The Happiest Party of the Year... In Paris

The Gay Pride Parade (Marche des Fiertes LGBT) in Paris takes place in late June & attracts nearly a million visitors a year. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity of going while I was there & I can easily say I have never partied as hard in my life as I did on that day/night. The crowds start gathering in the morning & the parade walk itself lasts about 3-4 hours, starting at the Montparnesse-Bienvenue metro stop & eventually finishing at Place de la Bastille. Of course, we did the entire walk. We finished with drinks 'till sunrise in the Marais district & damn, can I just say that never in my life have I met as many down to earth, incredible people as I did during the entire experience. 

 

(Not mine)

Straights, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transexuals, you name it are there supporting the event & I have to say it's probably the best possible way to promote awareness to a cause, well, ever. Numerous clubs, hotels, pubs & restaurants hold events during Gay Pride, which typically lasts a couple weeks. If you are in the Paris area this upcoming June/early July I highly suggest taking a look at some of the promotions being held! Also, I have to say the walk itself is a great way of seeing Paris by foot, making it's way down Boulevard du Montparnasse, onto Boulevard St-Michel, Boulevard St-Germain & finally across the Seine at Pont de Sully. Some of my favourite photos from the day... (Unfortunately by night I was focusing more on the fun at hand than the photos!)

 

Can we just take a moment to enjoy the beauty of this photo?

 

 

Same-sex marriage became legal in France as of May 2013 & is the 13th country worldwide to make the move. I have to say I'm very proud to be Canadian, it being the 4th country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005 & the first country outside of Europe to do so! Currently, same-sex marriage is legal in 15 countries, with a law just being passed in the United Kingdom, expecting to be in full force come 2014... & finally, because I couldn't not add this photo to this post!

 

Have any of you been to a Gay Pride festival?! Or have plans on going to one? Maybe I'll do a post on Toronto's as well... I'd love to hear about other cities & if they're as inspiring as Paris! Also the official site is Gay Pride, though just a heads up this site is in French, easily translatable with a toolbar of some sort I'm sure.

xxx