Marche aux
Puces de Clignancourt
Located in St-Ouen, a town just
north of the 18eme. Metro : Porte de Clignancourt. Open
Saturday-Sunday-Monday.
The granddaddy of all the flea markets, the Puces de St-Ouen is an
overwhelming smorgasbord of stuff. It opens early and shuts down late,
and serious hunters should allow themselves the better part of a day in
order to cover significant ground, although the market tends to
be least crowded before noon. There is a definite divide in
terms of prices and quality : much of the merchandise is either
dirt cheap and low quality or expensive and antique. This market began
during Middle Ages, when merchants resold the cast-off clothing of
aristocrats (crawling with its namesake insects) to peasant-folk, so
it's used to such feudal divides.
Renegade Market
The 10 mn walk along av. de la Porte de
Clignancourt, under the highway, and left on rue Jean Henri Fabre to
the official marked is jammed with tiny unofficial stalls. These
stalls sell flimsy new clothes, T shirts, African masks, and teen new
clothes. It's a tourist trap and the pickpockets know it, so keep a
close watch on your belongings. If this renegade bazaar turns you off,
continue on to the official market, where you'll be able to browse in a
much less crowded settings.
Official market
Located on rue des Rosiers and rue Jules Valles, the
regular market is officially divided into a number of sub-markets, each
specializing in a certain type of item. Don't try to follow a set path
or worry about hitting every marché, as they all generally have
the same eclectic collection of everything antique you could ever think
of - your best bet is to get lost and then keep browsing.
From rue Jean Henri Fabre, slip into the
Marché Malik, a
warehouse filled with discount clothing, leather jackets, sneakers,
vintage clothing dealers, and a tattoo parlor. Exiting onto rue Jules
Valles, and walking away from the bongo drums and hardsell banter of
rue Fabre, you'll encounter the indoor Marché Jules
Vallès with its overwhelming collection of old trinkets and
antique miscellany, Marché Paul Bert, on rue Paul Bert, has more
antiques as well as a large collection of furniture. Next door at the
more posh Marché Serpette, specialized antique Art Deco
furniture stores reign side-by-side with shops dealing in antique
firearms. Marché Biron, on rue des rosiers has home furnishings
for the extremely rich. Marché Dauphine, also on rue des
Rosiers, is home to 300 dealers on two levels and has stalls
specializing in leather armchairs, costume dresses, jewelry, and
antique kitchenware. Marché Vernaison, located between rue des
Rosiers and Avenue Michelet, has more upper-class tchotchkes and
furniture, prints, beads, buttons, and musical instruments.
The Marché des Rosiers, rue Paul Bert and the
Marché Antica, rue des Rosiers are smaller, paler shadows of the
larger markets. The Marché Malassis sells vintage cameras,
perfume bottles, couture and furniture.
