Each July 14th France celebrates its national holiday, known in English as Bastille Day. The French simply call it: “la fête nationale” or “le 14 juillet” or perhaps “La fête de la Bastille.” Commemorating the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and the end of absolute monarchy, this date has become synonymous with celebrations all over France: dances, concerts, and of course, fireworks.

It’s the holiday that marks the definitive end of the school year, the results of the posting of the bac exam for 12th graders, the beginning of summer, the start of the endless summer traffic jams and madness in the rail stations and airports, the waning of the sale season, the official use of shorts and T-shirts in the streets, the arrival of tourists, big parades and long summer meals. Since the French daylight time is two hours ahead of sunrise, the days are long at this time (twilight starts around 10 pm) and the splendid fireworks on this day don’t begin until 11 pm.

This year the fête is on a Saturday, giving two “official” days to the celebration, since on both Saturday and Sunday the stores will be closed, as will be banks, supermarkets, post offices, some restaurants, etc. There are festivities everywhere in France on the fête nationale. If you have the good fortune to be in France, check with your local tourist office to see where the fireworks and the “bal des pompiers” (the firemen’s ball—outdoor dances in the streets) will be held.

Here are a few of the activities in store for those lucky enough to be in and around Paris this year. Whether you are Parisian yourself or simply visiting the capital, profitez-en and enjoy the festivities!

• Military Parade in the morning on the Champs-Elysées starting at the Arc de Triomphe at 10 am. Always a magnificent parade, with the President of the République and his cabinet in attendance.

• July 14th fireworks display on the Champs-de-Mars, under the Eiffel Tower or from the Jardins du Trocadéro across the river. Métro: Trocadéro. This year’s theme: “Disco Years” with music from the 70s and 80s. Starts around 10:45 p.m.

• Free admission to the Louvre today (other museums may be closed).

• Free performance at the Opéra National de Paris, Palais Garnier. 7:30 p.m. Limited seating. • Fireman’s ball. Dance through the night at many fire stations all over Paris, July 13th and 14th. Donations accepted at the door.

• Longchamp Garden party at the Longchamp racecourse in the 16th arrondissement. Free. Following the races there will be concerts and fireworks. Une belle soirée au champ de course! Métro: Porte Maillot.

• Picnic in the park of the Château de Versailles on the banks of the Grand Canal. Vendors, bands, Grandes eaux musicales (musical fountains). From 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Free. Dress code: White.

Bon déjeuner sur l’herbe! Bonne fête à toutes et à tous!

Thinking about shopping during your next  trip to Paris but don’t want to ruin your budget? Then avoid the boutiques of the expensive designer clothes where wealthy tourists are ready to pay exorbitant prices. Do instead what many elegant yet budget-conscious Parisian women do: turn to marques dégriffées (shops of discounted designer clothes from going-out-of-business sales), and dépôt-ventes (consignment shops where wealthy Parisians’ cast-offs go for a fraction of their original retail price). Shopping in either is shame-free; in fact, it’s considered shabby chic.

Looking for something to wear to that special event this summer? Try rummaging through the marques degriffées boutique Fifty-Fifty on rue Corvetto (8^th); it’s like raiding your friend’s closet and paying a mere pittance to call these designer clothes your own. Regularly rotating designers like Givenchy and Marc Jacobs, Fifty-Fifty always has something for special occasions or night on the town.

You might also just walk up and down the Rue d’Alésia in the 14^th, between the Avenue du Maine and the rue Raymon-Losserand (metro: Alésia or Plaisance): there are several stores, shops, and open markets here that show either last year’s collections, marques degrifées, or bargain-priced shipments for quick sales.

Consignment shops are plentiful. The dépôt-ventes will often not accept anything less than designer clothes of the highest brand, and even then, they must be spotlessly clean, with no buttons missing or threads pulled, so you are assured the highest quality in used clothing.

The Dépôt-Vente de Buci-Bourbon is a like a garage sale slumming with a champagne flute in hand. All the great designer clothes are found here, perhaps only a season or two past. You may find an exquisite silk Christian Dior dress with a matching jacket or duster, or a classic Channel two-piece suit that never outwears itself. Another excellent one is Chercheminippes, found at 102, 109, 111, 112, 114, 124 rue du Cherche-midi, Paris 6^th. There are several stores here: for women, for men, for children, accessories, shoes, etc. For fabulous fur values, try Michel’s Artisan Fourrure at 130 ave Mozart in the 16^th (métro Chardon Lagache or Eglise d’Auteuil). Have your own mink coat restored there, or shop for a great value right there. And anywhere along the beautiful pavilion of the Palais Royal you’ll find several boutiques selling yesterday’s styles at yesterday’s prices.

And if you find the perfect quelque chose in one of these shops, play the Parisian game: never let on where you purchased it. Budget shopping done right.

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Joan of Arc

This year France is celebrating the 600^th anniversary of Jeanne d’Arc, known as the Pucelle d’Orléans, or the Maid of Orléans. So where can one learn more about this iconic French figure?

• Visit her native village, Domrémy-la-Pucelle in the region of Lorraine in Eastern France. There, you can roam through the family home where she was born in 1412 and visit the church where she was baptized. The museum in Domrémy is dedicated to her life and times.

• In the city of Orléans, where as a young girl she famously repelled English invaders during the Hundred Years War, visit the Centre Jeanne d’Arc which houses a huge collection of documents relating to her.

• In the city of Rouen in Normandy, Joan of Arc was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake by the English occupiers of that city, in 1431. Here you can visit several sites commemorating the heroine: the Pucelle’s Tower where she was imprisoned before her trial, the Boideldieu Bridge where her ashes were scattered into the Seine, and the flower garden at the Place du Vieux-Marché which now marks the place where she died.

• For armchair travelers curious about the French heroine, sources abound. Just published this year is the 1,000-pageJeanne d’Arc, Histoire et Dictionnaire, as well as a fictionalized biography by well-known French author Max Gallo. Numerous biographies have been published in English as well as French, including those by Régine Pernoud, Andrew Lang and even Mark Twain.

• Joan of Arc has been the subject of many films, as well, including the 2005 documentary entitled Joan of Arc: Child of War Soldier of God, the 1948 movie about Joan of Arc starring Ingrid Bergman, and the classic silent film made in 1928 by Carl Dreyer: La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc.