I love Milwaukee's love of festivals. And with that, I love Bastille Days. The fact that it's free makes it extra worthwhile to stop by multiple times during its run. Admittedly, it's not the French-est of French festivals (e.g. salsa band playing on the main stage), but it's fun to wander the closed-off streets, take in the live music, and snap pictures by the Eiffel Tower. The food is delicious, and it's a great opportunity to catch some vendors not found at Maier Festival Park. Among the diverse food booths, you'll still find plenty of crepes and beignets and other French treats. Overall, lots to see for guests of all ages - definitely worth visiting! read more

I ran in the Storm the Bastille Marathon for the first time ever. First marathon as well. Bastille days is a great collective event that is geared towards bringing people together with the idea of sharing the Bastille food and culture. I am sure that this was accomplished. You don't have to pay for admission. Bastille days is downtown in Cathedral Square. Dont know where that is? Think of Elsa's on Park or Mikeys maybe Flannigans? Yea all of those places like half a block walking distance from Bastille Days. The food and other things that were being sold were a little steep in terms of price. Im guessing people have to make their money back eh? With the recent violence in our city, it was good to be in a place where it wasnt crawling with police and still feel safe. I would encourage you to not only sample the french cuisine but everything else that is offered? Take the kids and the pets have fun. Enjoy some of the free live music as well. Maybe you will run the marathon as well next year? If so find me i will be there! read more

Bastille Days is a fun way to celebrate "le 14 juillet" in downtown Milwaukee. Plus, we spotted Yelp MKE's very own Rachel F, spreading the Yelp word. Some of my favorite things about the event: 1) free admission! 2) the bands, performers, and lessons that do feature French or French culture 3) the French food and pastries 4) unique location for a festival in the city (Cathedral Square) as opposed to the Summerfest or State Fair grounds A couple things that were a bit of a let-down: 1) the parking situation (Matt circled for 30 min to find a space!) 2) the slew of things that had nothing to do with Bastille Day/French culture (which I understand comes with any cultural festival) Overall, it is a fun time worth checking out, but if you're hoping for a true French cultural immersion, you'd better book those tickets to Quebec or Paris. read more

I like Bastille days so why did I only give it three stars? I think it's too small. Once you walk up and down the street and associated side-streets, that's it. You are done. I think it should be expanded to include several more city blocks with more vendors and different things to do and see. How about having it along Lincoln Memorial drive going North from the museum, all the way to Veterans park on both sides of the street?? I'll still go to the festival next year. I just wish it was bigger. read more

I would give this festival an average review, not terrible, but not great. As far as the entertainment, not so much French themed at all, as for the food, which is overpriced and mediocre. This is definitely where I would use the phrase, "been there done that", this, along with Summerfest is something that happens every year in Milwaukee I could easily miss and not miss going at all, thanks, Milwaukee, but I'd rather travel to France or even Quebec or Montreal to get real French culture. read more

Bastille Days? Sacrebleu! Worth it? Quoi ? Considering its free then you get what you pay for. Much like the other Milwaukee festivals Bastille days is much the same except its not at the Summerfest grounds it is downtown centered around Cathedral Park. Interesting stuff: some small French cultural items such as the Milw French Alliance, French bulldog rescue and the fortune telling were interesting. A swing and a miss: $20 to park, $6.50 for a Kronenbourg beer, $7 for a grilled cheese and ham sandwich. Very few French crafts or art to look at or purchase. Most vendors same junk you can buy at state fair or you local flea market. Free chatchki if you check in with yelp at the official Bastille days merchandise booth unless you try to claim it then no one that works there has any clue what you are talking about. And they will look at you with their best Quoi? Really? Overall if you are completely bored walk around. Otherwise it is a must miss destination, leave it to the Petit Bourgeoisie! read more

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Went to bastille days for the first time this year (2015). Having just been to Paris this year I wanted to see what Milwaukee had to offer. They had all the usual French foods such as tacos, hot dogs, shepherd's pie, etc. Plus I heard from a relative there were the traditional French polka dancers in attendance. In all seriousness, there was some actual French themed things but most of it wasn't. I really would have liked more options of French food. I did find a baguette sandwich that was really good. Since it is a free event I would go again in a few years, but won't put it into my calendar for next year. read more

I was highly disappointed with this "French" festival. My wife & I got there expecting to be inundated with French flavor & atmosphere (akin to IrishFest). Instead, we saw beer tents, the same old food vendors that are everywhere, and knick-knack/jewelry/clothing tents that didn't appear French at all (it struck me as more New Orleans/Mardi Gras than Paris) I think I saw a total of 2 French flags, and not one beret! We did eat at the crepe stand (pretty good) & we had some beignets (also tasty!), but overall, very disappointing. read more

Great place and event to enjoy the nice summer day. Was here visiting MKE and spending time before going to a comedy revue. Its especially great that this event went on, despite what happened to France and their festivities. Never give in to the terrorists! We must continue to live on regardless! What can I say, there's lots of places for food, drink, jewelry, and other items to see and buy. I personally had the fried catfish with some freshly squeezed lemonade. Definitely filled me up well with good tastes, and the lemonade was refreshing for a hot day on the festival's Saturday. As I ate and drink, there were some music and other sights to check out. It's definitely not as big as Taste of Chicago, but has a character of its own to make it enjoyable and unique. I will be coming back to Bastille Days in MKE as well as other cities and countries! read more

