December 01, 2002
Le Marché aux Puces
At the end of line 4 to the northern end of Paris is the town of St. Ouen and the largest flea market in Europe.
It's perpetually running and a major destination for US antique dealers, gay couples, or late-middle-aged hetero couples.
You can find literally everything from Louis XIV furniture to 1960s butterfly hair clips, from US colonial woodwork to Henley-boat bookshelves, Napoleonic military uniforms (or lingerie), or early radios.
It's on the must-see in Paris list, though utterly peripheral to the center-city's many splendors. When you go, make sure to ignore all the stalls of ridiculous African knicknacks, sneakers and cell phone accessories. Head for the big covered buildings like Marché Dauphin on the other side of the highway from where you come out of the Metro.
Posted by amol at December 1, 2002 02:13 PM