Flea Markets in Paris

Marche d'Aligre is one of the lesser spoken about flea markets in Paris, in fact no-one ever told me about it, I found a small mention in a magazine years ago. The three well known markets (more info on those below) are all next to the periferique, the main road that circles Paris and they are all weekend markets - some are open Monday too - but the brocante at Place d'Aligre is open every morning except Monday so you have more opportunity to visit it.

At first it looks like alot of antiques but get further in and there are stalls like this with boxes and boxes of stuff - far more promising for bargains!

This market shares the Place with an amazing fresh food market and an indoor food market. There are cafes around so it's a good morning out with lots to look at and buy and a coffee stop; it's about 5 minutes walk from Metro Ledru-Rollin on Line 8, a little south east of the Bastille area in the 12th arrondissement.

I can really recommend a morning in this neighbourhood. I went on a Tuesday that was actually a public holiday (victory day) and lots of places were closed so I was happy to turn a corner and find everyone busy and working as normal.

Puces de Montreuil

I really like the grubbier markets because I'm looking for old kitchen stuff for my work and so the Marche aux Puces at Porte de Montreuil in the south east is a favourite. It's open all weekend and Monday though most will pack up at Monday lunch time. Warning - This is not picturesque Paris. Go to Porte de Montreuil metro, line 9 then walk east (follow the crowds) on the left around a portion of a huge roundabout (Place de la Porte de Montreuil) and you'll come off at the start of some stalls. For the brocante walk down it's hill, turn left and follow the bottom aisle all the way north til it ends - the other aisles are all new stuff. When you get to what appears to be the end do continue 40 yards or so up Avenue Gallieni as there is a yard on the right with alot more stalls; proper scruffy stuff here so good for a proper rummage. I found quite a few things for my work here. There are no collectibles and trendy stuff up this end, it's like boxes of stuff found on the streets or from house clearances so it's not chic at all and regular tourists would not come here. I read some reviews on the link and see some people felt scared here and one got pick-pocketed - well you need to be careful of that in every big city but yes this is more edgy and may not be for you but I've always felt fine here as I don't look like a tourist or ever have a ladylike handbag etc. 

Marche aux Puces de St Ouen also known as Marche aux Puces de Porte de Clignancourt

There  is plenty online about this the most famous flea market in Paris so I'll not write too much but you need to get to the heart of this market and then go to the west end of it where the real bargains are; the banana boxes of junk but at the high end there are shops of ornate baroque furniture so this place has an amazing range and feast for the eyes. Orientate yourself from Rue des Rosiers. I love the Marche Vernaison off that road but it's too expensive for me though lovely to look at everything here. I love these town houses on one of the roads near here, the whole market is like a small town itself.

I wouldn't say I'm a hat person particularly but I couldn't resist the displays in this shop. And if you come here be sure to have lunch at the amazing La Recyclerie which is right by Porte de Clignancourt metro line 4, the market is 5 or 10 mins walk from here.

These coffee pots were in the Marche Vernaison; there are many named markets within the whole market area.

And here are some of my finds from across these three markets. I presume the bigger metal disc is a stencil to sieve an icing sugar pattern on a cake - I may even use that in my kitchen! I cant wait to rewire the little turquoise glass stand and see if I can do something with that.
I only ever went to Porte de Vanves market in the south once, (Sat/Sun only) it was mostly antiques, hardly any bargains so I never gave it another go, but it's great to look at and maybe there is a bargain in there somewhere.

Winter Sun

Lovely winter sun illuminates some of my glass collection in the studio. I don't remember where I found each of them only some of them, but the little hand-painted green one is a bit of a favourite and from Clignancourt flea market in Paris.

Paris Flea Market

Les Puces St Ouen, Porte de Clignancourt

You really need time to explore this place, it takes a while to get the hang of it. It's about 10 minutes walk from Porte de Clignancourt metro stop at the north end of Line 4.

I love the mix of the modern graffiti with the old objects.

The market runs along the Periferique so it's interesting city scape where you move away from the old style centre and find yourself under flyovers etc.

It's like a small town in itself. I tend to go on Mondays, maybe the prices are better then because Saturday and Sunday ( these are the 3 days it's open) are very full of tourists. I don't always haggle but it is the norm there - often I'm buying stuff from the really messy rows of boxes of junk and they've never charged much so I would never dream of haggling. It's a real feast for the eyes - you don't have to buy anything it's interesting just looking - though I find I can quite quickly be overwhelmed, there's so much to see.

Just south of the market it was good to see that some things never change!

Paris Flea

This is recent haul from a flea market in Paris.

I'm happy to have found a nice old stash of darning wool. Apart from the usual suspects I love these French stencilled plates and I have no idea what I'll do with the little lampshades - they just looked so typical of cafes that I got them as all this stuff was cheap on a large stall full of smelly boxes to rummage in and I'm so glad the market still has these kind of dealers there.

A Corner of my Studio

As a general rule I don't like to think any of the objects I find are too precious to be used in my work - the opposite in fact, I like to think I can surrender anything if it's the perfect object to make the whole piece work. It's not always easy and little collections have accumulated here and there, often of mini objects.
Here there is a little cake slicer from a charity shop in Sydney, I love it because it looks like a plasterers tool, a chocolate mould that says Leon Letang on it, a very skinny little pastry cutter, a brassy tea strainer, a tarnished Japanese cutter - it has 5 petals, maybe plum or cherry blossom, a little engraved glass from a Paris flea market, an oblong biscuit cutter and a tiny perfume bottle left over from a commission for Penhaligon's perfume shop where I made a chandelier in my style but incorporating their bottles - it's in the Covent Garden shop. Also I love these bits of wood with dripped paint and one day I may use them in a construction too.

Bowls of Light

I saw these chandeliers in Paris recently and loved them. I love opaline glass and these two colours are real favourites. Before I started making chandeliers I hadn't had a special 'thing' for them and never studied their shapes, but when I started making them I'd make a pastiche of a shape I had in my minds eye.
Mostly when I look at chandeliers now I want to take them apart and reclaim all the components for my work! But these two pictured I would leave just as they are. This is the kind of form that subconsciously inspired my Jelly Bowl Lanterns some years ago, I don't remember ever seeing them in such luscious colours, great bowls of light.