You’ll come across flea markets and brocante fairs all over France. The French have all sorts of different brocante fairs: vide-greniers, dépôts-vente and braderies. Their brocante is our bric-a-brac and going to a flea market or brocante sale is part of a summer holiday. The only slight drawback? You’ll have to be pretty quick to pick up the kind of fabulous bargain you might have found in the past.

The French have discovered the attractions of those old tins, quaint farm implements and Art Nouveau china. Everything is here, including items you don’t even know exist. Browse stalls from antique and Art Deco to tin signs and breakfast bowls, from china to old books, jewellery to glassware.

But don’t worry; flea markets and brocante fairs are great fun and you can pick up the odd bargain. If you see something you fall in love with and it’s a bit more than you budgeted, well go for it anyway. You may never see such an item again.

Flea markets and brocante fairs are all-year round affairs but come high summer and they’re joined by vide-greniers (literally emptying the attics) when whole villages become one glorious rummage sale.

Paris Flea markets (Marchés aux Puces)

These Paris flea markets are world famous, and very crowded in high season (and pretty busy all year round). They take place at weekends, and the major ones are on the Boulevard Périphérique ring road. 

Saint Ouen

The big daddy of them all is Saint Ouen, better known as the Clignancourt Flea Market or Puces de Clignancourt. Founded in the 19^th century, it’s an enormous site. 14 distinct markets offer, well…everything from paintings and tapestries to antique musical instruments, from old photographs to vintage garments.
If you haven’t been there before, go to Rue des Rosiers where most of the markets are set up. Be prepared for crowds; this is the 4^th large tourist attraction in France.
It’s open Sat, Sun 9am-6pm; Mon 11am-5pm.
Metro: Porte de Clignancourt (ligne 4) / Garibaldi (ligne 13)

Puces de Vanves

Puces de Vanves is less famous and smaller, occupying two streets. It’s easier to navigate but if you want the best and the bargains get there early, around 7.30am. There are plenty of places to pick up a coffee and croissant. Around 350 stalls set up in Avenue Marc Sangnier and Ave Georges Lafenestre, Paris 14.
It’s open Sat and Sun 7am-2pm.
Metro: Ligne 13 to Porte de Vanves

Puces de Montreuil

Puces de Montreuil is more of a flea market where 500 stalls are piled high with a mixture of objects and quality. It’s not as popular with tourists as the other flea market, so you might be able to find a bargain. Alongside antiques are second-hand clothes, and designer copies, hardware and the odd gems like posters and prints.
It’s open Saturday to Monday 7am-7.30pm.
Metro: Ligne 9 to Porte de Montreuil

Vide-greniers

Many small towns and villages hold vide greniers in the summer. Some are good; some not so good. But they’re always fun. They’re usually a mix of locals emptying their attics or barns, and professional brocante dealers. It’s easy to tell which is which – the dealers have large vans, renovated furniture, better items and the best spots. Families often have children selling their toys and parents getting rid of well…pretty much everything.

I’ve found many bargains (or what I think are bargains) in my local vide grenier at Paulhaguet in the Auvergne: bistrot glasses, a whole slew of lovely mismatched plates and crockery, and old kitchen equipment that given a quick clean and polish now takes pride of place in my house.

A week or two before, you’ll come across hand made signs on the roads around the villages announcing their vide greniers, which often come with very local festivals, and the odd rustic dance and fireworks. Or go to the local tourist office which will have information on the sales in your area.

There’s also an excellent French vide-greniers website giving most of the sales by department so they are easy to find. It also gives local Christmas markets and special brocante fairs.

Dépot-ventes

The French flock to dépot-ventes, shops or warehouses where you can buy second-hand goods. They exist all over France; just look for the signs outside buildings. Many of them are commercial ventures, individually owned, but there are a couple of organizations that fall into the depot-ventes category with outlets throughout the country.

Emmaus

We came across an Emmaus store in Le Puy-en-Velay in the Auvergne but there are Emmaus outlets all over France.

The international Emmaus Movement was founded by L’Abbé Pierre (1912-2007), a French catholic priest who was a member of the Resistance in World War II then became a politician. Emmaus helps the poor, the homeless and refugees. The shops collect donations and then sort, sometimes repair/renovate the items and sell them on.

The shops are run by volunteers and can be pretty chaotic. They can yield the odd treasure, but can also be depressingly full of junk. You just have to take a chance. Having said that, I’ve bought collections of cutlery for a couple of euros, a collectable small Pernod jug, and a chair that may be full of woodworm but which is very beautiful.

You’ll need to check with the local tourist office for locations of the Emmaus shops. The website advises you in French about your local store, but it’s not an easy site to navigate.

Troc.com

This is another organization with depots all over France. Again, you take pot luck. You have to sort through an awful lot of stuff and they take new items from bankrupt shops or stock as well.

My latest haul included a wooden cradle with basket, a set of butchers’ hooks which double as coat hooks and a wooden spice rack. I rejected a rather battered wooden statue of Serge Gainsbourg in his early years looking pretty disheveled and have regretted it ever since.

Check the nearest troc.com at the local tourist office or search online for your nearest. Their website is more geared up to buying/selling on line and not very helpful.

Annual Brocante Fairs

Brocante fairs have become famous in France. The best known is the 36 hour market in Lille, but there are brocante fairs in Amiens and the rest of France as well. Check them out, with their dates, in the Best Brocante and Flea Market Fairs.

Looking for antiques in Normandy

Le Perche in lower Normandy is a lovely area and less well known to visitors. But if you’re an antiques lover you must visit the area. It’s full of brocante shops so there’s a good choice. You’ll have competition; it’s a favorite area for Parisians who are always on the lookout for chic old items.

A really useful source for antiques in Normandy and Pays de la Loire is this facebook group. Lots of information on where to buy, what people are stocking etc. It was started by Cider Barn Brocante in Le Housseau-Brétignolles in Mayenne. Read the story about the founder and her move to France and a new life here.

Bellême has good antique shops and also holds an antiques and brocante fair each weekend. Check the shops at the tourist office.
Mortagne-au-Perche and Nogent-le-Rotrou have a good selection of antique shops.

Take the D923 south west of Nogent-le-Rotrou for 6.5 kms/4.8 miles and you’ll come to La Brocante de Brigitte. It’s one of the roadside barns full of tempting items in the area.

If you’re doing a serious antique shopping expedition to Normandy, take the car! Check out how to get to Normandy here.
More about Normandy
As you travel around France you’ll come across many more flea markets and brocante fairs, not to mention local vide-greniers. Happy rummaging!

More Shopping in France

Here’s information on discount and outlet shopping, as well as annual sales in France.

Provence Food Markets are some of the best in the world

More things to do in France in the summer

Events in France in July
Events in France in August

The post Guide to Flea Markets and Brocante Fairs in France appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

The best Christmas markets in north France are just a short ferry ride across the English Channel, then there’s a great choice in the region from Lille down to Le Touquet. You can just do a short day trip to the nearest, but if it’s possible it’s much more fun to stay over. Take your car, visit any of the best Christmas markets in north France, eat a good meal and stay overnight. Then come home packed with goodies.  
Please Note: Hotel prices are from the low season, but that suits a Christmas Market trip!

Here you’ll find details on the markets, dates, how to get there and that all-important detail…where to stay.

Amiens in Picardy

Amiens has France’s largest Gothic cathedral. At Christmas it is transformed by its spectacular son-et-lumière show. It makes the perfect backdrop to the annual market.

Amiens’ Christmas market is big with over 130 chalets selling food, drink and gifts from all over France, but also from further afield and places like Canada and India. There are special Christmas-themed rides for children (don’t miss the train), and a Big Wheel for the older ones. It takes place in the center of the city in Place Gambetta and the surrounding streets.

Amiens Market Dates: Nov 21-Dec 30, 2025 from 10:30am (except Monday morning) to 7:30pm (9pm Fridays and Saturdays).

More about Amiens

How to get to Amiens from the UK

Where to Stay in Amiens

Hôtel Le Prieuré et La Résidence is a chic 3-star hotel in two different buildings. The main 3-star hotel is in a former residence of a canon of the cathedral. It’s right in the old centre of town, has a range of 12 beautifully decorated rooms from the saintly and traditional to the fu

0.nky and modern.
Rates: Double/twin room from €77. Breakfast €12.50.

The 5-star Hôtel Marotte is at the top end of the range, and well worth the money. Set in a Flemish-style former house, this boutique hotel is now an Art Deco lover’s dream. It’s right in the action, has a wine and Champagne bar and tea room, and a spa. There’s a separate modern extension with spectacular huge suites.  
Rates: Double/Twin from €295.

Arras

If you can, come when St Nicholas abseils down the belfry on 6 December. There are bands playing on Fridays.

Arras Christmas Market information

Arras Market Dates: Nov 28-Dec 30, 2025

More about Arras

How to get to Arras from the UK

Where to Stay in Arras

Check into what was once a 17^th-century Jesuit monastery. Gone is the austerity; in its place the Hôtel de l’Univers offers 38 large, prettily decorated rooms just a few minutes away from the main action. It has a restaurant, and is family friendly.
Rates:  Doubles inc breakfast from €102.