Le Meh. It always seems like it'll be better than it is. There's so many festivals, and this one to me is terr-ab-lay bad. The run is fun to watch, and there's a bunch of music, but it's very cramped and super disjointed. That's not to say disorganized, but it just seems like a weird mish-mash of vendors and foods and bands. Perhaps this isn't for me? What the crepe? read more

One of Milwaukee's Best Festivals, IMHO. The fest goes from Thursday - Sunday and Thursday night is the "Storming of the Bastille" which is a 5K Run at night, not sure on the details, but it is a very popular running event. I usually try to hit this festival up every year and it is my favorite for several reasons: one, it is not at the Summerfest Grounds. Two, the food vendors are amazing. Three, the crowd is really good (i.e. yes you will see drunk people but not to the extent of some of the fests down at the SF grounds). Four, it's free. Five, they dropped the mandatory ticket payment and you can actually pay with cash now! YAY! The bands that play are really good and there is also a "learn how to speak french" lesson. My favorite entertainment is done in Catherdal Square and that is the Waiter/Waitress Races. The misses....this year I really did not like the shopping/art vendors. I was hoping to find some gifts and it seemed like A LOT of the same stuff from vendor to vendor (i.e. jewelry that looked cheap). read more

Going forever! Great music, decent food, very walkable in a great location. People watching is worth the price of admission. Wait! No admission. What's not to like. read more

This is one of our favorite festivals held in Milwaukee. Great food, drinks and cold beer are found everywhere. Fresh beignets with powder sugar, hot dogs served inside a French baguette, venders selling interesting wares. The best day is the first day, Thursday night is Storm the Bastille run when 5000 runners and drinkers hit the street. read more

Good times at a festival. Long lines for food were disappointing, would have liked to have tried one of the strawberry crepes filled with vanilla ice cream, but I finally left the line. Settled for Cedar Crest ice cream in a waffle cone...yum. Good people watching, has a few of the usual suspects for "shopping", and all of the local usuals for food. Can't say I saw a whole lot of French food, but it was a good time anyway. Went at night, when it was cooler out and a few less children. Looks like dogs come out at night. read more

This was fun to go to for a couple of hours, but not what I expected. It is free and there are some fun things to do. But this isn't terribly French, it's more Creole or reminiscent of New Orleans. The music wasn't French at all. The food was decent, but not as French as I would have hoped, but perhaps that's to be expected? My beignets weren't fried enough, which was disappointing! There is a wide selection of foods and activities, and I'm sure I'll go again next year. Fun, but don't come in with expectations. Also, good luck finding parking! read more

Bastille Days is my favorite Milwaukee festival. Excellent location (the fact that I've been able to walk to the festival for the past 3 years definitely adds to my enjoyment), super yummy food, fun and unique events, and it feels like more of a celebration of French culture than most of the festivals held at Summerfest grounds... oh, and did I mention there's free admission? Yeah, that's always a good thing. read more

The 5K is a blast! It's pretty cool to run in the middle of the street in the night surrounded by skyscrapers. There are a thousands of people and area residents cheering on the runners too. The festival itself I was disappointed with. There was far more American food than French! Maybe one or 2 stands had crepes. I didn't think I would have to walk through the entire festival grounds to find French food and crepes. Parking is a nightmare. It look 45 minutes to find a spot on opening night. If you are not willing to be patient to find parking, don't even bother as it is very frustrating. read more

Great fest French theme. Stuff for the kids, adults and even teens. Nice music two stages going today. Food choices very good, vendors with wares to sell also good stuff. We go every year, thick year much better than last. read more

I loved the size of this festival. It wasn't too big and wasn't too small. It was just the right size, absolutely perfect in my book. I didn't love the music, but, it's free and you can't beat that! Nothing's free, so, I was pleasantly surprised to walk into this accidentally and find out that there wasn't a charge. I would've paid something to go, even if there was a charge. A night out, with entertainment, would've been costly, so go Bastille Days! read more

Loose tie ins to France let alone the actual Bastille Day other than the "Storming the Bastille" Run. Food is of all different cuisines, and the alcohol selection is pretty limited. The most redeeming quality is the live music which can be very entertaining. It's not that it's a bad festival by any means, but it would be nice if it was more accurately themed. read more

Super fun festival! Love Storm the Bastille 5k--running thru the city at night is amazing. Very unique festival in a cool location.

Fun times! Went with my preggo sister on Friday night and we drove around many times looking for parking, but finally gave in and paid $10 for parking in a lot, which was marked $15. The atmosphere was great, the festival itself was larger then expect, but not to big where it required too much walking for my sister. Ordered a lamb sandwich and went to saz because they had seating and take credit card. Order from the lemonade truck, $4 per cup, and look and the vendors and entertainments. I understand not everything is French, which I wished there was more of, but it was still a well organized festival. I was trying to look for all the French related things that I can find since that is what this festival is all about and what makes it different and unique, but figure Milwaukee might not have a big French community. Saw the short Mardi Gras parade, which was okay, wished there was more to it, and fire performers were great! Saw a few music acts, but I like the randomness on street performers and entertainers the best. Overall wished I could've have stayed longer so will definitely come back next year. read more

Bastille Days - Yummy exquisite crepe! - Festivals Near Me - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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if you're looking for a french festival, don't come here. it's pretty much like any other milwaukee festival with beer and overpriced food that doesn't taste as good as street truck food. go if you are bored with nothing to do, but don't go expecting a french experience. read more