Walk 15: Saint-Ouen's Labyrinth

When I think of a flea market, I think of tables of antiques in a crowded outdoor space. Mostly I imagine a few treasures amid mountains of junk. If you’re heading to Saint-Ouen’s, get this picture out of your head right away. Sure there’s a little cheapy market to fake out tourists, but keep going a little further (in an area that is more than a little creepy) until you hit a very average looking, rather ugly street with normal looking buildings. Turn left onto it, and you will have stumbled across the biggest flea market in the world.

It turns out that flea markets are actually indoors a lot of the time, since I hardly saw any merchandise out in the open air. Rebecca, Ariel, Hanna, and I went together (I’m guessing Ariel and Hanna’s respective bright blonde and very red hair made us a dead giveaway as tourists – oops), and we found out that individual mini mall-style markets line the streets. My favorite was probably Marché Dauphine was probably my favorite thanks to its collection of vintage books, art prints, and clothing – basically all of the antiques that could possibly tempt me.

The Marché Biron was also pretty incredibly, but definitely not because I was tempted to buy anything. This was not the market for a poor college student budget. Between the priceless works of art and Rococo (or as our very French art teacher would say, “Rocaille”) furniture, I was a little overwhelmed by the glamour. I did risk the wrath of a French shop owner, though, by petting her fluffy little dog. He seemed a little confused by my attention, actually, just like all the French babies I keep smiling at.

The rest of the walk is pretty much a blur of tiny spaces and cool trinkets. The only items that really caught my eye were a collection of copper cookware. Then I realized: how am I ever supposed to get pots and pans home with me? Crisis effectively averted.