Well what an epic day. There is no doubt France takes Bastille Day very seriously. We got up early and headed to the Champs Elysee. Well it was busy and we realised that our best bet was to find a less crowded area. We settled on Place de la Madeleine and what a great spot it was.



If you want to get to see Bastille Day on the Champs Elysee then you need to get there mighty early. Most of the Champs Elysee is reserved for VIPs. Once the parade leaves the Champs Elysee it separates into two different parades and routes through Paris.



The parade is an amazing event which goes for three hours. You see every kind of military group including hardware such as tanks, personnel carriers etc.

The last group to march in the parade are the French Foreign Legion. The Foreign Legion only in recent years have been included in the Paris Bastille Day march. The Legion march at the back because of the speed of their marching. Most armies typically march at 100 steps per minute, the Legion only marches at 88 steps per minute, the same pace as royalty.



There is nothing like the Bastille Parade and it was something on my bucket list. Well worth going to if you happen to be close by to Paris around the 14th of July.



What is there to do after Bastille Day ceremonies have concluded? Find lunch and beer of course!



We spent most of the afternoon touring central Paris. We finally found a great bar but not before Brent transformed himself into a tourist. In Paris it is easy to lose an afternoon, we certainly did thanks to a great cafe with amazing charcuterie, local beers and some great company in the form of British and US tourists.



The day was not over ... we headed to the Seine to see Bastille Day fireworks and the Eiffel Tower all lit up. Awesome finish to an amazing day.