Paris has to be my favourite city in the world. Lucky then that it's only 2 hours and 15 minutes away by Eurostar from London King Cross to Gare Du Nord. Even luckier that the largest antiques market in the world - Les Puces de Saint-Ouen (or Les Puces) - is there and is hence a favourite stomping ground of Canonbury Antiques. Now of course we're not going to let you in on all of our little secrets of our favourite suppliers and stalls - that would be giving the game away! But here's a little guide and pictoral essay into one of our favourite activities - rummaging in markets finding objets d'art to sell via our website.
Les Puces is at Porte de Clignancourt which is on Metro Line 4 and it is all very well signposted from the station. Opening hours are:
Saturday from 9h - 18h Sunday from 10h to 18h Monday from de 11h to 5h (please note that many stalls close around lunch time)
Weekends are definitely the best time to go as a lot of the dealers might not be open on Monday. It covers more than seven hectares and has over 150,000 visitors each weekend so it's the largest antiques flea market in the world. It's a great day out, particularly if interspersed with multiple cafe au laits and a leisurely lunch stop at one of the many restaurants dotted throughtout, one of our favourites is on Rue des Rosiers which is the main thorougfare from which the main markets offshoot from:
Marche Biron - 85 rue des Rosiers This is our favourite hunting ground and is mainly higher end stuff - bronzes, Sevres porcelain, antiques - French Empire furniture, Gilded Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture, Boulle style commodes, bureau plats, bombe commodes. There is a great bronze seller also with classic French pieces by Barye, Clodion, art deco bronzes by the likes of Chiparus and Leverrier, PJ Mene - but prices are higher for these original pieces, you might have to get your bargaining hat on. Many of the stores on March Biron are an Aladdin's cave of treasures you can really rummage in:
Marche Vernaisan - 99 rue des Rosiers More bric a brac, smaller units, vintage collectables throughout the winding alleyways and sidestreets. Antique toys, textiles, oil paintings, commodes, desks and smaller decorative pieces. Definitely good for furniture and smaller pieces.
Marche Dauphine - 140 rue des Rosiers Trendy and funky, interiors, rare vintage, books, vintage clothing, art, prints and decorative pieces. This is on the left side as you go down rue des Rosiers and is one of the newer markets. Marche Serpette -- 110 rue des Rosiers Objets d'exception - over 400 dealers and hence an enormous selection of mirrors, tables, sofas, smaller decorative pieces, porcelain, trinkets, bronzes, art nouveau.
Marche Paul Bert - 96 rue des Rosiers and 18 rue Paul Bert More modern, bric a brac, kitsch, 50s and 60s furniture, flea market kitsch, garden ware, architectural antiques, tables and chairs.
Photo Gallery Below: So if you are lucky enough to be in Paris at the weekend you must really must find your way to this flea market - it's such a fantastic day out. Please enjoy our photo gallery below of some of the sights of Les Puces.
Photo: Man smoking a pipe at March Biron. Nice bit of local colour, lovely Parisian scene. I love the fact that people still smoke easily without persecution and that the waiters in restaurants are not friendly.
Below: Bric a brac at March Paul Bert / Les Puces - it's not all high end antiques, there's also lots of smaller finds, trinkets, bric a brac so you can really do some deep digging:
Photo: Parisian Character at March Dauphine at Les Puces antiques market in Paris. It's a great place for people watching also, lots of local colour and characters - I didn't know they had cowboys in Paris? ..ooh la la...
Photo: March Dauphine on the left down Roue De Rossiers. Quite a lot of covered space here, great for architectural finds and antiques at March Dauphine:
Photo: Louis XV, French Empire, Commodes, Fauteils - period antiques on Marche Biron:
Photo: Larger architectural antique pieces on display at March Dauphine. Love the carved stone female statue
Photo: Quality look to this showroom on March Biron. Neo classical fauteils, ormolu chandeliers, antique commodes, and a smattering of lovely oil paintings.
Photo: Time to rest at Les Puces - can be quite an exhausting (but of fun) day out.. Nice oil painting spotted at March Dauphine..
We carry a large range of French furniture which can be found in various sections on our website - French desks, Boulle furniture, Sevres porcelain, bombe commodes - if you can't find the right piece here on this site let us know and we will do our best to source it for you.
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