Italian Ice-Creams and Fish Suppers in Scotland

I have just read Mary Contini’s book Notes to Olivia about her Italian family’s early days in Edinburgh. She is the owner of the famous deli, Valvont and Crola. Scotland's oldest Delicatessen and Italian Wine Merchant and one of Europe's most original Specialist Food Shops. I will come back to the story of this a bit later.

Scotland has long enjoyed an affiliation with Italians since the first immigrants arrived in the late 1800s. It is estimated there are tens of thousands of Scots of Italian heritage, including high profile figures. Italian immigration into Scotland forever reshaped the country's culinary and social landscape.

Interestingly, post Brexit in 2016 there was the biggest surge in immigration in 100 years. One thing that makes it similar to the first phase of immigration from Italian is that large numbers are fleeing due to the lack of opportunity often in Puglia, Calabria and Sicily.

From the late 19th century, Scotland saw an increase in Italian immigrants. At this time, many Italians experienced poverty. Men fled to Scotland to make money to support their families in Italy, sending for them later. For some, it was seen as a stopping point en-route to America. Initially, they came from northern areas such as Tuscany, but emigration spread to the south by the 1900s. When America changed its immigration policy and closed the door of opportunity for many of the poorest Europeans, Scotland saw a further increase in Italian immigrants. The main reasons to seek a new life was as a direct result of economic conditions. Living conditions were harsh, with famine and sometimes droughts. Furthermore, Italy had an agricultural-based economy that was experiencing severe hardships and industrialisation was slower than in other European nations.  Many saw an opportunity to go elsewhere to earn a better living. After a slow start, in which the Italian immigrants failed to make any real economic progression, the Italians seized the opportunity to move into the catering world. Initially working as ‘hokey pokey’ men, selling ice cream from barrows, these men had been recruited in London and then sent to Scotland. They quickly moved into working-class areas, combining ice cream making with selling fish and chips. Restaurants and takeaways were established and sold food made using ingredients widely available in Scotland like fish and potatoes. To this day most Scottish towns still have an Italian chippy.

Fish and chips became essential to the diet of the ordinary man and woman, through the latter part of the 19th century and well into the 20th century. The fish and chip trade expanded greatly to satisfy the needs of the growing industrial population of Great Britain. In fact, you might say that the Industrial Revolution was fuelled partly by fish and chips! Nobody, however, could dispute the Italian influence after they had spotted the business opportunities to be had north of the border by selling pesce e patate. Stuart Atkinson, Scottish executive councillor with the National Fish Friers Federation, said their role was significant. As large numbers of Italian immigrants entered the Scottish fish and chip trade from around 1890 by 1914, they dominated the trade and opened many shops throughout Scotland.

From humble beginnings, by the 1920s these barrows had been transformed into luxury establishments in the city centres via working class areas. There are many famous Italian businesses in Scottish society like Nardini’s which boasted a beautiful Art Deco tearoom that became an key attraction. There was a greater degree of acceptance from the Temperance Movement as the cafés chose not to sell alcohol. Cafés such as these were as much an assertion of an identity in a new land as they were a business as a means of breadwinning. Helping to integrate the new arrivals into the communities of Scottish towns and cities. They were popular ventures for immigrants, and locals took very quickly to the idea. 

In Glasgow, police statistics show that in 1903 there were 89 ice cream shops in the city. A year later that number had nearly doubled, reaching 184, and by 1905 there were estimated to be 336 ice cream shops in the Glasgow area alone. Many made a living from the Scottish sweet tooth. ITally is slang for Italian and the title refers to both Italian blood and to the raspberry sauce added to ice-cream. It is fair to say that Italian cafés were at the heart of Scottish culture, but the question remains as to whether Italians were fully accepted in Scottish society. Their cafés were often the scene of unruly behaviour. This led to cries that the Italian cafés were morally corrupt, articles appeared in newspapers reporting the ‘ice cream hell’. Their popularity wasn’t universal and they did encounter some hard times along the way, which most likely strengthened the ties of the growing Italian community, who helped one another when needed. Immigrants can enrich and bring a new dimension and flavour to the customs and culture of their adopted land. And I am sure that the colourful Italian community must have added character to the dour cities, towns and villages in Scotland. 

What whetted by interest in this subject was the story of brothers Alfonso and Vittorio Crolla who emigrated to Scotland and established a small ice-cream and confectionery in 1906. They were to team up with Raffaele Valvona in 1934, by that time an elderly shopkeeper who was thought by the Italian community to need the acumen of the Crolla family. They sold easily affordable food, mainly to the Italian immigrant community. This succeeded brilliantly, helped by the fact that a lot of returning troops after the war, who had fought in Italy, had acquired a taste for the Italian meats, cheeses and olives.  Having concentrated on inexpensive produce, Valvona & Crolla made the shrewd decision, as supermarkets began to undersell local businesses, to specialise by importing the best Italian food and drink. They were to be a pioneer of healthy food, never failing to point out the virtues of low-cost tomatoes and packets of spaghetti. Alfonso died in the war, but Alfonso’s son, Vittorio continued to work with his uncle, taking over the business in 1945 with his brother-in-law, Carlo Contini.

For 40 years Victor Crolla, was the head of the family at Valvona & Crolla.  His Italian delicatessen was famous not only in Edinburgh but among tens of thousands of festival and other visitors to the Scottish capital. The language in the shop was sui generis (a hybrid between Leith Scots and High Neapolitan) It speaks volumes for the family's relationship with the Scots that during the Second World War the shop's loyal staff continued to keep it open so that there was a business to return to. Victor Crolla, stepped down in 1985, but in the words of his nephew Philip Contini who ran the shop, he continued to be the spiritual head of the store. In 2019 Philip and his wife Mary, handed over the reins to their eldest daughter, Francesca Contini Mackie, Alfonso’s great-grand daughter making this a fourth- generation family business which brings a little bit of Italy to Scotland.

I wish them a continued success; I am a great believer in family and local businesses. I also think it shows how important it is to mix cultures by immigration and hope this does continue as it enriches all our lives for the better!

Learning More Lingo…….

Many Britons are turning to learning languages like never before, according to the Guardian Newspaper. French is one of the most popular choices, as many adults took up a language online during lockdown. The timing seems at odds with recent events like Brexit and Covid stopping overseas travel. With our recent exit from the European Union, should we be saying a very firm and British Goodbye? Yet for many in the UK, it seems that on our departure it is more a case of Au revoir.

Academics maintain the recent upsurge in language apps in Lockdown, shows a pent-up interest and wish to study languages. For a nation supposedly averse to speaking other languages, the British have been turning in large numbers to foreign tongues as a first resort in the absence of more traditional forms of entertainment and communication. 

 It shows there are a lot of people who want to learn a language. It’s surprising how often you meet people in all walks of life who are taking language courses. But many people have been put off by unrealistically difficult exam syllabuses at school, GCSE and A level papers are too demanding and grading is too harsh when compared to other subjects.   Oxford Professor Katrin Kohl 

Formal language learning in our schools has declined substantially over the last 15 years, but there are some signs of encouragement. The British Council’s annual Language Trends survey showed a marked increase in children who took French or Spanish at GCSE in 2019, although A-level entries were still down. It would be great if parents could encourage their children to see the importance of learning another language. In 2018, 96% of pupils in upper secondary education in the EU’s 27 countries learnt English as a foreign language. In a majority of EU Member States, more than three fifths of all upper secondary education pupils were learning two or more foreign languages.

One of the most rewarding aspects of the human experience is our ability to connect with others. Being able to communicate with someone in his or her language is an incredible gift. Bilinguals have the unique opportunity to communicate with a wider range of people in their personal and professional lives.

Despite the decline in schools, adults continue to value language highly, the British Council found. During the spring lockdown, 10% of adults in the UK began learning a foreign language or returned to one after a break. A third of those surveyed said that Spanish was the most important language for young people to learn, followed by French at 20% and Mandarin at 18%.

