Let's go to les Puces ~

Although I’ve made a number of trips to Paris in the past, always with an impossible to achieve agenda, one thing that I had always wanted to do, but never quite did, was go to the famed Puce de St. Ouen. I reasoned to myself that this would guarantee a return trip to Paris, sort of like throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain in Rome.

This time I finally made it! Known for being the largest flea market in the world, and prime hunting grounds for antique dealers, designers, and both treasure & bargain hunters alike, even if you’re not in the market for shipping that perfect Louis XVI upholstered headboard back home, it’s definitely worth the trip.

The puce itself is made up of 17 individual markets, each one containing any number of individual stalls and specializing in it’s own brand of wares. Antique furniture, mid-century and plain ole second hand furniture occupies many stalls.

As well as items that in your imagination can only come from the Paris puces...

Everyone has their favorite items that make their heart beat a little faster...

mine would be architectural salvage...

.....bathroom fittings...







...old claw-footed bathtubs to me scream .... bathroom reno !


and beautiful old fabric...




...this linen was from the early 1900's and in excellent condition.



if you need some peeling shutters, to authenticate the farmhouse of that recently purchased olive grove in Provence ... you'll find them here!



Everyone no doubt has their favorite plan of attack, but after going there several times, I found what works for me is to go on a Monday morning to miss the weekend crowds. It is located on the northern periphery of the city and there are numerous ways to get there. To avoid the hassles of some of the less than authentic stands located in the southern portion of the market (although they are recommended if you want to find some real bargains in the way of cheap clothing etc.) I take the Metro line #13 to the Garibaldi stop and walk to rue des Rosiers, or the bus #85 stops right in front of the Marche Paul Bert...one of the most popular markets. There's also a choice of cafe's and bistros there, offering some live music and authentic french food. You never know when you'll catch a band playing the music of Django Reinhardt!


Here's a bit of the history, taken from the official website of the market:


The history of the Flea Market goes back several centuries. It is inseparable from the history of the rag-and-bone men, who were to be found in the shadow of the so-called "fortifs", or fortifications.

Known variously as "biffins", "chiftires", "crocheteurs" (pickers) or, more poetically, "pêcheurs de lune" (moon fishermen), the rag-and-bone men travelled through the city by night, searching for old objects that had been thrown out with the rubbish, which they would then resell on the local markets. Because they were often associated with the inhabitants of the "Cour des Miracles", an area of Paris frequented by beggars and thieves, the rag-and-bone men were driven out of the city by the new city authorities towards the end of the 19th century. They therefore formed small groups and pursued their activities on the other side of the fortifs, near the city gates of Montreuil, Vanves, Kremlin Bicêtre and Clignancourt. Gradually, a number of the craftier of these "moon fishermen" were able to become, in a sense, self-employed bric-a-brac trader.

Soon, these traders decided to group together, and it was not long before the people of Paris began to come to wonder at the displays of miscellaneous objects spread out on the ground just beyond the gate at Clignancourt. As time went by, the number of curious visitors steadily grew, as did the number of traders. It became fashionable, for a genteel population of collectors in their Sunday best, to come and hunt for bargains among the bric-a-brac. The Flea Market was born…

Bon Weekend everyone and Happy Shopping!