In my travels, fleamarkets are always at the top of my sightseeing list. Parisian flea markets are world famous, so I looked forward all week to Saturday, when I'd go treasure hunting in the biggest and most famous of the Paris fleamarkets, Clignancourt!
Clignancourt is actually made up of a dozen or so small markets which
are mostly indoor stalls arranged along small streets and alleys, with some storefronts mixed in.
The area has a lot of upscale antique dealers, so it's heaven for deep-pocketed collectors of Art Nouveau and Art Deco furnishings. But I'm just girl with an old soul and an eclectic style looking for unique vintage stuff at a reasonable price. So, it was not a great fit.
Most of the merchandise at Clignancourt was pedigreed with a price to match, or junk with a price that didn't match ;-) There
was very little in between.
Even the clothes were mostly furs or
vintage couture. One of the stalls had a Hermes Kelly Bag, in poor condition, and they were asking 3500€ for it!
I didn't really like the vibe of Clignancourt. I was hoping to at the
very least buy some vinyl records, but the starting price for anything
in playable condition was about 15€, which is a bit steep for flea market prices and sellers with bad attitudes.
My vintage loving heart belongs to London's Portobello Market. I
find Portobello Market much more interesting and accessible to treasure
hunters of all persuasions and budgets.
So, I left empty handed. Actually, the only things I brought back from Paris are 2 dreadful Eiffel Tower keychains, the bottle of red wine we didn't get around to drinking, a jar of Dijon mustard, and a box of Golden Grahams... yes, those Golden Grahams :) Labels: france, travel