Thousands more are learning Spanish, German, Italian, or other EU languages, with some of them hoping to improve their language skills to a level where they qualify for citizenship of a European country. Since British citizens no longer have the right to live and work in EU countries after the 31^st of December 2020. The UK is now one of Duolingo’s top five countries by the total number of daily learners, according to the app’s UK general manager, Colin Watkins, with a rise in new learners of 132% on last year. Events like Brexit and Covid plus cultural moments like the Olympics are driving the change, he said. “Brits now want to be better citizens of the world when we travel, when we do business, when we meet people in the UK.” 

I was introduced to Duolingo by a work colleague in lockdown. And since June 2020 have been learning three languages every day.  I introduced my mother to this app and at 76 years old she is learning Spanish. I like the easy- to- use, fun format of Duolingo, I don’t think you could become fluent, but I combine a mix of CDs and books as well as the phone app and have been surprised at how much I have learnt.

I have long been embarrassed at how poor my own language skills and those of my fellow brits are compared to my French, Spanish and German friends. To think that many ex-pats cannot speak the language of the country they live in is wrong on so many levels. Just because English is spoken in most countries is not really a valid excuse. You can simply use your smartphone or other devices to translate everything on-the-go. And while technology certainly helps with communication, but it can never replace human interactions. Be warned, Google translate is also not fully accurate!

Colin Watkins, from Duolingo, says that many of the 15 million people who have signed up to Duolingo’s online courses are not aiming to become fluent but to gain a basic level of understanding. As one of our first courses French was already very popular, so to see it make the top five shows new learners have chosen it because they want to travel there in the future, maybe want to do business, emigrate, or just pick up on what they learned in school.”

Other language learning apps are seeing similar rises. Memrise saw a large increase in new users in March, and 70% of people using its platform are learning Spanish or French, while German, Italian and Japanese are also popular.

The app, Babel helps its community remember the vocabulary they learn through six memory stages using “spaced repetition,” moving words through exercises that are arranged to aid retention. In bite-sized, 10–15-minute lessons, students have opportunities to gain skills in reading, writing, grammar and speaking in their target language in likely scenarios, especially for travel.

Yes, learning a new language is a big challenge. But if you can get in the right state of mind and you're not looking for overnight fluency, the progress you make will make can make you feel incredibly proud. You do have to remain consistent for a few months to see steady progress but it is totally worth it and the more you do it the easier it gets. It’s also a great way to keep your brain in trim studies have shown that using more than one language can delay the onset of dementia by four to five years. Yet another great reason.

Bon Chance et Au revoir.

Is it Finally Over-Brexit?

The UK officially left the 27-member political and economic bloc on the 31st of January 2019, three and half years after the UK public voted to leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum. Sticking to the EU's trading rules for 11 months while the two sides negotiated their future economic partnership.

How did it all start? In a public referendum held on the 23th June 2016, the majority of those who voted chose to leave the European Union. I was a remainder myself, and many of the people I know who voted were not 100% sure which way to vote. Many people have now said if they had the chance to vote again, they would have voted to remain in the EU.

The UK had long been expected to leave the European Union on the 29^th of March 2019.  However, following a House of Commons vote on the 14^th of March 2019, the Government sought permission from the EU to extend Article 50 and agree a later Brexit date. On the 28^th of October 2019, the EU Ambassadors agreed to a further Brexit extension to the 31th of January 2020.

It has taken, several years, much discussion, a national election a new Prime minster and leader of the opposition party. On the 12^th of December 2019, Boris Johnson won a majority in the UK General Election and reaffirmed his commitment to ‘get Brexit done ‘by the 31th of January 2020.

On 23 January 2020, the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 received Royal Assent.  This is the legislation that will implement the withdrawal agreement negotiated by the UK and the EU. On the 31th of January 2020, the UK was to leave the EU and enter a transition period. The transition period ended on the 31th of December 2020 and the United Kingdom, finally left the EU single market and customs union. 

