Has anyone been to flea market in Paris? I have heard some flea markets on the outskirts of the city that are measured in acres! Are the items of interest or just junk? We thought it might be fun to explore the markets to not only see what items are available but to see a bit of Parisan life. We don't want to spend our limited time if the only thing to be had are trinkets and junk.

I have been to Cligancourt twice. The first time I didn't walk far enough & all I saw was junk. The second time I discovered I had really missed the main area & there is TONS of stuff (antiques). Here are 2 older posts on the flea markets (found by typing paris flea markets into the search box above.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34443559

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34388973

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34449729

The famous bread shop Poilane has a store right near Cligancourt

http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/tt/2298d/

The market at Porte de Vanves, is certainly worth a few hours on a saturday morning. It's easily reached by bus or metro. And there are treasures to be found if you know what you are looking for and at!

That last URL I gave you from virtual tourist is a waste of time (I thoguht it was something else I had read). Here's a URL with a list of ALL the markets-food, birds, books, etc. Don't know how up to date it is.

http://www.jack-travel.com/Paris/Par...arkets1_11.htm

the first time we went to the flea markets, we went on a Fri morning and there were few stalls open and it was cold and we were very disappointed.
The next trip, we went on a Saturday and we ended up spending most of the day, we still did not get to see everything, we had lunch at a great small cafe where the locals were eating, which was fun. We found an amazing poster shop with some great prices, our son collects antique tins so we found a few for gifts, it was a success all way round!
We took the train then walked a few blocks, there it was! Just walk past all those men selling cheesy leather jackets
I wish I could run over there now and pick up a couple of chandeliers for my new home!