Rummaging through a foreign
market for bargains can feel a bit
like visiting an open-air museum
and, for keen shoppers, it ’s an
excellent basis for a city break.
Luckily, there are plenty of options
within a few hours’ drive of the UK.
The Marché aux Puces de
Saint-Ouen, in northern Paris,
comprises around 1,700 vendors
spread across 12 covered markets.
Whatever you’re aft er, you’ll
probably fi nd it for sale here,
whether you want an enamel
coff ee grinder or a stone staircase
extracted from a Renaissance
chateau. Most of the stalls are
open Saturday to Monday.
Take the time to explore the local
area, too. Just a fi ve-minute Metro
ride away is the leafy Montmartre
Cemetery, the fi nal resting place
of such luminaries as artist Edgar
Degas and writer Émile Zola.
Make the fi ve-hour drive south
of Paris, meanwhile, and you’llQ // What are the best
European cities for
antiques and fl ea
markets?
be able to rifl e through Lyon’s
bustling Puces du Canal, on the
banks of the Canal de Jonage.
Open on Thursdays, Saturdays
and Sundays, the stalls are a
veritable treasure trove if you’re
looking to decorate a home, with
furniture, lighting and objets d’art
on sale across four ‘districts’,
representing various eras from
medieval times to the 1980s.
Alternatively, Antwerp is less
than a three-hour drive from
the ferry and Eurotunnel Le
Shuttle passenger terminals at
Calais. Around six times a year
(during the summer months), its
medieval market square hosts
BrocAntwerpen, an open-air
market specialising in antiques
and curios. There’s a terrifi c
mix of smaller (sometimes
bordering on kitschy) fi nds to
be had here, from vintage toy
robots and original Belgian
cartoons to elaborate costume IMAGES:^ ALAMY;^ FRANCESCOLASTRUCCIjewellery and crockery sets.
Once you’ve fi nished browsing,
spend time wandering the city’s
cobbled streets and visiting its
mighty cathedral.
Another option is to head up to
Amsterdam to visit IJ-Hallen. This
large-scale weekend fl ea market,
held roughly once a month in
a former shipyard, sees 750-
plus stalls selling mainly small,
portable items that range from
craft s and second-hand clothes to
apothecary bottles and hat boxes.
Of course, you needn’t leave
the UK to get your fi x. The
Malvern Antiques & Collectors
Fair, which takes place several
times a year, off ers a mix of high-
quality antique furniture and
accessories, plus a vast range of
curios. pucesdeparissaintouen.com
pucesducanal.com
brocantwerpen.be ijhallen.nl
b2bevents.info/malvern_antiques
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174 nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel