Choose Your Own Bastille Day Adventure in Brisbane

Why would you want to celebrate a brutal day of 18th-century European history, you ask? Well, because there is cheese at stake here. French National Day, or Bastille Day, represents freedom, equality, fraternity, and now President Francois Hollande and his first ladies. It is a festive date celebrated by francophiles worldwide, and one we recommend getting behind.

Below is a snapshot of all things French that you can get amongst in Brisbane around July 14.

Festival Time

This weekend the Brisbane French Festival is rolling into South Bank for two whole days of wining, dining, speaking, hearing and seeing all things French and French-inspired. The festival will be your one-stop shop to music, cuisine, culture, entertainment, products, services and information to celebrate La Fete Nationale. Don your beret and your best eyeliner moustache and clink your glasses to the sweet sweet sound of French culture.

Eating

Now, we could probably have filled this whole article with food, but we’ve managed to condense it to just half. Pre-prepared for your reading pleasure, check out our Top Ten French Eateries feature for the best of the best in French food, or head along to these culinary Bastille Day events. French-Vietnamese restaurant Libertine is doing a three-course shared set plus drink for $45 per person, and Emporium will pop the cork on a revolutionary five-course Canard-Duchene Champagne Dinner. Cheers!

Cinema

If you’re yet to experience the delightful quirks of a French rom-com, or just French cinema, Bastille is the best excuse yet. Well-known French funny-man Dany Boone stars in his latest rom-com hit, The Volcano, while Belle & Sebastian — once a book, then a TV series and now a movie — is a timeless tale of a boy and his dog. Both are playing on the big screen at Palace cinemas right now. Or if subtitles seem like too much effort, the new Yves Saint Laurent film will give you a French culture hit in your native tongue.

Cheese

Did someone say cheese? What would a French celebration be without a little fromage. Make like a French man, grab a baguette from Banneton in Woolloongabba, head next door to Pennisi Deli for your cheese and have an impromptu picnic atop the Kangaroo Point Cliffs. If you don’t like to venture south of the river, Rosalie Gourmet Market, Tognini’s, Black Pearl Epicure and Standard Market Co can help fill your wildest cheese dreams too.

Cooking

Duck l’orange, boeuf bourguignon, gratin dauphinois, ratatouille, crème brûlée, souffle, tarte tatin… salivating yet? Brisbane is home to a number of great cooking schools with a few running French cuisine classes to help get your culinary skills up to scratch. Take part in the modern French class at Vanilla Zulu on July 11, in French Classics at Spring on August 9, or gather some friends and organise a private French Country Cooking class with Giovanna. If you’d rather watch and drink than take part, The Golden Pig is hosting a Wine Tasting Workshop and cooking demonstration on July 16.

Language

Bonjour! Croissant! Fromage! Menage a trois? Je ne parle pas francais… Need a little help getting your French off the ground? It’s never too late to start learning a language and we say your best bets are Alliance Francais, French Lessons Brisbane or French Speak. If you’re already a master in the language of love, Alliance Francais also has a French language library, runs a book club and does a monthly French film night. Oui!