Béthune

Béthune is another one of those places that you normally pass by. But stop there and you’ll say ‘Wow; why haven’t I been here before?’ Most of the centre was destroyed in World War I. But standing in the square and looking at the 14^th-century belfry, still extraordinarily intact after surviving the destruction, you wouldn’t know. The pretty houses around the square are a wonderful mix of baroque, Art Deco and…’what period is that one’ style?

So a visit to the Christmas market is doubly worthwhile. Over 50 chalets sell all the goodies you could want; there’s a carousel, big Big Wheel, sparkly Christmas tree, childrens section, special train and large covered ice rink.

Béthune Market Dates: Nov 28-Dec 28, 2025

More about Béthune and its market

How to get to Béthune from the UK

Where to Stay in Béthune

Le Vieux Beffroi is simply decorated and good value. And it is just steps away from the main square. It has a restaurant and bar.
Rates: Double/Twin room from €67. Breakfast €9.90.

Boulogne-sur-Mer

The Christmas market might only be one weekend in December, but it’s such a great market and such a great city that I thoroughly recommend you go here for your Christmas shopping.

The market is held in the delightful vielle ville  (old town) which many visitors miss. Rue de Lille in full of chalets selling local delicacies (don’t miss the herrings!) and lovely gifts. There’s plenty of street theatre going on as well with elves cavorting (in the nicest possible way), and knights on wooden hobby horses entertaining you and the family. At the end of the rue de Lille stands the great, rather bombastic cathedral. The priest who had it built wanted something like St Peter’s in Rome; there’s nothing wrong with ambition.

Boulogne-sur-Mer Market Dates: Dec 12-14, 2025

More about Boulogne-sur-Mer

How to get to Boulogne-sur-Mer from the UK

Where to Stay in Boulogne-sur-Mer

To be near the market in the old town (and the château, museum, gardens, restaurants etc.,) and for a really interesting and pretty place to stay, try the upmarket L’Enclos de l’Evêché. The bed and breakfast has 3 bedrooms, all delightfully decorated in different styles. There’s a bar and a good breakfast.
Rates: Double/Twin rooms from €100 inc breakfast.

For a really great experience, check into the 4-star, 35-roomed La Matelote. It’s on the seafront and right opposite Nausicaá – the excellent Centre National de la Mer. Rooms are comfortable though some can be on the small side. For the best, book a room with a terrace looking out to sea. There’s a Michelin-starred restaurant with excellent set menus (very good indeed), and a spa with swimming pool. It’s family owned and it shows with the friendly welcome.
Rates: Double/Twin room from €134.

Calais

Calais enjoys Christmas and does it very well. The Christmas Village takes over the large Place d’Armes and from 25 November, there’s also a forest of Christmas trees and a Nativity Creche to see.

There’s a Christmas letterbox open from the start of December (and Santa will answer!). There are all the usual jolly stalls, plus a 1900s 2-tier carousel and a skating rink you can whizz around. There are plenty of carol concerts, late openings in the shops and special offers.

If you’re in Calais don’t miss the great Calais Dragon as he huffs and puffs his way around town. He can take up to 50 passengers and lives on the Calais seafront so you often see him as you come in by ferry.

Calais Christmas Market Dates: Nov 29, 2025-Jan 5, 2026

More in my Guide to Calais

More about Calais and the Christmas Market

How to get to Calais from the UK

Where to Stay in Calais

The 3-star Hôtel Meurice is one of Calais’ two rather splendid old-fashioned hotels. It’s next to the very good Fine Arts Museum, and has been welcoming guests (many of them British) since 1771. Its large rooms are pleasantly decorated; there’s a good restaurant and a bar which is distinctly British and club-like. It’s a 10-minute walk from the train station.
Rates: Double/Twin room from €79. Breakfast from €8.

Hôtel Métropole is another of those old-fashioned hotels that offer no surprises but comfort and good value. 40 rooms are well-sized; there’s a bar and the breakfast really satisfies. It’s a 5-6 minute walk from the train station and central Calais.
Rates: Double/Twin rooms from €79.

For a good, modern option go for the Ibis Styles Calais Centre. It’s in central rue Royale, has good, simply decorated rooms and a jolly breakfast area. It’s about 6 minutes from the train station and in the same street as one of my favourite Calais restaurants, Histoire Ancienne (at number 20). Children 15 and under stay free with an adult.
Rates: Double/Twin from €88, breakfast included.

Dunkirk

Dunkirk (Dunkerque) is a small town well worth visiting, quite apart from the World War II Operation Dynamo sites. Their Christmas market opens in Place de la République, Place Jean Bart, and Place Charles Valentin. 50 chalets with good gifts; a big wheel, a Christmas forest complete with elves of course, a free ice rink and a whole lot of extra events. Santa Claus arrives in style to be welcomed to his castle (the town hall) at 5.45pm on 6 December (TBC).

Dunkirk Christmas Market Dates: 2025 Dates to be confirmed. Nov 27-Dec 27,2024

More about Dunkirk

How to get to Dunkirk from the UK

Where to Stay in Dunkirk

Try the good value, simple All Suites Apart Hôtel by the water. There are useful kitchenettes and good sized rooms.  
Rates: Double/Twin from €72. Breakfast €12.50.

Licques

You may not have heard of Licques. But this small town just 21 kms south of Calais rates pretty highly in French folklore at Christmas. For one weekend in mid December the town offers a great regional Christmas food market. So far, so good. What makes Licques stand out is the Fête de la Dinde. The turkey festival sees a gaggle of well-fed birds running through the town herded on Sunday morning by the Confrerie de Licques, the local bigwigs. It’s a competition for the best bird, and boy is it competitive. You’re offered a glass of the local liqueur, Licquoise, and you can then choose which bird you’re going to buy for the Christmas meal. The weekend ends with a dinner dance.

Licques Market and Turkey Parade Dates: Probably Dec 10 to 12, 2024 (Turkey parade on Dec 12).

More about Licques from the nearby Tourist Office

How to get to Licques

Where to Stay in Licques

Base yourself in Calais

La Longère d’Ecottes is a pretty bed and breakfast in Licques. It’s a pretty house with a terrace and garden. But it is closed in winter, opening in April 2026.
Rates: Double/Twin room €90 including breakfast.

Lille

Lille is one of my favourite cities and I’m not alone. Its Christmas market in Place Rihour has around 90 wooden chalets selling gifts from around the world. There’s a big Big Wheel and a huge Christmas tree while festive lights twinkle all over Lille.

Lille Christmas Market Dates: Nov 19-Dec 30, 2025.

How to get to Lille from the UK

Where to Stay in Lille

The 3-star Hôtel de la Treille in the heart of old Lille was built in 1988 but is decorated in classic style. So you get modern comfort with old-fashioned elegance. It’s friendly and welcoming.
Rates: Double/Twin rooms from €125, breakfast €10 to €14 according to type of package.

Please note: The hotel operates a 2-night only booking basis at busy times of the year.

The Brueghel is a constant favourite. The hotel in a 19^th-century Flemish-style building is tucked away down a side street. Rooms are simply but well decorated with antiques throughout, and it’s just 200 metres from the Grand Place.
Rates: Double/Twin rooms from €134. Breakfast from €12. Breakfast is included in more expensive rooms.

Le Touquet Paris-Plage

Fashionable, stylish with a great history connected to Britain, Le Touquet Paris-Plage (to give it its formal name; most people just refer to Le Touquet), is a favourite seaside resort. Its a good place for presents and food. It takes place in the lovely covered market so you won’t have to worry about the weather.
There’s lots going on in Le Touquet, starting on the weekend of 25, 26 November with lights being turned on, a jazz band, fireworks and more. Father Christmas drives through the streets on certain days when you can give him your letters. Events, many at the weekends, continue to 1 January with a New Year swim. Here’s the programme.

Le Touquet Christmas Market Dates: Nov 28, 2025-Jan 4, 2026

More about the Christmas market in Le Touquet

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage renamed its airport in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. More on that here.

How to get to Le Touquet from the UK

Where to Stay in Le Touquet

The splendid L’Hôtel Barrière Le Westminster takes you back to a bygone, elegant age. It’s been recently refurbished and is very splendid indeed. Behind its Art Deco façade, you’ll find a Spa Nuxe, Michelin-starred restaurant, Art Deco brasserie and indoor pool.
Rates: Double/Twin rooms from €253.

Stay just outside the centre in the splendidly traditional golf hotel Le Manoir. It’s set in the leafy, forest-like part of Le Touquet, is very comfortable and near the excellent golf course. If you’re a golfer they have special packages.
Rates: Double/Twin rooms from €119.

Saint-Omer

Saint-Omer is a delightful town, known for its excellent food market. So this is a good place to visit at Christmas when the main square, Place Foch, gets covered in red carpet for the carousels, a big wheel and stalls selling mulled wine for parents. It’s a small market but particularly good for young children with special stalls like the one offering fishing for ducks. Find the artisan stalls on the smaller square, Place Victor Hugo.

