Festival Paris Quartier d’été
  • 16
  • Jul
  • 2009

This festival offers a mix of dance, music, and theater performances held at some of Paris’s top sites, including the Jardin du Luxembourg and the Palais Royal. This year program has a lot top artists.

Many events are free, although note that some performances require advance registration.

Festival Paris Quartier d’été, for more details and tickets.

Parc de le Villette Open-Air Cinema
  • 14
  • Jul
  • 2009

Every evening of the week except Mondays, you can catch open-air screenings of English and French films at this 130-acre ultramodern park.

Some of the films on this year’s calendar include Broken Flowers, Brokeback Mountain, Mulholland Drive, and Little Miss Sunshine.

Most people spread a blanket out on the grass, but if you’d rather sit in a chair, rentals are available for €6.50.

The program can be seen on their site : Parc de la Villette Cinéma en Plein Air

Tour de France
  • 12
  • Jul
  • 2009

Snag a spot along the Champs-Elysées and watch this year’s participants of the world’s biggest bike race whiz past as they cross the finish line.

Tour de France

Bastille Day Celebration
  • 12
  • Jul
  • 2009

Paris explodes into one huge party on Bastille Day (July 13-14), but two particular events for the 2009 celebration should not be missed.

At the Place de le Bastille on the eve of July 13th there’s a huge dance and music party.

And to mark the Eiffel Tower’s 120th birthday, it will sparkle even more than usual as a fireworks and light show will happen around 10:45 on July 14th with a lot of animation around the place. To see the fireworks at its best, go to the other side of the Seine, Place Trocadéro. I have nice memories of it when my mom took me there when I was ten.