The Road Goes Ever On

Friday, May 1, 2026

Saint Ouen Flea Market, Clignancourt, 2

Continuing our afternoon at the Marche des Puces de Saint Ouen...

Sunday dinner is still pretty sacrosanct in France...these are shop owners
dining outside their shops on the Biron alley

A huge beautiful antique stained glass shop we couldn't get
enough of

Need a picture frame?

Or maybe just more stained glass

For redecorating your place in the manner of Versailles; or
the manner of Trump? note Pleyel piano in background
(Chopin's preferred brand)

Among the better alleys this visit

The old-fashioned way; the irony here is that ice was
nearly unheard of in post-WWII Europe...

Japanese version of King Kong

Aquarium

Reflective material is having a furniture moment just now

Art Deco set

Ever thought of having a misericord for a comfy chair?

Back side of the stained glass store we couldn't get enough of

Also the fireplace store

The end

Saint Ouen Flea Market, Clignancourt, 1

"The big flea market in Paris is Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, at Porte de Clignancourt, out in the 18th. It's the one with all the antiques, high end stuff. But first you have to penetrate a layer of poor people selling things off blankets and tarps...the poor selling to the poor. And then a layer of normal flea market fare...fake and used crap of every description. And then finally the stuff for the wealthy, in shops and serpettes (galleries of rooms and shops). We'll focus here on the last category. One doesn't take pix of the first, and the second is generally unremarkable." (2021 blogpost)

Some of our recent visits to Clignancourt are:

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2021/10/clignancourt-markets.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2023/05/les-puces-de-st-ouen.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2025/06/puces-de-st-ouen-and-basilica-st-denis.html

It's a huge place, advertised as the world's largest antiques/brocantes store...hundreds (thousands?) of shops on scores of different alleys and streets. If you're really serious about buying things here, a map would be helpful for getting around, and some research and planning. On the other hand, it's a fine place to just wander, even get lost. Looking at pix from previous years, I'm struck at how little repetition there is. It's a kaleidoscope of wonders and curiosities. And other stuff.

Would look great on your lawn

12 piece setting

Remember to have won the lottery before visiting

1947 Foosball machine, made in Geneva, gorgeous; don't touch!

So it said

Disney Paris is just 20 miles away

Travel the old-fangled way, probably on the Orient Express;
this is a Louis Vuitton trunk, in a shop of just Louis Vuitton gear

Ashtray store

Alley scene

Street scene

Need a mirror?

Lamp stand?

Fan? Old-timey manually-operated fan?

Exquisitely-carved tusk?

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Foire du Trone Vincennes

The Foire du Trone dates back at least to 1131 and Louis VI ("the Fat"...too many corny dogs) and claims to be Europe's largest "funfair," that is, "amusement park." (We distinguish, of course, between amusement parks and theme parks...). It is comparable in size to Vienna's Prater, but, unlike the Prater, the Trone is a temporary affair, occurring in the spring only. Both offer a variety of extreme thrill rides, midway attractions, carnival food, and the rest. Despite its very old origins, the Trone appears less well known among the world's amusement parks than the Prater. (Our visits to the Prater are here and here and here.) Somehow, incredibly, we'd not known of the Trone in previous visits, so this was our first experience. The Trone takes place in Vincennes, in the 12th, adjoining the Bois de Vincennes, Paris' largest park.