Saint-Omer Christmas Market: Nov 28, 2025-Jan 1, 2026

Saint-Omer Tourist Office

How to Get to Saint-Omer

Where to Stay in Saint-Omer

L’Industrie has just 6 rooms, located above a well-known and popular restaurant in the centre of Saint-Omer.

Rates: Double/Twin Rooms from €80; Breakfast €13.50.

Ibis Saint-Omer is a good hotel with a popular restaurant; it’s part of the Mercure chain.

Rates: Double/Twin from €95.

So which are your best Christmas markets in north France? Please do send me your comments, so I can add your favorites.

Check out my article on the Best Christmas Markets throughout France from the North to Avignon.

Hauts-de-France region has wonderful food, so wonderful in fact that it was awarded the 2023 European Gastronomy Award.

Best Restaurants in north France (not always the most expensive!)

Here’s the story of food in Hauts-de-France.

And if it helps…here’s a bit more information

How the French celebrate Christmas

Festive Christmas Food in France

Events in France in November 2025

Events in France in December 2025

Food Festivals in France

French Public Holidays

More about getting to France from the UK

Most of the towns have cheap hotels. Check the budget hotel chain options.

The post Best Christmas Markets in North France in 2025 appeared first on Mary Anne's France.

Visiting the glorious Christmas markets in France is one of the great joys of the holidays, for both the French and for foreign visitors. These wonderful Christmas marchés de Noël fill cities, towns and villages throughout France from the end of November through December with some going on for a few days in January 2026.

Here’s my pick of some of the best Christmas markets in France. They run from Caen in Normandy to Avignon in the south. And in the east, the oldest Christmas market of all, in Strasbourg. If you know of a Christmas market you think I should include, please do tell me.

I have included times when I have them. Check with the local tourist office for more information. Christmas markets are closed on December 25 (except for Colmar and Toulouse); many finish early on Dec 24 and Dec 31. Some continue into the first few days of January 2026.

Here you’ll find the best Christmas markets in North France . The north France article also covers accommodation which I check regularly. So I hope you’ll find it useful. One of my favourites is in Amiens where France’s oldest Gothic cathedral provides the perfect backdrop.

North France

Normandy

Caen

Caen is a wonderful city to visit but it’s too often used only as a ferry entry port for holiday makers going south and visitors miss its glories. The Christmas market adds a great reason to visit Caen in the winter. Over 60 wooden chalets fill Place de la République and Boulevard Maréchal Leclerc, with the lit up château on the nearby hill providing the right backdrop. Traditional French items from nativity figurines to pain d’épices (gingerbread), and a grotto with Father Christmas. Eat good snacks, and take a glass of mulled wine (or Calvados – you’re in the heart of the area!)

On Saturday 6 December around 5.30 pm when it’s dark, the theatre company Les Quidams takes to the streets. The actors become ivory horses, prancing and dancing through the city centre with Santa Claus.

Caen Christmas Market Dates: Nov 29-Dec 28, 2025.
Closed Dec 25 and closes on Dec 24 and 31 at 4pm.
Caen Market Information

Rouen

The ancient city of Rouen and capital of Normandy always pulls out the stops. 82 wooden chalets sell all the great French goodies in the Place de la Cathédrale with the magnificent backdrop of the cathedral as an illuminated backdrop.

Skating rinks and Santa’s Grotto feature at Rouen Givré (Frosty Rouen). There’s plenty of street entertainment taking over the city’s historic streets (including of course the place where Joan of Arc was burnt at the stake).

Rouen Christmas Market: Nov 21, 2025-Jan 5, 2026
Open Mon 2-8pm; Tues-Thurs 11am-8pm; Fri 11am-9pm; Sat 10am-9pm; Sun 10am-8pm.

Rouen Tourist Office

Champagne

Reims

Christmas is the time for bubbly and Christmas so it’s appropriate that Reims, capital of Champagne, holds one of the biggest fairs in the region and it’s one of the best Christmas markets in France. It takes place at les promenades Jean Louis Schneiter, in front of the station and on the esplanades port de Mars. But you’ll also find a lot of smaller markets throughout the city offering gourmet experiences, children’s entertainment more. 150 chalets offer good quality gifts, glass, ceramics, food and wine.

Reims Christmas Market: Nov 26-December 28, 2025
Mon 2-8pm, Tues-Thurs 10.30am-8pm; Fri, Sat 10.30am-9pm; Sun 10.30am-8pm. Monday Dec 20 & 27 10.30am-8pm.

If you’re here visit one of the great Champagne houses in Reims.

And try to make the great Champagne and Christmas weekend in Epernay. I had a wonderful time at Les Habits de Lumière as the second city of Champagne lets its hair down in spectacular fashion. This year it’s Dec 12th to 14th.

Paris

You’ll find Christmas markets all over Paris. There are between 15 and 20 of them!

Paris Christmas Markets

Notre-Dame Cathedral Market

Nov 28-Dec 25, 2025
The Christmas market beside Notre-Dame promises an exciting mix of stalls selling arts and crafts and some very good gourmet delights. The great medieval cathedral of Paris re-opens on Dec 8, 2024 so time your visit later to see how far the restoration has got.
6 Parvis Notre-Dame
Pl. Jean-Paul II
Paris 1
Metro:  Hôtel de Ville

La Magie de Noël (Jardin de Tuileries)

Visit the Tuileries Christmas market just by the Louvre, where 100 or so stalls offer all the right treats. There’s a huge Big Wheel, plus carnival rides, an ice skating rink, and a Champagne bar if you’re fed up with mulled wine. It glitters and sparkles with all the magic of the season.
Nov 15, 2025-Jan 4, 2026

Jardin de Tuileries
Place de la Concorde
Paris 1
Metro: Tuileries or Concorde

East France

Alsace

Alsace first introduced Christmas markets into France from Germany so it’s a particularly rich region for the festive season.

Colmar

Colmar has 6 different markets in the old city. It’s mainly pedestrianised so you can stroll around them easily. 60 wooden huts in the Place des Domenicans sell decorations and gifts. In the Place Jeanne d’Arc you can stock up on local food and drink from cured meats to wines and eau-de-vie spirits. 50 more surround the Schwendi fountain by the canal. The indoor market in the medieval Koïfhus sells local artisans’ works. After you’ve bought to your heart’s content here, drop into the Decapole Hall for more in a museum setting.

A children’s market takes over Petite Venise where you can let the children loose on the merry-go-round before they post a letter to Father Christmas. Don’t miss the evenings when children sing carols from boats moored on the canal. There are skating rinks and many of the nearby shopsare open on Sundays during the Market.

Colmar really pushes the boat out with carol concerts and choirs all around the city as well as special events. The city describes itself as an ‘open-air theatre’ and for once, it’s true.

Colmar Christmas Market: Nov 25, 2025-Jan 4, 2026
Mon-Thurs 11am-7pm; Fri-Sun 10am-8pm. Dec 24: 10am-5pm; Dec 25, 26: 11am-7pm.

Metz

Metz is another of those fabulously popular and top Christmas market in France, rivalling Strasbourg. 5 different markets stretch out with over 120 chalets , from Place de la République with its huge lit up tree to the gourmet train in Place de la Comédie. Christmas tasting specialities are in Place Saint-Jacques; a big wheel in Place d’Armes that looks over the cathedral, and local arts and crafts in Place Saint Louis.

Metz Christmas Market Nov 24-Dec 30, 2024  
Place Saint Louis/Saint-Jacques/d’Armes/la Republique
Sun to Thurs 11am-9pm; Fri, Sat 11am-10pm.

Place de la Comédie Sun to Thurs 5pm-11pm, Fri, Sat 11am-11pm. 

Mulhouse

Make your way to the Place de la Réunion in the old city centre overlooked by the lovely city hall. Here you find around 90 wooden chalets, all decorated in a special fabric designed each year. It’s an appropriate thing to do; the Museum of Printed Textiles has the largest collection of textile images in the world. The textile industry, which enriched the city from the 18th century, began in 1746.

Again the city has special markets and events like the opening of the Advent calendar on December 1, concerts of Christmas music and bric-a-brac days.

Mulhouse Christmas Market: Nov 21 to Dec 27, 2025
Sun-Thurs 11am-8pm; Fri 11am-9pm; Sat 10am-9pm. Dec 24, 27 10am-6pm; Dec 26 noon-8pm.

Strasbourg

It all began, so the story goes, in Strasbourg in 1570. Today, the biggest city in Alsace welcomes around 2 million visitors to its Christkindelsmärik.

300 stands spread out from Place Broglie and Cathedral Square to other parts of the city. The highest Christmas tree in Europe occupies Place Kleber with a further two trees erected in Place des Hall, lighting up daily at 5pm. Over 300 stalls fill the streets with all sorts of goodies.

This is one of the great European Christmas markets and the city responds with a spectacular light display. Walk through the illuminated entrances on either end of the Grand rue. The rue des Tonneliers is appropriately decorated with 22 twinkling barrels. You can skate outside the cathedral and follow the Nativity Trail from the Bishop’s place in Rue Brulée, in windows of shops along Rue des Juifs, and the Place du Chateau. 

