Europe Up Close

Paris Celebrates: Festivals & Events

Published/Revised May 2, 2015 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Paris celebrates life all year long with a multitude of festivals and events. Here are just a few of the larger festivals, but be sure to look for up-to-date Paris event news in future posts. Springtime Events in Paris Foire du Trône The Foire du Trone originated in the year 975, when merchants and farmers met to trade wine and grain. Now the venue includes a large amusement park and the ... Read Full Article

Bastille Day in Paris

Published/Revised July 14, 2015 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Bastille Day, or La Fête Nationale as it’s known in France, is celebrated each year on July 14th. France’s Independence Day, it commemorates the 1789 overtaking of the Bastille, the fortress-prison infamous for incarcerating political prisoners, by the French people. Today the storming of the Bastille is synonymous with the end of feudalism in France and its subsequent rise as a modern nation ... Read Full Article

Düsseldorf: Germany’s Party Central

Published/Revised June 12, 2014 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

  Dusseldorf is known in Germany as an economic powerhouse, across Europe as a fashion hub, and around the world as one of the best cities on the mighty Rhine River. Dusseldorf doesn’t ring a bell quite like Cologne does;  but then Cologne doesn’t party like Düsseldorf does. The two cities almost look across the Rhine at each other as they have for several centuries; and on that they ... Read Full Article

Celebrating Bastille Day Parisian-Style

Published/Revised June 14, 2014 By This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

  Bastille Day, the French Fête Nationale (National Celebration) takes place each year on July 14th. This day commemorates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, an important event in French history. On July 14, 1789, revolutionaries and Parisian common folk stormed the Bastille fortress/prison in Paris. This event has become symbolic of the formation of the modern French nation ... Read Full Article