Bastille Day Celebrations

There are public parties everywhere on the night of the 13th with dancing in Place de la Bastille and at numerous balls that are organised around the city.
The traditional one is run by the city's firemen, and the trendiest has grown out of a gay alternative Bastille celebration - expanded to welcome straights too - on the bank of the Seine, on Quai de La Tournelle.

The main event is the military parade along the Champs Elysees 14 Jul 10am; the crowds come out and line the Champs-Elysées to watch, led by the President and accompanied overhead by jets in formation, marching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde.
Fireworks at 10.30pm; in the Champ-de-Mars at the Trocadéro (see them popping over the Eiffel Tower)

Should you find yourself dancing in the Place de la Bastille & get hungry or thirsty then here are some places to go.

Walking from Place de la Bastille, take rue de la Roquette (NE exit off Bastille, 2 o'clock if you have your back to the the Seine. This takes you into the rue du Lappe area, full of restos, bars & a couple of clubs it will be very busy. Here are a couple of places there:

The Balajo, the oldest club in Paris. Go here to watch French people dance. It is quite amazing. They all know the steps!!
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Cafe de l'Industrie, uber-cool bar in Bastille; really good food.
16-17 rue St-Sabin, 11e To find it, don't turn right into rue de Lappe; follow the road to the left of the builing facing you, it's tucked away behind there. Ask someone, there will be plenty of people milling around! Here's more info about it Frommer's review of Cafe de l'Industrie
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Chez Paul, rue de la Charonne, 11th; Métro Bastille.
... traditional with character and quality. It's location, at the end of the busy rue de Lappe, and reputation make it busy so either book or be waiting at the door when they open up.
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A little walk from Bastille is The China Club a very sophisticated, dark interior with gorgeous toilettes (you really must 'go' if you go!) good for a cocktail - half price during happy hour; every day between 7pm and 9pm. It's reputed to be a good Chinese food, if a little pricey. 50 rue de Charenton, 12th Métro Bastille or Ledru Rollin
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An alternative authentic French 'diner' can be had at Bofinger (pronounced bow-fan-jhay, soft j) . It is the oldest chain of brasseries in Paris. Very traditional interior (by which I do not mean run down with peeling paint!) with a beautiful ceiling. People book week's ahead just to sit under the cupola in the ceiling, but there are other tables!
Oysters, Choucroute, La fameuse Andouillette... The three-course set menu is around £18. 7 rue de la Bastille, Paris. Tel 0033 1 42 72 87 82. From P. de la Bastille take the road (West or 9 o'clock with your back to the Seine) next to the Hippopotamus restaurant (don't be tempted; it's the equivalent of Garfunkel's in London)
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Finally, A foodie's guide to Paris has some great ideas in the shopping & flea markets section, don't miss the Marche au Puces (fleas) at porte du Clignancourt; a French version of Camden Market.

Bonnes vacances!

If you have a few extra days, here are some free things to do...

La Promenade Plantée
The disused railway track above the Viaduc des Arts has been replaced by a pathway, several miles long, planted with roses, shrubs and rosemary. It gives views over the whole area – even into people’s apartments for a glimpse of la vie Parisian.Below, at the ave Daumesnil end are craft showrooms in the arches. If you walked the promenade from east to west you’d end up near to Bastille. La Promenade Plantée, avenue Daumesnil, 12th. Métro Ledru-Rollin or Gare de Lyon.

Paris Plage (beach)
19 July to 20 August, The charm of the seaside in the city. For the seventh consecutive year in 2007, one of the city’s most cosmopolitan areas, the Right Bank, transforms to a month-long, two-mile beach party. Palm trees, 200 loungers, 40 hammocks, a trampoline and 2,000 tonnes of fine sand will adorn the stretch into a seaside idyll.
Paris Plage, Pont des Arts to Pont de Sully, 4th. (00 33 8 20 00 75 75 Métro Sully Morland, Louvre Rivoli, Châtelet, Hotel de Ville or Pont Marie. Adm free. Date mid July-Aug 7am-12midnight.

Grande Mosquée de Paris If you're in the area go for a glass of mint tea as it's such a nice place to sit.
The 1920s traditional hamman, attached to a mosque, is an authentic journey east. Once your kit is off (you can wear a one-piece, but your fellow Parisians will be happily lounging around with the tiniest bikini bottoms or au naturel), you can start sweating it out in the exquisite tiled surroundings of the differently temperatured steam rooms. Then (from around €15) get brutally scrubbed down (gommage) by robust Arabic women, before being oiled up for a fantastic massage. The hammam is single sex (different days for men & women). Grande Mosquée de Paris, 2 bis place du Puits de l’Ermite, 5th (00 33 1 45 35 97 33) Métro Place Monge. and nearby is

L’Institut du Monde Arabe, is a great example of how ancient designs can be reinterpreted and presented afresh through modern architecture. From a distance, it looks like a glittering modern edifice, but close in and you’ll see that each pane is covered with patterned shutters inspired by the screens of Moorish windows that cast graceful shadows inside.The museum contains a collection of Middle Eastern art, archaeological finds, decorative objects and a library. Go inside & up the elevator for the rooftop cafe/bar & views of the city.
L’Institut du Monde Arabe, 1 rue des Fossés St-Bernard, 5th (00 33 1 40 51 38 38/www.imarabe.org ) Métro Jussieu. Open museum Tue-Sun 10am-6pm, library Tue-Sat 1-8pm, café Tue-Sun 12noon-6pm. Adm museum €5, roof terrace and library free.

Les Catacombes ‘Stop! This is the empire of Death!’ reads the inscription above the entrance. Seventeenth-century Parisians responded to an accommodation crisis in the city’s cemeteries by going down into miles of otherwise unused subterranean passages that had existed since Roman times. Les Catacombes, 1 pl Denfert Rochereau, 14th (00 33 1 43 22 47 63) Métro Denfert-Rochereau. Open Tue-Sun 10am-6pm. Adm €5, over-60s €3.30, students, 14-26s €2.50, under-14s free.

What could be more French than, er, French knickers? Sabbia Rosa, an elegant French lady, runs a lingerie shop on rue des Saints Pères (Paris’s underwear shopping street), a favourite with Madonna and Catherine Deneuve, as well as mistresses, housewives and harlots across the globe. Buzz to enter Rosa’s small softly lit store and find a room full to the brim with desirable silk knickers and negligées in a range of take-me-to-bed shades.
Prices start at around £35 (€50) for a pair of knickers. Sabbia Rosa, 71-73 rue des Saints Pères 75006, 6th (00 33 1 45 48 88 37) Métro St-Germain-des-Prés or Sèvres Babylone. Open Mon-Sat 10am-7pm.

You wouldn't want to leave those in the back of somebody's car!