Strasbourg Christmas Market: Nov 26 to Dec 24, 2025

Franche-Comté

Montbéliard

Les lumières de Noël transform this delightful town into a glittering Christmas event. 180 stalls cluster around Saint Paul and the surrounding streets, selling high quality artisan good and gifts. There are exhibitions, concerts and street spectacles. For something different the good fairy Aunt Airie accompanies Father Christmas.

Montbéliard Christmas Market: Nov 22-Dec 24, 2025
Mon 2-8pm; Tues-Sat 10.30am-8pm; Fri 10.30am-9pm; Sat 1-am-9pm; Sun 10am-9pm except Dec 24 when it closes at 6pm.

South of France

Avignon

The Cour Jean Jaurès has 20 wooden chalets selling food and drink from the region and beyond. Stock up on chocolates, truffles, sausages, olives and more either here and in the Place de l’Horloge.

Or take home designer items like olive wood spoons and boards, jewellery and textiles, particularly Provençal fabrics. You won’t have to go far to find santons, little painted terracotta nativity figures. The best artisan ones are expensive, but will last a lifetime.

The town hall has an astonishing nativity scene. You’ll find jazz, concerts, exhibitions and more at the various museums and attractions throughout the city.

Midnight Masses and Nativity celebrations take place on Dec 24th and 25th.

Avignon Christmas Market: Nov 28-Dec 28, 2025
Daily 10am-7pm

Toulouse

Held in December in the centre of this lovely pink city, the market has a bit of everything from gourmet region food specialties (of course) to local artisans’ stalls. Over 100 stalls are in the spacious Place du Capitol square.

Toulouse Christmas Market: Nov 27-Dec 28, 2025
Sun-Thurs 10.30am-8.30pm; Fri, Sat 10.30am-10pm; Dec 24 10.30am-7pm; 25 2-8.30pm; 26 10.30am-7pm

French Atlantic Coast

Bordeaux

If you’re on the French Atlantic coast, the Bordeaux Christmas market is a definite must. Over 150 stalls sell great gifts, food and of course mulled wine. It mostly takes place in the Allées de Tournay but there’s also the Darwin Christmas Market which features socially and environmentally conscious artisans environmentally-conscious artisans there. This year try the new organic chocolate stand where they make and sell chocolate. The boat has its floating Christmas market; there are great light shows, a Christmas circus, concerts by candlelight and more.

Bordeaux Christmas Market: Nov 28-Dec 28, 2025
Daily 11am-9pm

Guide to Glorious Bordeaux
And while you’re there, don’t miss the Cité du Vin

If you’re in the Loire Valley or Paris, visit one of the châteaux that dress themselves up so beautifully over the Christmas holidays. A Christmas Châteaux.

And if it helps…here’s a bit more information

The best Christmas Markets in north France

How the French celebrate Christmas

Festive Christmas Food in France

Events in France in November 2025

Events in France in December 2025

Food Festivals in France

French Public Holidays

More Practical Information

More about Getting to France from the UK

Most of the towns have cheap hotels. Check the budget hotel chain options.

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The best brocante and flea markets in France offer some real bargains (and a great day out as well). They’re very popular with the French so there’s hefty competition for those bargains. Visiting one of the most popular and well-known markets requires some canny forward planning. Savvy visitors book hotels in advance, arrive with an empty car and leave triumphantly overladen.

Best Brocante and Flea Market Fairs in North France

North France is a particularly good hunting ground for brocante and flea market fairs which is good news if you’re in the UK and can get over the Channel easily. Many of the towns have two fairs a year – in Spring and Autumn. Here’s how to get to France by ferry.

Apr 19, 2026: La Grande Réderie d’Amiens, Picardy, Hauts-de-France. This is north France’s second largest fair with around 2,000 exhibitors and over 80,000 visitors coming to snatch up bargains. It started in 1909 and is always held on the second last Sunday in April and the first Sunday in October. It takes over 51 streets in the town and starts around 2am when the real bargain hunters turn up. 
If you’re driving there,  leave your car at the Parking du Coliseum in the centre of Parking du Port d’Aval around a 5-minute walk from the market.

Jun 21, 2026: Brocante de Maroilles. Maroilles, Nord, Hauts-de-France is known more for its smelly cheese than its brocante and flea market, but do try to come to this one. Over 600 stalls attract nearly 80,000 visitors who come for good antiques and bric-a-brac. There’s also a Salon Artisanale for local crafts over the weekend, and a lot of street entertainment.

July 14, 2026: Montreuil-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais, Hauts-de-France. Charming  Montreuil-sur-Mer adds to the celebrations on Bastille Day with its annual brocante fair. It’s a small affair compared to its big brothers, but there’s still plenty to buy here from the approximately 500 stall holders who fill the streets, and with fewer crowds it’s less manic. Then there’s plenty to see at around 10.30pm, as fireworks shoot off into the sky from the Citadel.

Sep 5-76 2026: La Grand Braderie de Lille, Lille, Nord, Hauts-de-France. This is north France’s largest fair with over 10,000 exhibitors displaying pretty well everything you could imagine and a whole lot more. It opens at 8am on Saturday and goes on all night then finishes at 6pm on Sunday. There’s a great tradition in Lille: during the fair people eat moules frites then pile up the shells outside the restaurant. It’s a local, unofficial competition to see which restaurant has the largest pile. 
If you’re staying at a hotel inside the central area, take note: you cannot move your car between 7pm on Friday and 6am on Monday.
Official parking arrangements

Best Brocante and Flea Market Fairs in the rest of France

Central France

Chatou, Yveline, Île-de-France
Mar 13-22, 2026: Foire de Chatou.  Originating from a centuries-old Ham Fair, it then became the Foire à la Brocante et aux Jambons (Flea Market and Hams Fair) in 1840. It still features food (and pork and ham) as well as oysters and wine but its main purpose is antiques, offered by over 700 dealers to 35,000 visitors. It’s one of the biggest, and most popular, antique fairs in France. It’s on the Ile des Impressionnistes, north east of Paris
Entrance €10 (free for under 15 years).

Houilles, Yveline, Île-de-France
Oct 4, 2026: La Braderie de Houilles is a major event, hosting around 2000 exhibitors and 300,000 visitors over 6 miles of stalls. Brocante items and a lot of ordinary household items from old kitchen appliances to toys.
Free entry; 7am-6pm.

Durtal,  Maine-et-Loire, Anjou
Sep 27, 2026: Brocante de Durtal is held around the château. The large outdoor fair has around 450 sellers offering everything old and antique to 20,000 or so enthusiasts. 
Free entry; 7am-7pm.

West France

Nantes, Loire Atlantique, Pays de la Loire
End of September/Early October 2026: Antique shops line rue Jean-Jaurès and there’s a great brocante market every Saturday in Nantes, but the annual October market is something else. The Grande Brocante de la Place Viarme in Nantes attracts over 160 dealers selling everything, but being Nantes on the Atlantic coast, look out for nautical items and Quimper ceramics among the furniture, textiles, glasses and more.
Place Viarme; 9am-7pm
The date is not yet fixed for the annual big event.

Bordeaux, Gironde, Nouvelle-Aquitaine
Apr 24-May 10, 2026: Foire à la Brocantes de Quinconces  is the oldest flea market and antiques fair in the region. Over 200 exhibitors and 180,000 visitors flock to the centre of the gorgeous city of Bordeaux for the fair which offers everything from top to bottom, plus 8 places to eat. 
Free entry; 10am-7pm. Tramway B and C to Quinconces stop.
Guide to Glorious Bordeaux

South of France

L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Vaucluse, PACA
Apr 2-6, 2026: La Foire internationale Antiquités & Brocante is probably the best known (and the best organised) in France, welcoming bargain hunters from all over the world. The 3rd largest market in Europe has 200 exhibitors exhibiting in Gautier Park, on the quays of the Sorgue river. There are experts on hand to authenticate (or not) what you might be about to spend hundred, possibly thousands, or more likely 20 or 30 euros on. The stalls augment the 300 permanent antiques and second-hand shops set up in the town. Check out the Village des Antiquaires de la Gare, a former watermill now housing over 100 permanent dealers.

Pézenas, Herault, Occitanie
May 3, 2026: The two fairs called the Grand Déballage (Great Unpacking) take place on the first Sunday of May and the second Sunday of October each year in the town with around 100 antique and brocante shops. The fairs attract over 200 dealers who arrive with everything from pictures to glassware, old linen to African art. 
Free; 8am-6pm.

Jul 19, 2026: Les Puces Ligneronnaises in Saint-Christophe-du-Ligneron takes place each third Sunday in July. The largest flea market in the Vendée sees around 250 exhibitors selling all kinds of antiques and bric-a-brac. The event Arts & Saveurs takes over the second Sunday in August, combining crafts with food products.

Toulouse – Not to be missed

Every First Weekend of the Month: From Friday to Sunday, La Brocante des Allées flea market sets up in Toulouse, in Allée Forain-Francois Verdier. Browse from around 100 professional stallholders, antique and second-hand dealers for an inspiring mix. A knowledgeable reader alerted me to this one. But if you’re in Toulouse, well worth a quick look.