So, is that it then? Most of us in the UK have not been able to figure out exactly what this deal was, however much we tried to follow! Just as no-one totally understood the reasons for leaving. Deal or No deal have summed up the last few years.

Some people thought we were actually leaving Europe, no, we are Europeans and still part of Europe. We do care about our European friends, who most likely think we don’t. Its all like a bad divorce, with passing time it could hopefully become more amiable.

So, what is actually changing? Before Brexit, the U.K. was part of the E.U.'s single market that allows people, goods, services and money to travel freely around the continent with little or no checks at all. In December, the two sides agreed a new trade deal to replace their old partnership. Businesses and travellers, alike have been waking up to the reality that the new system has the potential for serious disruption to their old life’s.

Brexit has also caused disruption inside the U.K. itself. Extra paperwork has meant delays and empty supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K. but is treated differently in terms of trade under the new post-Brexit deal. Even large retailers like M&S have had difficulties. Some British online retailers have said they are no longer able to ship to Northern Ireland. (even though it's all part of the same country)

This new era has begun for the United Kingdom after it completed its formal separation from the European Union. Replacement arrangements for travel, trade, immigration and security co-operation came into force when the UK stopped following EU rules.

Boris Johnson said the UK had "freedom in our hands and the ability to do things differently and better" now the long Brexit process was over. But opponents of leaving the EU maintain the country will be worse-off. In Brussels, there is said to be, a sense of relief that the long Brexit process is over, but there is regret still at Brexit itself. Basically, the European Union thinks that Brexit makes both the EU and the UK weaker. This is a valid point.

Whether we like it or not, and most of us don’t, significant changes are here, for trade, travel, security and immigration and more changes could well become more apparent in the months ahead.

It’s a time of great change, uncertainty and sadness that this should have even happened. But life goes on Post- Brexit and the only way is forward and to work with it. I hope my many ex-pats friends are ok, as like in Ireland they are experiencing the worst deal in all of this.

I love travel and have always hoped to retire overseas and hope I still can!

Brocante Images

 

The Joy of Shopping in Brocantes- French Second-Hand Markets

Brocantes are regular weekend events where a brocanteur (the French word ‘brocanteur’ means ‘broker) sells various antique and vintage goods. In France, Brocantes are also known as Puces or flea markets, which is a term that originated in Paris back in the 19th century. A visit to a Brocante market can be the highlight of a trip to France. It is such a lively encounter with everyday French culture and a fun way to spend a few hours. It’s a great place to find collectables or pick up a unique souvenir. These can also be known as vide-greniers a bit like our house clearance sales. These events which are basically emptying the attics, take place in many of the larger towns about once a month and are popular throughout France, often on Sundays. Some are all year round but the majority are held in the spring to autumn months. The size of the market can range from just a few stalls to the enormous markets such as the Braderie in Lille.

The French are a nation of recyclers and hate to throw something away if they think it can be 're-loved', and this is what drives their passion for second hand-markets. With some of Europe’s, most storied and well-stocked antique fairs and flea markets, France is a must do for antique lovers as you'll have an opportunity to pick up some wonderful or unusual items that you simply won’t see in the shops. Visitors frequently uncover precious finds that add that extra touch to their home and heart. Others simply enjoy the thrill of the hunt, whether that quest is for a specific item or a general rambling through stalls and streets, trying to find the next diamond in the rough. The best deals are to be found at the street markets, the smaller villages will have lower prices that larger cities and towns, and outside of Paris, you’ll notice a huge drop in the prices.

Rather like highbrow car boot sales or flea markets. Traders spread their wares across pavements and sell everything from vintage buttons to antique furniture. In recent years, Brocantes have become very fashionable and vintage sellers have become wise to the fact that tourists flock to them looking for a bargain. Items don’t tend to be priced and haggling is expected, so don’t be shy when it comes to battling for the price you want! Generally, Brocante dealers are kind, full of stories and more than willing to drop a few euros when asked for le dernier prix.

