Les Puces de Saint-Ouen

Saint-Ouen, Paris – In operation since 1885, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen – commonly known as “Les Puces”– is one of the largest flea and antique markets in the world, attracting more than a hundred thousand visitors every weekend.

Covering several acres, the area is actually a collection of several distinct markets (marchés), with stalls and shops peddling wares that range from cheap duds to museum-quality artifacts.

Used clothing, African objects, and budget-friendly household goods dominate the blocks closest to the Porte de Clignancourt metro, but further north along a wild maze of side streets, visitors stumble into a labyrinth of Aladdin’s caves, where stallholders and shopkeepers display pricey antiques and furniture alongside vintage clothing, jewelry, and the odd record or electronic shop.

Everything from beads and dresses to spare engine parts can be found in the winding alleyways of Marché Vernaison, while moneyed retirees of West Paris head straight for Marché Biron to browse old furniture that costs more than a college education.

The airy Marché Dauphine offers up similar pricey collectibles, but also attracts hordes of students and literary types with its first-edition books, rare art posters, colorful rugs, and veritable forest of potted plants.

The streets that radiate out from the main thoroughfare of Rue des Rosiers are home to every sellable object imaginable, at every price imaginable – and the cacophonous shouts of both sellers and buyers that fill the air all day remind visitors that haggling is actively encouraged.

Worth the trek just for the experience, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen is a place that visitors leave either empty-handed or with empty-pockets, but certainly never disappointed.    ← read less