In this series of blogs, I'll be sharing my adventures exploring the sprawling collection of fleamarkets at the Puces d'Ouen often known as Clignancourt, or Le Marché aux Puces de Saint Ouen to give it its full name.
If you are visiting Paris for only a short time, this guide will help you make the most of your visit. And if you have more time to explore, I hope it makes a good starting point. I certainly needed some information before my first visit.
The markets are open Saturday and Sunday from about 10am, although this is a flexible start. The official closing time is 6pm, but you may find this brought forward.
The markets are advertised as open Monday, but very few stalls were open when I visited to check for you.
To get there, take the Metro to Porte de Clingnancourt or the buses to Puce d'Ouen are very convenient. I downloaded the RATP App to help me plan my route. Public transport in Paris is safe and conventient.
Don't forget, if you can't get to Paris or find what you're looking for, you can shop my curated collection of authentic fleamarket finds here at QuintessentiallyFrench.com
In Part One, I'll show you a couple of markets, but first I think a a little history of and introduction to Les Puces is in order.
A few fleamarket facts about Puces de Saint Ouen, Paris
It's actually not one market but 14 separate markets, centering around the Rue des Rosiers, as well as a wide range of antique shops covering an area of 7 hectares, that's about 17 acres! Additionally the length of the streets and alleys all added together is 11km (nearly 7 miles!)
The fleamarkets welcome 11 million visitors a year, which makes it the 4th most popular tourist attraction in Paris.
All the markets have a distinct chatacter, it's fun to get to know them all, to wander and discover the interesting corners whilst chatting to the sellers - but as you can imagine from the sheer scale, it will take several visits to see all the markets in any detail.
A brief history of the Puces de Saint Ouen fleamarket, Paris
The Marché au Puces started in the 1880s on an area of waste ground just beyond the Porte de Clignancourt (the boundary gate into Paris). It became the place the traders gathered to sell their wares . At that time, merchants selling second hand goods were not permitted to do so inside the city limits.
In 1908, with the advent of the Metro bringing better transport links and more customers from Paris, the stallholders began to invest, replacing their carts which they brought to the market every morning, with huts to store their goods, adding a little more permanence.
The market's popularity increased and in 1918, Jules Vernaison gained permission to start the Marché Vernaison on Rue des Rosiers, in the format we know as Les Puces today. So this seems a good place to start.
Marché Vernaison
Marché Vernaison is very quaint, with its rambling passages it has a couple of entrances, one through a very narrow alley way. There are over 300 sellers and a café; 'Chez Louisette' it looks very authentic, but we didn't stop, too many treasures to truffle!
Take your time and wander up and down the alleyways and talk to he merchants, they are friendly, welcoming and most will allow photography if you ask - not all of the markets are so friendly.
I was amazed to see shops full of collections of just one category, such at coffee pots, I love this level of specialisation.
My favourite stores were those that were a bit jumbled, layers upon layers of collected brocante treasure all with a sprinkling of patina - the dust of ages - as you got further down. When I asked about the history and provenance of anything, the sellers were knowledgeable, which is not always the case at street markets. The sellers came across as professional.
One seller really stood out for me, a stall on a corner just as you come in, full of wonderful old storage and display furniture, selling proper antiques. We chatted for a while and I learnt that the stall was one of the originals in the market, opened in 1918 by the husband of his maternal grandmother (exact translation of his own words), André Closse and has been passed down the family through the generations. Monsieur Polchi was a charming gentleman (who didn't want to be photographed) and I hope he passes the stall on through his own family. He did however show me some family pictures of his father and grandfather, a not so different stall back through the decades.
There is a huge variety of stalls in Vernaison market, so it makes a good starting point. We visited twice, both times in the rain, but its picturesque quaintness makes it a popular film set, I'll definately go back in better weather and enjoy the ambience.
Address: Marché Vernaison is at 99 Rue des Rosiers.
Next I popped just along the road to a very different style of market
Marché Biron
The Marché Biron, established in 1925, is a very prestigious market of high quality art and antiques. With items dating from the 17th to the 20th century it is well worth a visit, just for the shop windows!
Expect to find original oil paintings (often by artists you will recognise!), magnificant château chandeliers, high quality furniture as well as jewellery and silverware. I love the Christofle booth with some jaw-dropping solid silver jardinères that really caught my eye.
There are 220 stalls along two wide passages in a U shape, with knowledgeable professional sellers. Not all so tolerant of sightseers as in Vernaison, although there is one gallery owner who was happy to talk to us about their fabulous artworks for a long time - here in particular, make sure you get permission to take photographs
Address: Marché Biron is at 85 Rue des Rosiers.
I hope you found this interesting, I'll add Part Two soon with more markets and tips for visiting, eventually there will be a whole guide to the Puces aux Saint Owen, so do make sure you subscribe to my newsletter to get the latest information.
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