The best Paris markets: Puces de Saint-Ouen

The Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen is the most popular flea market in Paris and probably the biggest antique market in the world. You won’t find anything like this anywhere else. This place is so famous that even Woody Allen filmed it in his movie “Midnight in Paris”, and since 2001 is listed as a “Zone for the Protection of Architectural, Urban, and Landscape Heritage”. Every year, this Parisian flea market receives over five million visitors, and many locals love to come here to hunt for unusual and original items. The Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen is a real institution and has an incredible atmosphere that you must feel. 

Fourteen sections

The marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen was created in 1885 after the French authorities prohibited the deposit of garbage near the buildings in Paris. So, people selling second-hand items moved outside the Parisian fortification. Today, this is a unique place with some 1 700 merchants and antique dealers, where you can get anything from furniture, art items such as paintings, tapestries, mirrors, sculptures, dishes, to vintage toys, books, clothes, etc. This market is composed of fourteen sections. Every section has its own, special atmosphere. Some of them are open-air markets, and some of them are very sophisticated and look like an art gallery. The central section of the market is the Rue des Rosiers. This is the main street of the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, and it is always crowded. I recommend you to take a look at the “Cheminées Camus and fils”, a shop specialized in antique fireplaces. In this unusual store, you can find fireplaces from the 18th century. 

Chez Louisette

The “Allée 10” in the Vernaison section of the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, is a secret alley where you can find a rather interesting place. The “Chez Louisette” is a little restaurant, with incredible ambiance. Opened in the 1930s, this an almost one hundred years old bistro, is a place where you can get tasty *traditional French dishes *in a very pleasant atmosphere. But delicious food is not the only thing why this restaurant is so popular. Manuela, a passionate artist, who sings the songs of the time of Edith Piaf, animates every lunch and will transcend you to the old Paris.

Practical information

The Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen is open only on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 6 pm, and on Mondays from 11 am to 5 pm The best way to get to this flea market from Paris is by public transportation. Take a metro and get off at the station Porte de Clignancourt (line 4) or Garibaldi (line 13).