More about Bargain Buying in France

Other rather grander antique and brocante fairs take place all over France throughout the year. Many of them are in the main exhibition centres of the towns and cities. One of the best is in Rouen which takes place in January and October each year. 1

Jan 16-18, 2026: Puces Rouennaises takes place in the Parc des Exposition in Rouen; entrance is €6.80 and it lasts 3 days.

Such markets around France usually have experts on hand to check authenticity. They aren’t quite as much fun as the open-air markets with their bustle and camaraderie, but they do attract genuine collectors as well as antique dealers with their own shops.

Shopping for Antiques…and Bargains

Flea Markets and Bargain Shopping in France
Discount, Outlet Shopping and Sales in France
Check out the Top Markets in Provence

Geography of France

Regions of France
The Departments of France

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Wine Allowances into the UK

The rules on bringing alcohol into the UK from the EU are as follows. Each person can bring in 18 litres (24 bottles) of (still) wine; 42 litres of beer, 4 litres of spirits and liquors over 22% alcohol; 9 litres of sparkling wine, fortified wine (e.g. port, sherry).  You can split this last allowance, for example you could bring 4.5 litres of fortified wine and 2 litres of spirits (both half of your allowance).

Check the UK Government website here.

So it makes sense (now the booze cruise with unlimited alcohol is deal) to go for classier wines particularly when you can reclaim VAT. Two top wine shops in Calais have adopted an easy system to reclaim VAT on alcohol. For details see below.

Calais Vins

Of all the Calais wine shops, my preferred one is Calais Vins. Run by the knowledgeable Jérôme Pont, it’s always been popular with Brits. The staff speak English (pre- Brexit 20% of their customers were British), and are extremely helpful when it comes to tasting and choosing. Calais Vins also stocks a very good range of beers and sparkling wines at prices from the extremely modest to the skies. They stock those coveted appellations of Fleurie, Médoc, Nuits-Saint-Georges, Meursault, Chinon, Chablis, Pomerol and more. They also offer rare bottles from estates like Whispering Angel, Guigal, Jaboulet, Louis Latour, Joseph Drouhin, Grand Crus Chateau Talbot, Mouton Rothschild, Lafite Rothschild, Domaine Trapet, Marcel Deiss and more. They also source many unusual small owner-run vineyards here.

There’s a Philippe Olivier cheese shop just outside for top French cheeses and a good bakery and snack bar.
Mon-Sat 9am-7pm; Sun and French bank holidays 9.30am-6pm.
Zone Curie, Rue Gutenbert. Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 46 40 40
Website
Open Mon-Sat 9am-7pm. Sun and French public holidays 10am-6pm. Easy and free parking in front of the shop.
Calais Vins is located just off the A16 motorway, exit at junction 44 to Calais St Pierre. A few minutes’ drive from the port of Calais and the Eurotunnel terminal.

Olivier Vins et Compagnie

Previously known as Franglais, Olivier Vins et Compagnie is run by Olivier Vermisse and has an impressive range of wines, sparkling wines and beers.
CD215, 62185 Fréthun. Tel: 00 33 (0)3 21 85 29 39
Website
Open Mon-Sat 9am-6pm Sun & French public holidays 10am-1pm. easy and free parking in front of the shop.
Olivier Vins is located off the A16 motorway, exit at junction 40 to Gare TGV. A few minutes’ drive from the Eurotunnel terminal and the port of Calais.

How to Claim Back VAT

They use two companies: Global Blue and Skiptax. So choose one of these and you should get your refund within 48 hours.

Global Blue: Collect your Tax Free Form from the store. Scan the bar code on the form at the kiosks located at the PABLO terminal in the Calais ferry port which is located in the main building after the customs. Or in the passenger building for Eurotunnel.

Skiptax: Download the free app and scan your passport. Shop and then scan your receipt. Scan the bar code generated by Skiptax at the departure terminal.

More about Calais

Guide to Calais – A Fabulous City
And whatever you do, don’t miss the Calais Dragon and his family!

Fast Facts

In Pas de Calais Department (62)
Hauts de France Region
38 km (24 miles) from the English Coast
Ferries to France

Tourist Office
12 Boulevard Clemenceau. Tel: +33 (0)321 96 62 40

Pas de Calais Department website

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A felted-beaver bicorne hat belonging to Napoleon will be auctioned on October 27 in London. At the moment the hat is on display in Bonhams’ Hong Kong showrooms. It comes to Bonhams in Paris then to London so potential buyers will have plenty of chances to view it.

It’s the second of two auctions of artefacts associated with Napoleon. On September 23, one of Napoleon’s hats was sold for €1.2 million/$1.4 million at Sotheby’s.  It was worn by the Emperor onJuly 7, 1807, during a meeting with Russia’s Alexander I to sign the Treaty of Tislit.

How do we know this second hat for sale was Napoleon’s?

The current owner bought the hat at a small provincial German auction house. He became intrigued about its origin when he found an inscription inside the hat. He sent it to the Musée de l’Armée at Les Invalides in Paris who confirmed that it was the right size for the Emperor’s head and the right age. They also pointed out that someone had cut out the hat’s leather sweatband – something that Napoleon always had done to his hats.

But this was the clincher: two hairs found inside the hat were tested for Napoleon’s DNA and were a match.

Napoleon’s hats

Napoleon’s hats are known as bicornes after the two points. He wore his chapeau française sideways rather than with the points at the front and back or at an angle so he could be recognized on the battlefield.

The hat is the classic image associated with Napoleon. He kept his deliberately simple unlike the bicornes of his generals (and of Wellington’s) which sprouted ostrich feathers, gold and silver lacework.

19 of Napoleon’s hats are believed to be still in existence, most of them in museums. He was a prodigious user of hats – apparently he wore around 120 of these throughout his life. Most of the ones that have found their way into museums and private collections came from noble families connected to the emperor, or by soldiers who picked them up on the battleground. Such souvenirs would always be worth selling.

Napoleon normally had 12 hats in service, each lasting him 3 years. He got through around four a year, using them after valets had worn them in, softening the hard fabric. They were mainly made by the Paris hat makers Poupart & Co. based in the Palais-Royal.

And the price of Napoleon’s hat?

Bonhams are being conservative in their estimate (€120,000 – €180,000/$140,000 – $210.000/£100,000 – £150,000) when considering the prices Napoleon’s hats have reached in the past.

First of all, there’s the latest Sotheby’s sale when that particular hat (without the dna hair confirmation) fetched €1.2 million/$1.4 million.

In 2018 a military hat of Napoleon, believed to have been picked up by a Dutch captain from the Waterloo battlefield, was sold at auction for €280,000 (£245,000/$325,000). The estimate was less than €40,000.

And one sold in 2014, believed to have worn by Napoleon during the Battle of Marengo in 1800 and originally in the Monaco royal family collection sold for €1.9million.

Prices vary wildly according to who wants a hat that badly.

So this is the story of what might become the most expensive hat in history. We will have to wait for October 27th to see who pays what for Napoleon’s hat.

For a long piece on Napoleon’s hat, read the catalogue on Bonhams’ website covering their important October French auction: Napoleon The British Sale.

Guide to Napoleon’s France

Feature Image: Bonhams

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Shopping locally is one of the great pleasures of a French holiday and Provence has some of the best markets in the whole country.

Here’s my guide to the major markets in Provence, from fish to fresh flowers, from brocante and flea markets to antiques. You’ll discover more in or near where you’re staying (visit the local tourist office for detailed information).

Helpful Tips

Most markets are in the morning, starting at 7 or 8am and going on until 1pm when the traders pack away their stalls. You’ll find some markets (particularly antiques, bric-a-brac, books etc.) continue into the afternoon. And in summer many towns have an evening market. If there are no hours indicated, then they are 8am to 1pm.

If you don’t know where the market is, ask anybody for le marché (le mar-shay).

By law, price tags must state the origin of all produce. ‘Du pays’ means local, so look out for those products.

What to shop for in the markets of Provence

Lavender and Provence go hand in hand and you’ll find it everywhere in the local markets in all kinds of products. Who hasn’t bought those famous lavender bags to take home?

Marseille soap is world renowned. Check out all the different sizes, colours and perfumes.

Traditional crafts are found in all the main markets. In the run up to Christmas, look for little pottery santons (Christmas crèche figures).

Buy lengths of those famous Provençal textiles. Or find readymade tablecloths, napkins and bags (even Princess Diana had one). One of the best known names is Souleiado which also does mail order.

Food is the main reason most people shop in Provence markets. Fresh fruit and vegetables are piled high on the stalls; breads of every kind are on offer; herbs are tied into little bundles. Follow your nose to the cheese vans. Buy everything for a picnic, or if you’re in a self-catering apartment, shop for the ingredients for your meals.

Olive oil comes in pretty bottles or economically sensible litre cans (which you can use as vases or plant pots after the olive oil has been used up). If you’re in Provence make sure you visit one of the mills to see how this precious commodity is made.

Top Markets in Provence

Provence markets in Bouches-du-Rhône 

Aix-en-Provence

The main markets are in the old town where they fill the streets. Peak days like many of the Provence markets are Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Food Market: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday on Place des Prêcheurs for top food and fish. Daily on Place Richelme.

Flower market: Daily on Place de la Mairie.

