The Champs de Mars is a huge mob scene, fun if your idea of a Saturday night is a Rave, surrounded by police lines. The trick would be to find a mostly unobstructed viewpoint at least a mile away. TripAdvisor posters often speak of the Firemen's Balls, or parties at many of the city firehouses. But you need to do research and probably stand in line like an overcrowded nightclub to get in. I have no first-hand information on that. Look up some old web pages and you'll see that the participating firehouses are nowhere near downtown, but you may be staying far enough away to be near one of them. Perhaps a useful question to ask yourself is, what do I like to do on New Years Eve or Canads Day?

Here is an illustrated tour of the firemens ball in a Paris suburb in 2010. http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=pictures&action=display&thread=4254&page=1 It comes from a frequent poster to another site.

The Fireman's Balls are outside the firehouses, in the street, and take place the evening of the 13th, starting after sundown. They are a lot of fun. Every town has them.

I suggest you do not miss the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower. I went last year and had a wonderful time. It was a beautiful blend of music and artistic fireworks. Many people were there, but it was a great crowd as far as I could tell. (Just don't expect to get on the metro right afterwards -- the stations will be overflowing!)

Thank you for all your replies. We weren't really sure what to expect. We are staying in the 5th, so probably won't be far enough out to experience the firemans balls. Great advice for the parade and fireworks!
Thanks again.