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Paris Walks: Les Puces – Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen (18th Arrond.)

// August 30th, 2009 // Walks

For today’s Sunday stroll, I decided to visit Les Puces: Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, a flea market in the 18th Arrondissement (Metro Stop: Porte de Clignancourt). If you’re a lover of flea markets, like my brother, then you’ll definitely want to make a trip out to Les Puces, the world’s largest flea market. With over 3,000 stands and between 1,00,000- 200,000 visitors each weekend, Les Puces has enough antiques, pictures, collectibles, furniture and second-hand clothes to make just about anyone happy. There’s also some history behind it, as it is often considered to be the world’s first flea market, beginning in the 17th Century.

If you plan on visiting the Les Puces, allow yourself a good 2-3 hours to make it through the hundreds of different stands which are contained in several separate markets:

• Marché Dauphine: A two-story market, it consists of furniture, antique sports equipment, old books, prints and postcards.
• Marché Paul Bert: You can find old drunks, art, guns, and other random surprises like helicopter propellers.
• Marché Serpette: Similar to Marché Paul Bert.
• Marché Vernaison: This market is the most diverse of the group, with everything from paintings to pocket watches to trinkets of all sorts.

By far, my favorite market to walk through was Marché Vernaison, as it had the most interesting mix of items and reminded me much more of a flea market than an antiques shop, as some of the other markets resembled. It is also had a pleasant atmosphere, as it sits outdoors and consists of many attractive winding streets draped with ivy and other foliage.

While walking through the market I stumbled upon Chez Louisette, a traditional French restaurant tucked away down one of the alleys that was packed in the middle of the day. Music and loud conversation emanated from the restaurant and certainly made me curious and has inspired me to return.

All in all, Les Puces is definitely worth checking out, even for those that are not die-hard flea-market lovers. Though crowded at times, it makes for a pleasant walk during a lazy Sunday. Les Puces is open Saturday – Monday, 9AM-6PM (from what I hear, the best deals are to be made Monday).

Want to see pictures from my walk? Les Puces Photos

Want to see this location on a map? Map of My Visits