Antiques and Flea market: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday on Cours Mirabeau.

Clothing market: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday on Cours Mirabeau for good fashion and textiles.

Arles

The Roman town of Arles has good, large markets which have been going since King Henri III granted permission in 1584. He allowed everything from the Orient, Arabia, Assyria and Arles. Today there are around 300 stalls on Wednesday and 450 on Saturday.

General market with everything from food to clothes, textiles and crafts: Wednesday on Boulevard Émile-Combes. Saturday on Les boulevards des Lices, Georges-Clemenceau and Émile-Combes.

Brocante market: 1^st and 3^rd Wednesday of each month, 8am-5.30pm on the Boulevard des Lices.

Local farmers market: May to October on Place Voltaire from 5pm to 8pm.

Marseille

As befits the major city of Marseille, there are markets aplenty. And for that whiff of authenticity, start off at the fish market.

Fish market (Le Marché de la Criée): Daily on the Old Port.

Food market: Known as La Canebière or Noailles, this is the place for exotic fruits and vegetables, spices and herbs with many stalls run by the local African and Asian community. It’s busy, noisy and colourful. Monday to Saturday 8am-7pm.

General market: Le Marché du Prado has everything from food to clothes, toys to books. It’s one of the biggest in France. Between Places Castellane and Périer. Monday to Saturday.

General Market: Le Marché de Castellane has much the same and is an extension of the Prado. Monday to Saturday.

Local product market: Wednesday at Le Cours Julien
Sunday: Stamp market
2^nd Saturday of the month: Second-hand book market
3^rd Sunday of the month: Brocante market.

Artisan and Bio market: Good market with local produce. Tuesday and Saturday in Place Léon Blum.

Flea market: Best known in Marseille and the surrounding the area and full of delightful surprises of just about everything. It’s more than a market with a covered area as well as outside stalls. Covered market is open daily except Monday 8.30am-7.30pm. The flea market is open Saturday and Sunday 7.30am-2pm.

Also look out for the Christmas santons market. It’s been selling those pottery nativity figures since 1803.

Provence markets in the Vaucluse

Avignon

The beautiful city of Avignon with its spectacular Pope’s Palace is the gateway to Provence. So expect top quality fruit and vegetables in its Provence markets.

Food market: Avignon’s covered market has around 40 stall holders selling meat, herbs, spices and more. Les Halles covered market is at Place Pie. Open daily except Monday 6am-2pm. Every Saturday there’s a free cookery demonstration by a local chef.

General market: Thursday on Place Charles David.

Local farmers market: Monday April 4 to September 26, 2021 from 4pm to 7pm on the Allées de l’Oulle.

Brocante market: Sunday morning on Place des Carmes.

Carpentras

The delightful market town has one of the largest markets in France.

Food market: Daily except Mondays at the Marché gare.
Food market: Friday in rue de Carpentras.

Puces-Brocante (flea market): Sunday in Parking des Platanes (Av. Jean-Jaurès). Good market, step above a vide grenier but not quite a brocante! 10am-4pm.

Truffle market: The truffle market runs from November to March on Fridays on pl. Aristide Briand, 8am to noon. There’s also a summer truffle market.

L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is best known as France’s most prestigious antiques town. It’s to antiques what Hay-on-Wye in England is to books. But they also have to eat so check out the excellent markets.

Regional produce market: Thursday mornings from 9am to 12.30pm around the church.

Provençal market: Sunday 8am to 2pm throughout the city and along the river.

Floating market: 1^st Sunday of August when boats go between the banks, selling food, wine and more.

Brocante market: Sunday 8am to 6pm along the Avenue 4 Hostages.

There are also two famous weekend markets, over the Easter weekend, and in mid-August.

Vaison-la-Romaine

This former important Roman town has four main markets.

General market: Daily from 7am to 3pm in the centre of town.

General market: Saturday Place François Cevert.

Summer market: Thursday in Place François Cevert.

Provençal market: Tuesday combining local farmers’ produce alongside furniture and Provence items such as linen, oils, soaps, fabrics and more.

Provence markets in the Luberon

Apt

General market: Apt has the largest market in the Luberon. It’s only on a Saturday morning but has everything you could possibly want, and a few things you didn’t even know about. Comprehensive selection of fruit, vegetables, food and flowers. It’s all around the place de la Bouquerie and into the neigbouring street up to le cours Lauze de Perret.

Farmers market: Tuesday evening, April to December as a farmer’s market every Tuesday evening, from April to December, in the Cours Lauze de Perret.

Ceramics market: Mid August for an excellent selection of local pottery.

Provence markets in the Var

Aups

This pretty small village near the Verdon gorges comes alive on market days.

General market: Wednesdays and Saturdays with its markets held under the plane trees in Place de la Mairie.

The winter black truffle market is one of the biggest in France. Held from end of November to beginning of March every Thursday 9.30am-noon. Find out more about truffles at the Maison de la Truffe.

Salernes

General market: Sunday and Wednesday in the main square. It’s not as extensive as some of the others, but Salernes is known for its tiles and pottery so visit some of the manufacturers here. There’s also an excellent museum, Terra Rossa that is a must for all ceramic enthusiasts.

Sanary-sur-Mer

Sanary-sur-mer has some of the prettiest markets in France.

Daily markets including the fish market but the biggest is the Wednesday morning general market. Over 300 stalls under the plane trees in the alle d’Estienne d’Orves and down in the port on the quai Charles de Gaulle.

Saint-Tropez

There’s plenty going on in the markets in St Trop as you’d expect from this lively, chic resort.

General market: Huge range of food plus fashion at this popular market. Tuesday and Saturday. Place des Lices.

La Grande Braderie de Saint Tropez. In late October many of the boutiques take their clothes out onto racks in the streets and sell them off at bargain prices. Friday 29 October to Monday 1 November 2021 from 9am to 7pm.

Summer & Night Markets – Marche Nocturne: During the holiday season the night markets take over the street in the towns around St Tropez. In July and August look out for Ramatuelle Night Market, La Faviere Night Market in Bormes-les-Mimosas and La Croix-Valmer Night Market. They are open from 5pm to 7pm to midnight.

Toulon

Toulon isn’t the most popular town in the Var for tourists but on market days the streets fill up with stalls and people.

Fruit, vegetables and textiles: daily except Mondays at Cours Lafayette, Rue Paul Lendrin, Place Louis Blanc, Rue de Lorgues and Place Paul Comte.

Local farmers’ market: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday on Rue Paul Lendrin

Mourillon market for fruit & veg, fish, local cheeses and textile. Daily except Monday: Place Emile Claude & Place Monseigneur Deydier

General market: Daily except Monday in the Place Martin Bidouré

Provence markets in the Alpes-Maritimes

Antibes

You can’t miss the historic covered market that fills the Cours Masséna down by the port.

Food market: Here you’ll find everything you could want. The stalls running around the two outer sides are for professional growers and traders. People with smallholdings and large gardens occupy the stalls running down the middle. Daily June 1 to Sep 1. Other months daily except Mondays.

Craft market: This market takes over the Cours Masséna in the afternoons from 3pm after the food and vegetable market is cleared away.
Mid-June to end of September Tuesday to Sunday. October to mid-June: Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

Clothing market: This is worth a browse; you’ll find some pretty ordinary items but there are good stalls with good clothes to seek out.
Tuesday, Saturday: Place Amiral Barnaud
Thursday:  Boulevard Albert 1er and Place Amiral Barnaud.

Brocante market: The second-hand market often has some very good buys, though you’ll have to search for the bargains. Antiques, china, glass, books, posters, post cards, jewellery and more.
Thursday, Saturday: Place Audiberti. Saturday: Place De Gaulle and Boulevard d’Aguillon. 

Cannes

There are plenty of interesting markets in Cannes which is something of a shopping destination.

Covered markets: There are three main covered markets in Cannes:
Forville (rue Gazagnaire close to the bus station): Flowers, fruit and veg, plus small shops for household goods. Open daily except Mondays.
Gambetta (place Gambetta): Fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese etc. plus clothes, shoes, jewellery and leather goods.
La Bocca (on bus lines 1, 2 and 20): General food market daily except Monday. Saturday’s market which is huge covering all foods, plus clothes etc. closes at 12.30pm.

Antiques and brocante market: Mondays at Forville 8am-6pm and La Bocca Thursdays 8am-12.30pm.

Nice

Nice really is a draw for market lovers. The best known and most popular is in the Cours Saleya in the Old Town designated a ‘Special Market’ by the National Council for the Culinary Arts.

Cours Saleya fruit and vegetable market. Daily except Mondays, from 6am to 1.30pm.
Running right next to the fruit and vegetables is the flower market, held every day except Mondays and Sunday afternoons from 6am to 5.30pm.

The Brocante market takes over the Cours Saleya when the produce market is closed. Find those second-hand bargains every Monday from 7.30am to 6pm.  If you miss that, try the place Garibaldi on the third Saturday of every month from 7am to 6pm.

Evening Craft market: Art, ceramics and jewellery from local crafts people. Mid May to mid September daily except Monday 6pm to midnight.

Fish Market: With a good variety of fish it’s on Place Jacques Toja daily except Monday from 6am to 1pm.  