Many of the street markets will also sell on food, so you can have a glass of wine or coffee and watch the world go by too, it’s a lovely way to spend a morning or day out.

Great Markets to See

Braderie is one of the largest in Europe and is in Lille. It takes place in the first week of September and there are more than 10,000 stalls.

Cours Saleya on Mondays, in Nice has around 200 flea market vendors selling their wares. This is a fairly high-quality market; however, bargain hunters can also score a good find, particularly in the adjacent place Pierre Gauthier, where odds and ends are piled on the ground.

Réderie d’automne in Amiens. This yearly autumnal event takes place in October for one day. This market attracts 2,000 vendors and receives tens of thousands of visitors each year. This is one of the premier spots to hunt for antiques or simply take in the spectacle. It starts very early in the morning.

Villeurbanne Flea Market in Lyon on Sunday mornings has 400 stalls selling rustic goods of all kinds. The set-ups are a bit informal, but its crammed with exciting finds and great to rummage through.

To locate markets in the area you are due to visit, the website www.brocabrac.fr is helpful as it lists brocantes by the area or by the day of the week. L’Agenda des Brocantes is the most popular calendar of events, see  www.agendadesbrocantes.fr for details.

Escape to The Chateau- A Home in France……

I have talked about guilty pleasures and the importance of escaping once in a while and the TV series that’s combines both of these is Escape to The Chateau. For DIY fans, budding interior designers and Francophiles it makes for perfect viewing. The ever-practical Dick Strawbridge, with the best moustache on TV and fabulously creative Angel Strawbridge are a wonderful team. This capable couple swapped their two-bed home in East London after searching for the chateau for four years and then spent a further five years turning Chateau de la Motte Husson into a family home. It also became a successful business, when Channel 4 commissioned a TV series. The programme became surprisingly popular and the husband-and-wife duo recently explained why they wanted to get involved with the series We saw it as an adventure. TV presenter Dick and author Angel now employ a PR to market their thriving business empire which includes not just weddings, functions and housing B&B guests in their lovely home, but several books, homeware, gifts, soft furnishings, calendars, diaries and cards. The pair have also been seen a spin-off DIY series which shows them helping others to share the dream of restoring an old castle or house in France, to run as a business.

They have had quite a journey and we have been able to share this with them, they almost feel like old friends! They found the Chateau in 2014 and the purchase was completed 2015. Priced at £350,000, Chateau de la Motte Husson was an incredible bargain and their dream home except for the fact it had no sewerage, no electricity and no heating. Bringing a forty-five room, five storey house and its gardens, back to life after years of neglect takes hard work and dedication. Dick and Angel have proven to have these in abundance and the final result is well-worth their efforts. The couple have no plans to sell the chateau but could make a profit of around £1.5 million if they put it on the market. Dick has estimated that they have spent around £280,000 renovating the chateau. Their skills in re-making and re-designing must have saved them a small fortune, as well as showing us all how to give a new life to old furniture, attic and second-hand finds, which is so important for us all to start doing again.

I’ve dreamt for years about living a simple life with good food and wine, fresh air and two-hour lunches every day. So, when my partner Angela and I decided to start our French adventure, I could almost smell the roses    Dick Strawbridge

The History of the Chateau de la Motte Husson is a long and interesting one, so I’ll give you, a short version: It all dates back to English kings having possessions on the European mainland, as far back as 1066.  When William the Conqueror, then Duke of Normandy became the King of England. From the 12th to the 14th centuries the site of the chateau was in the parish of La Motte and was a fortified stronghold. It was not until 1406 that the Husson family, the Seigneurs of Montgiroux, named the castle Chateau de la Motte Husson, which remains its name today. In1600, the estate was acquired by the de Baglion family, who were descendants of the princes of Perugia.

