Saint-Ouen flea market
 Markets on the Rue des Rosiers | |
| Location | Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, France |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 48°54′09″N 2°20′31″E / 48.902440°N 2.341939°E |
| Opening date | 1885 |
| Days normally open | Saturday, Sunday, Monday |
| Website | pucesdeparissaintouen |
 Interactive map of Saint-Ouen flea market | |
The Saint-Ouen flea market, called marché aux puces de Saint-Ouen in French (French: [maʁʃe o pys də sɛ̃.t‿wɛ̃]) or simply St.-Ouen (French: [sɛ̃.t‿wɛ̃]), and also known as the Clignancourt flea market, is a complex of flea markets in Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, in the northern suburbs of Paris.
The complex consists of a series of covered markets (marchés couverts) and shopping streets,[a] and is large enough that first-time visitors can find it disorienting.[1] Its individual markets range from stalls selling bric-à-brac and secondhand clothing to galleries dealing in museum-quality antiques.[2][5] Dozens of restaurants and bistros operate within the complex.[3][6] Bargaining is customary.[6]
History
[edit]
The market began in 1885, when junk dealers and rag pickers were moved out of Paris to the plain of Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine, near the Porte de Clignancourt. There, they sold secondhand goods to Parisians passing through. The name marché aux puces, literally "market of fleas", dates to this period.[5]
The market steadily expanded from stables and garages to absorb much of the surrounding neighborhood.[6] By the 1920s, the market was frequented by designers and tastemakers, with the majority of its antiques eventually bound for buyers in the United States.[3][6] Marché Biron, founded in 1925 by 70 merchants operating as a collective, was among the first to specialize in antiques.[5] Until the mid-1930s, St.-Ouen was a cheaper place to buy certain goods, such as oil and soap, that were not taxed outside of the city limits.[5]
By the early 1980s, the market drew 150,000 visitors each weekend to 10,000 vendors across 75 acres,[5] although high rents for vendors and a weakening dollar made bargains harder for international visitors to find.[2][5]
Interest in the market revived in the 2010s, despite competition from online antiques vendors.[2] In 2013, furniture company Habitat converted a courtyard of former ateliers on the Rue des Rosiers into gallery-like retail spaces. The following year, media executive Jean-Cyrille Boutmy acquired Paul Bert Serpette and introduced methods to verify the authenticity of goods sold there.[2] Saint-Ouen had three consecutive Communist mayors between 1945 and 2014, which may have helped the market resist the gentrification that reshaped Portobello Road.[1]
Markets
[edit]| Market | Est. | Description | Image | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antica | Around a dozen stands specializing in 18th- and 19th-century furniture, paintings, bronzes, and porcelain. |  |
[7] | |
| Biron | 1925 | Antiques, including gilded furniture, jewelry, silver, and porcelain. The most expensive of the markets. |  |
[5][6] |
| Cambo | 1970 | Furniture and decorative objects from the 18th to 20th centuries, including Art Nouveau and Art Deco pieces, across two floors. | [7][8] | |
| Dauphine | 1991 | Antiquarian books and prints. |  |
[6][9][7] |
| l'Entrepôt | 1990 | Large-format architectural salvage, including bookcases, fireplaces, ironwork, and staircases. | [7][8] | |
| Jules-Vallès | 1938 | Bric-a-brac and secondhand goods. |  |
[6][7] |
| Malassis | 1989 | Antiques across two floors. |  |
[6][10] |
| Malik | 1942 | Secondhand clothing and household goods. |  |
[5][10] |
| Le Passage | Late 1980s | Books, postcards, vintage clothing, and antiques, in a covered passageway connecting Rue Jules-Vallès and Rue Lécuyer. | [7][11] | |
| Paul-Bert Serpette | 1946 (Paul‑Bert) 1977 (Serpette) |
Furniture and design. Rents are among the highest at Saint-Ouen. | _-_2022-06-21_-_1.jpg) |
[5][9][12] |
| l'Usine | Antique and 20th-century designer furniture, open to trade professionals only on weekday mornings. | [13] | ||
| Vernaison | 1920 | The oldest market. Around 300 stalls selling small collectibles, vintage linens, and ephemera. | [5][6][10] |
Other flea markets in Paris
[edit]Paris has several other flea markets:[5]
- Marché d'Aligre in the 12th arrondissement, a food market that hosts a secondhand market on Sundays
- Puces du Kremlin-Bicêtre in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, on the southern edge of the city
- Puces de Montreuil in Montreuil, on the eastern edge
- Puces de Vanves in the 14th arrondissement, an open-air market on the southern edge of the city
Notes
[edit]- ↑ Sources vary on the number of markets: the 2024 New York Times counted 11;[1] the 2014 New York Times counted 14;[2] the 2006 Veranda and 2003 Country Living each counted 12;[3][4] and the 1985 New York Times counted seven.[5] The variation likely reflects both changes over time and differences in how individual sections are defined.
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Meltzer, Marisa (27 August 2024). "One Woman's Quest to Map the Paris Flea Market". The New York Times.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Sciolino, Elaine (27 November 2014). "At a Paris Flea Market, Tips for Treasure Hunters". The New York Times.
- 1 2 3 Spada, Charles (May 2006). "Paris Flea Market: Le Marché aux Puces". Veranda.
- ↑ Willis, Monica Michael (April 2003). "Paris Flea Markets". Country Living.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Bernstein, Richard (23 June 1985). "Browsing the French Flea Markets". The New York Times.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Halliday, Fred (23 September 1990). "For Paris, It's the Flea Market". The New York Times.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Clignancourt flea markets in Paris, France". Seine-Saint-Denis Tourisme.
- 1 2 "Les Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen". Ville de Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine. 6 June 2024.
- 1 2 Yaeger, Lynn (1 March 2022). "An Insider's Guide to Paris's Best Flea Markets". Town & Country.
- 1 2 3 "The Flea markets of Paris Saint-Ouen". Marché aux Puces de Paris Saint-Ouen.
- ↑ Brooke, Anna (14 June 2025). "Marché aux Puces de St-Ouen: everything you need to know". Time Out Paris.
- ↑ Morel, Guillaume (2 July 2025). "Jean-Cyrille Boutmy, ten years at the helm of Paul Bert Serpette". La Gazette Drouot.
- ↑ "Where to find bargains at the Puces de Saint-Ouen?". Plaine Commune.
External links
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