At the Place du Palais de Justice:
Old, rare edition and used books: 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month
Artistic and craft products: The 2nd Saturday of the month
Post cards, old discs and newspapers: 4th Saturday of the month.

Winter hours for all these markets: 7am-5pm; Summer hours 7am-7pm.

More about shopping in France

Flea Markets and Brocante shopping in France
Discount, Malls and Sales shopping in France

More about Food in France

Regional French Food
Discover the top Food Festivals in France throughout the year
Read more about Food in Burgundy
Read more about the Food of Provence
French Christmas Food

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There are a lot of discount and outlet shops in France and they’re easy to find. Discount outlets and malls are a growing business and you’ll find them all over the country.  

The two main players in France are Marques Avenue and McArthur Glen.

Marques Avenue shops stock mid-priced, mid-range high street names, both national and international. Marques Avenue has 7 outlets in France. Names range from adidas, Benetton and Carroll to Descamps, Geox, Pierre Cardin and Zadig & Voltaire. The main website gives you all the labels they stock, though the locations vary in size so you will need to go to the links to the different Marques Avenue locations if you’re looking for a specific label.

McArthur Glen is one of the big global players, stocking the same names as Marques Avenue but also a few high end French and international designer names such as Polo Ralph Lauren. McArthur Glen offers a better experience with more sophisticated shops, restaurants and a nicer atmosphere.

McArthur Glen has outlets in Roubaix, Troyes in Champagne, and in Provence outside Marseille. A new centre is currently being built in Normandy near Giverny and is due to open in 2021.

More discount and outlet shopping near the main malls

You’ll find other individual factory stores near these two main outlets. So it’s worth doing some research before you visit. It’s a good idea to work out how much time you’ll need going from discount mall to outlet/factory store in the same location.

To discover those extra nearby discount and outlet shopping stores, enlarge the map above. You’ll see what’s on offer, addresses and more details.

The numbers in brackets after the locations below refer to the department number.

Discount and Outlet Shopping near Paris

Just 35 minutes from central Paris and five minutes from Disney parks, La Vallée Village at Marne-la-Vallée (93), open daily from 10am to 8.30pm, has top luxury names, both French and international. You’ll find chains like Zadig & Voltaire as well as Paul Smith, Max Mara, Ferragamo, Sandro and a whole host of others. Plus all accessories.  It’s part of the Bicester Village company in the UK.
How to get to La Vallée Village from central Paris
By bus: Book with the Shopping Express leaving from the Place des Pyramides twice a day.
By train: Take the RER train (line A) from Gare Montparnasse to Val d’Europe station

L’Ile Saint Denis, Ile de France (75)
Marques Avenue: This is one of the easiest to get to from central Paris and is large. It’s open Monday to Friday 10am to 7pm, Saturday from 10am to 8pm. You can get there by Metro Line 13 and a bus.

Aubergenville, Yvelines (78), north west of Paris
Marques Avenue. To get there it’s around 42 kms/26 miles by car taking around 55 minutes and 37 minutes by train from Gare d’Austerlitz with one simple change. Check out Google maps here.

Corbeil-Essones is a southern suburb of Paris in Ile de France (75).
Marques Avenue. It’s around 42 kms/26 miles by car taking around 50 minutes and 45 minutes by train from Gare St Lazaire. Check out Google maps here.

Discount and Outlet Shopping outside Paris

North and Central France

Calais, Pas de Calais (62)
At Coquelles, the Calais Channel Outlet Store, open Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm, has 50 factory outlets from France and abroad. Shop here for names from Adidas to Hugo Boss, Tommy Hilfiger to Tom Tailor.
Calais is well known as a major shopping centre for the Brits who either stock up on their way back home, or come for a day trip to shop at Cité Europe, open daily 9am-10.30pm.
How to get to the Calais Channel Outlet Store

Roubaix, a suburb of Lille, Nord (59), Hauts de France
Roubaix was historically at the centre of the textile industry of France, so it’s not surprising that factory shops opened here.  
Try A L’Usine, open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 7pm, and some Sundays. It stocks mid price French high street brands, many of them at the Galerie Lafayette outlet store.
How to get to A L’Usine

For more upmarket shopping, visit McArthur Glen which has 70 stores in its outlet in Roubaix.
How to get to Roubaix McArthur Glen

Troyes, Aube (10), Champagne
Another of the 3 McArthur Glen discount and outlet malls in France with over 100 stores.
How to get to Troyes McArthur Glen
There’s also a large Marques Avenue mall here.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Lyon, Rhône (69), Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Opened in 2019, The Village – Le French Outlet stocks 120 upmarket French high street names plus international names, at up to 70% discount. Located in Villefontaine, it’s built around water features and is another attractively designed outlet. You get extra discounts with the Lyon City Card. Eat at any of the excellent cafes/restaurants or splash out at the new Paul Bocuse restaurant Rendez-Vous (well, this is Lyon, France’s great gastronomic city). Shops open 10am-8pm; restaurants Monday to Saturday 10am-10pm.

Anneyron, Drôme (26)
Directly south of Lyon, the Lafuma outlet sells products from the group which includes Lafuma, Eider, Oxbow, Millet, Wonderbra, Aubade, Clark’s shoes. The emphasis here is on sports clothes, hiking shoes, mountaineering as well as sleeping bags, backpacks and accessories. Special clearance sales in April, August and December for 3 days. Open Mon-Sat 10am-6pm.

Romans-sur-Isère, Drôme (26), near Valence in the Rhône Valley.
There’s a big Marques Avenue outlet with brands such as Nike, Levi and Puma and Le Petit bateau.
The town is also known for its shoe makers who have banded together to make shoes for the Factory Show Store Made in Romans. You’ll find it in the Cité de la Chaussure. It’s large and has a factory attached which you can visit. And it’s next to the Tourist Office which is convenient.

Southern France

Nailloux, Haute-Garonne (31), 20 minutes drive south of Toulouse
More than 150 brands in 90 shops at Nailloux, an upmarket mall. Names include Calvin Klein, and Tara Jarmon and luxury stores stock Christian Lacroix, Montana, Pierre Cardin and Arrow. There’s also a Galeries Lafayette outlet store here. It’s open Monday to Saturday 10am-7pm.

East France

Talange, Moselle (57), near Metz, Grand Est
There’s a Marques Avenue outlet featuring 66 brand-name outlet shops selling men’s, women’s and children’s wear and household goods. It’s a 10-minute drive from Metz.
There’s a Polo Ralph Lauren outlet and Levi store here also.  

Factory Shops

You have to keep your eyes open for factory shops as they are not as widely known as, for instance, in Italy. Try asking at your local tourist office, but remember that factory shops will only be in or near big cities.

Here are just a few I’ve discovered.

Try the Limoges Magasin d’Usine for fine china. It’s open Monday to Saturday 10am-6pm and is part of the main Museum (well worth a visit it you’re interested in china). It’s at 54 rue Victor Duruy, 87000 Limoges.

More ceramics on sale at the Gien Faïence shop in the Loire Valley. It’s part of the museum at 78 Place de la Victoire, 45500 Gien.

Every keen cook has at least one Le Creuset cast iron cooking pot. They’re very expensive and very heavy but they last forever and once you’ve cooked with one, you’re  hooked.  The original factory began in Fresnoy-le-Grand in north France in 1925 and manufacturing today is exactly the same.
The factory store is the place for end-of-season, overstock, etc. It’s at 880 rue Olivier Deguise, Fresnoy-Le-Grand (near St. Quentin and about a 2-hour drive from Calais), 02230 France. Tel: + 33 323 06 22 45. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday, 9.30am-12.30pm and 2pm to 6.45pm. The website I have included shows all the Le Creuset discount shops, many also at McArthur Glen and Marques Avenue outlets.
Every November there’s a special sale.

At the Atelier de Soierie (Silk Trade Workshop) in Lyon (69) you can watch how silk has been made over the centuries, then shop for one-off items in silk from major French designers. It’s open Monday to Friday 9.30am-1pm & 2pm-6.30pm. Saturday 9am-1pm & 2pm-6pm and you must book. It’s at 33 rue Romarin, Lyon (a few metres from the place des Terreaux, near Hotel de Ville)

Repetto, Saint-Médard-D’Excideuil, Dordogne (24)
Repetto is famous for its ballet shoes. It then branched out to other styles like BB and Zizi shoes but remains the go-to place for many aspiring ballerina and fashionista. Its factory outlet store at Saint-Médard-D’Excideuil sells overstock items, last season’s styles, end-of-series articles and some with faults. Each year from October to December, there’s a special sale. It’s open Tuesday to Saturday 10.30am-6pm and is north east of Perigueux.

Sales in France

Sales in France are government regulated and controlled. Official winter sales usually start on the second Wednesday in January; summer sales normally start mid June and run until the end of July. But there are exceptions to this in six departments near the French border: Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle, Vosges, Landes and Pyrenees-Atlantiques.

Shops can also run special promotions at other times of the year. Keep an eye open for signs in shop windows advertising Promotion (deal) or Soldes exceptionnels (exceptional sales).