The castle was rebuilt in the enclosure of the old square moat during the period of 1868-1874. This was the time of great wealth in the aristocracy.  The Countess Dorothée told her husband that she wanted a grand chateau on the site of the fort. Her main residence was near Nantes, a hundred miles to the South West, and the family decided to spend winters in the milder climate, and summers in the country at Chateau de la Motte Husson. They were privileged, didn’t work and were occupied with living life to the full, staying in their grand houses and those of their friends. It was important at the time to receive visitors in grandeur and to display the great wealth of the owners. It was passed down through the generations of the de Baglion family.  The last member of the family was Guy de Baglion de la Dufferie who owned the chateau until his death in 1999, when it passed to his wife and children. The château had remained unoccupied for nearly 40 years when it was put up for sale in 2015. By which time it had fallen into a very poor state of repair.

Dick was born in Burma, but raised and educated in Northern Ireland. Dick attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and in 1979, was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals. After serving in Germany, England, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Northern Ireland, he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 2001. He then had a successful career as a Programme Manager for a large multinational company before becoming a full-time television presenter and author. Dick is a man of many interests and talents. And first hit our television screens with Scrapheap Challenge.

Angela- known as Angel, is the founder of The Vintage Patisserie, a glamorous hospitality company and the author of the best-selling Vintage Tea Party books. Humble beginnings and hard work have secured Angel coverage in nearly every glossy and national newspaper. In 2011 she opened her first Vintage Patisserie in Hackney, East London. With eleven staff and ten events a week, business blossomed. A book deal followed and Angel’s books have sold copies all over the world.

This year as been a very different one for everyone and whilst Chateau de la Motte Husson was closed to guests, a new series called Make-do and Mend was filmed during lockdown. The 7th series of Escape to The Chateau is currently been filmed and is to be aired at the end of this year. I would love to restore an old property, a chateau is possibly to ambitious for me, but like Dick and Angel you can always have the dream, and you never know it might one day, like a true-life fairy-tale come true!

If you want more details, there is a website and a Facebook group which also shows the progress of the other  wonderful Chateau owners and their properties. You can catch up on Channel 4 or Netflix.

www. vintagepatisserie.co.uk/chateau-de-la-motte-husson

Paris Flea-Markets- Marché aux Puces

I love the Paris flea- markets, and always plan a trip to Paris on the days the market takes place, as a trip to Paris would be incomplete without a day spent visiting the market. The diversity of personalities, stall keepers and products for sale, some more antique than others, makes it unmissable. The term flea market originated with the French marché aux puces. It translates as market of the fleas and refers to the flea-infested used clothing that was sold. Well, hopefully the fleas are a thing of the past but the markets still continue and are gaining in popularity as second-hand, vintage or pre-loved are totally on-trend. The weekend flea market Paris is one of the very best in France, in terms of the size and the eclectic nature of its wares. Its a little off the beaten track, which makes it even more worthwhile visiting. In my opinion, off- the beaten track is always the best way to see a city! 

The history of the flea market dates back over two centuries, when rag and bone men scoured through the garbage of Paris at night to find valuable junk to sell on. They were called crocheteurs or pickers. The romantic term was pêcheurs de lune'or fishermen for the moon. Many tried setting up temporary stalls within the Paris walls in sleazy neighbourhoods, but because these districts were full of pickpockets and thieves, they were chased out of the city walls to Clignancourt, Montreuil and Vanves. All of which continue to trade today.

The rag and bone men gathered outside the walls of Paris at the Porte de Clignancourt and set up temporary stalls. Eventually, they formed groups of stalls to attract more customers. The more enterprising traders began to trade up in terms of goods and eventually it became popular for Parisian collectors and antique dealers to shop there for bargains. 

In 1885, authorities in the town of Saint Ouen made a significant move to pave the streets and clean up the area, marking the official starting year of Les Puces. Several areas were designated as official market areas and a fee had to be paid to set up a stall there. The markets grew until Monsieur Romain Vernaison transformed the land, he owned into a series of covered huts which was to be called Marché Vernaison. This was followed by an Albanian named Malik who bought a restaurant on Rue Jules Vallès and transformed the building into 100 stalls which formed the Malik market. The Marché du Biron was formed in 1925, with two long rows of stalls and is known as one of the more expensive markets. Marché Jules Vallès was created in 1938 which is a smaller covered flea square market. Over time additional markets have been added including the Marché Dauphine, which is the largest covered market of the Saint-Ouen flea market. Now the market spans for miles and consists of 14 different markets.

On Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Monday mornings, Marché aux Puces de Clignancourt or Paris St-Ouen flea market is one of the most popular flea markets in the country with nearly a quarter of a million visitors annually. This market is well known for vendors that sell just about anything. The best way to get to the market is by metro on Line 4 the stop is the Porte de Clignancourt. The market and the neighbourhood are very colourful, don’t wear your best clothes, always wear comfortable shoes as you walk a lot and don't take valuables with you. The 18th arrondissement, where the market is located is in a less affluent part of Paris and the market gets very crowded. You can safely stroll around here during the day but you do need to watch your wallet and handbag. I prefer to go quite early in the morning. 

The Rue des Rosiers is the main street which you walk down in order to go into the separate markets. The individual markets tend to run into each other and there are also some Art Deco and antique shops, along the way. The various markets specialize in different items and I have listed these for you below. I enjoy browsing the markets which are more Bric-à-Brac and Marché Vernaison for textiles, paintings and furniture. You can get lost wandering down the alleyways so do try to remember landmarks. Marché Jules Vallès has the reputation of being the cheapest and the most picturesque market sells antiques postcards, posters and smaller items. Antique enthusiasts can rejoice in bargain-hunting without fuss in these iconic old- fashioned stalls and antiques shops. It promises countless surprises and unusual finds. The Paris market is more expensive than the other markets in France.

The different markets are below:

The Antica Market-Located in a stylish and elegant gallery, this market has a dozen stands and offers paintings, bronze, porcelain and Art Deco style goods.

The Biron Market-220 Antiques and Art dealers offer luxury goods, jewellery, furniture, paintings, mirrors, light fixtures.

The Cambo Market-A small market consisting of 20 different stands across two floors, where you’ll find high-quality restored furniture and works of art

The Dauphine Market-Inaugurated in 1991, this is the newest but also the largest market, with 180 merchants spread across two floors. You can find classic antiques dating back to the 18th and the 19th century as well as items from the 20th century. Its most eclectic market of the Flea market.

The Le Passage Market-Linking the Rue Lécuyer to Rue Jules Vallès. There are a variety of items available for sale antique, but this market is mainly geared towards vintage clothes.

The Malassis Market-This covered market will send you back in time with its original, innovative architecture. You can find antiques dealers, decorators, themed shops, collectors and jewellery.

The Malik Market-This market has sportswear and trendy clothing. Hipsters find trendy Parisian fashion, vintage and old uniforms, think Camden Market.

The Vernaison Market-It offers the largest number of stands: furniture, ancient toys, glassware and vintage clothing.

The Paul Bert Market-This market is popular with interior decorators across the world offering industrial and antique furniture.

The Serpette Market-This market has an upper-class clientele and offers high-end antiques like silverware and table decorations.

The Entrepôt Market-The market offers unique items such as staircases, bookcases, woodwork, castle gates.

The Rues Market-This is like a jumble sale, where people lay their goods out on the ground. You’ll also find some unusual items throughout these stands and boutiques with vintage clothes and furniture. It’s great for rummaging.

Maps are available and it is possible to take a tour of the markets with an experienced antique buyer if you are worried about exploring on your own. Various companies offer this service. Check out the website below, they also have some great advice about the market.

www.parisperfect.com/tour/paris-flea-market-tour

The markets have been closed but are due to re-open this weekend, if you need more details see the link below.

https://uk.tourisme93.com/saint-ouen-clignancourt-flea-market-access-and-opening-times.html