More about Shopping in France

Here’s an article about flea markets, brocante shops, second-hand stores, and places where you can pick up vintage and antique bargains.

Check out the Top Markets in Provence

More about France

More on the departments in France
Getting to France by Ferry from the UK

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Food in Burgundy is part and parcel of life in this rich region. Burgundy has always been a gourmet destination, stretching back to the 14^th century when the extravagant, wealthy and powerful dukes of Burgundy ruled the land and the living was easy.

Burgundy is a glorious region to visit if you’re a foodie. It’s large, stretching from the fertile, gently rolling countryside of the north, just an hour’s drive south of Paris, to the land of Charolais beef and lush vineyards to the east and south.

What is Burgundy famous for?

Blackcurrants

These sweet, dark little gems are grown all over the region and are used in many dishes from sauces to sorbets.

Crème de cassis, the concentrated sweet, dark red liqueur made from blackcurrants, is added to white wine or Champagne to make the popular aperitif, Kir. Traditionally Aligoté is used, an AOC white Burgundy wine.

Bresse Chicken

This is known the world over for quality and unique taste. Bresse chicken is the only poultry given A.O.C. status.

Burgundy snails

Everybody should try Burgundy snails once in their lives. The French escargot (snail) is found all over France, but those from Burgundy are particularly prized as being larger and more flavorful than the farmed, petits gris (small grays).

Charolais Beef

Given an appellation contrôlée in 2010, the distinctive white cattle reign supreme. In the spring, summer and autumn months, the cattle feeds on the lush pastureland, particularly around Charolles which gave them their name. The beef is famed for its tender, succulent meat.

Mushrooms

There are some 150 different varieties of mushrooms in Burgundy. They grow in the forest of the Morvan and the limestone areas near Vézelay, in the Puisaye, Othe forest and the Châtillonais.

If you do find some, take them to the local chemist (pharamacie) to check they’re edible.  

Truffles

These ‘Black Diamonds’ produce pungent rich flavours. Growing just underground on tree roots, they were originally hunted by pigs. Today dogs are also used. It’s hard to farm them so they are very expensive. Around 50 metric tonnes are harvested in winter each year

Burgundy Cheeses

Burgundy’s notable cheeses date back to the medieval monasteries and their cheese-making monks.

Abbaye de la Pierre qui Vire

Located in the central  Burgundy Morvan forest in the village of St-Léger-Vauban, the Benedictine monks of the abbey first made this cheese from both goats’ and cows’ milk. It’s creamy and with a soft gentle flavor; you can buy it at the Abbey shop along with the pottery the monks make and in local shops as well. The monks no longer make the cheese which has been handed over to a local farmer, but it’s still produced organically.

The farm shop is open daily from 4.30-6pm; the Abbey shop is open Tues-Sun 11am-noon & 3-5pm. More information here.

Charolais is a cheese made from either cow’s or goat’s milk and sometimes a mix of both. The goat variety is nutty when fresh but can also be eaten when it is aged. It is at its best from April to December.

Chaource is made in both Burgundy and Champagne. It’s very pale in colour and is a creamy soft cheese with a white crust. It is in season in summer and autumn.

Chèvre Frais is fresh goat’s cheese. It’s best from spring to autumn when the goats feed outside on fresh herbs and grasses. Some of the best versions are the thick cylinders made in Burgundy, so ask in local cheese shops and in the various open air food markets for a good local goat’s cheese.

Cîteaux is made by the monks of Cîteaux Abbey in Côte d’Or but a small herd of cows means only 100,000 cheese are produced annually.

Epoisses is one of the best known cheeses. This pungent smelling cheese is so runny it’s often eaten with a spoon; it’s also used as a sauce on steak and in tarteflette. It’s called after the small Burgundian village directly east from Avallon though the cheese is made all over Burgundy. This raw cow’s milk cheese is aged slowly and washed daily with the local eau-de-vie known as marc de Bourgogne.

Epoisses

Its origins probably go back to the Cistercian monks at the Abbaye de Cîteaux in the 15^th century. It was called by the gastronome, Brillat-Savarin, as the ‘king of cheeses’.  Buy it locally for the best taste.

Other cheeses similar to Epoisses include Ami du Chambertin, Trou de Cru and Affiné au Chablis.

Montrachet is a goat cheese, wrapped with a chestnut or grape leaf and aged in cool cellars. The best Montrachet cheeses are made from raw goat’s milk.

Soumaintrain comes from the Yonne region. It’s a soft textured cow’s milk cheese with a reddish rind and has a strong smell and spicy flavour. Originating in Soumaintrain it, like Epoisses, gets runnier and smellier as it matures and can be eaten with a spoon. The richest version is made with lait cru (raw milk).

Other Burgundy cheeses to look out for include Saint-Florentin, Brillat-Savarin, and the Mâcon goats cheese, Bouton de Culotte.

Mustard

Dijon, a strategic city on the European spice route in the Middle Ages, is still well known for its mustard makers.

The best known company, Maille, was started by the vinegar maker, Antoine-Claude Maille in 1720. He opened in Dijon a year later and in 1747 opened another one in Paris. Today the old-fashioned shop sells mustards in a bewildering variety of tastes in both jars and from hand pumps. You buy your particular pot and go along to get it filled up.
32 Rue de la Liberté
Tel: +33 3 80 30 41 02
Website

My favorite mustard is Edmond Fallot. It comes in all sorts of unusual and delicious tastes and is more rounded than Maille. Founded in 1840, Fallot is still family owned and uses traditional methods to make its products. If you want to understand the secrets of mustard making, visit the mustard factory in Beaune for a tour.
31 Rue du Faubourg Bretonnièr
Tel: +33 3 80 22 10 02
Website

Burgundy Dishes to Try

Food in Burgundy is taken seriously. You’ll find the following in many local restaurants, so give them a try.

Boeuf Bourguignon is a rich, slow-cooked beef stew braised in red wine (which should be a Burgundy wine). It’s got onions, carrots, garlic and a bouquet garni. It comes garnished with pearl onions, mushrooms and bacons. Great for a winter’s day.

Coq au vin is a dish found all over France. It’s best made in Burgundy from Bresse chicken and cooked in Burgundy wine, then flamed with a splash of Burgundian marc.

Gougères are cheese puffs served with an aperitif before a meal.

Jambon persilleé: (potted ham with parsley) was originally a traditional Easter dish.

Les oeufs en meurette: Eggs poached in a red wine sauce, served with pickled onions, bacon and toast.

La Pôchouse is a dish like Bouillabaisse, made with fresh water fish caught locally. But it’s difficult to find.

Top Burgundy Food Markets

There are markets in every city and town in Burgundy, so ask at the local tourist office for dates and times. Here’s a list of the best food markets in the region by town in the various departments in Burgundy. For more about departments in France, check here.

Autun, Saône-et-Loire:  Wednesdays 7am-1pm in the City Hall and on the forecourt. Also large general market with food on Fridays

Auxerre, Yonne: Tuesday & Friday mornings at Arquebuse market hall
Wednesday morning : rue de la Draperie (greengrocers)
Saturdays morning : place de l’Hôtel de Ville (greengrocers)
Sunday morning : place Degas – ZUP (fruit, vegetables and clothes)

Beaune, Côte d’Or: Wednesday and Saturday mornings in and around the covered Les Halles, opposite the magnificent Hôtel Dieu, of Hospice de Beaune. Saturdays from March to November, there’s a small antiques market on neighbouring place Carnot

Chablis, Yonne: Saturday mornings in rue Auxerrois

Dijon, Côte-d’Or: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings in and around the covered market, Place du Marché

Chalon-sur- Saône, Saône-et-Loire: Friday and Sunday mornings in Place Saint-Vincent, opposite the cathedral

Joigny, Yonne: Saturday morning in Les halles

Mâcon, Saône-et-Loire: Tuesday to Saturday mornings in the Place aux Herbes, next to the Maison de Bois

Specialty markets and Special Events

Saint-Christophe-en-Brionnais, Saône-et-Loire: Charolais cattle market, held here since 1488, on Wednesday mornings

Noyers-sur-Serein, Yonne: Truffle market on two Sundays in November from local truffle growers. The truffles are first of all checked for quality, then a bell is rung to declare the market open

Gourmet Markets and Events

November 2023: International Gastronomic Fair in Dijon. Food in Burgundy doesn’t get much more serious, and exciting than at this annual festival.

November 17, 2023: Nouveau Beaujolais is released. The wine is produced mostly in Beaujolais, north of Lyons in the Rhone-Alpes region, with a lesser amount produced in the Saône-et-Loire department.

November 19 2023: The Great Wine Auction at Beaune takes place. This is one of the most spectacular charity wine auctions in the world and is conducted by Christie’s auctioneers in the Hospice de Beaune. Collectors taste some rare treasures and all the proceeds go to maintaining the Hospice de Beaune.

More about French Food

The intriguing story of Food in France from Gauls to vegans
Discover the top Food Festivals in France throughout the year
Best Regional French Food
French Christmas Food
Surprisingly, the artist Toulouse-Lautrec was a great cook. He followed the seasons and local produce. More about this unexpected gourmet and the Art of Cuisine.
Compare Burgundy with Food in Provence

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