To call the Marché aux Puces in Paris a “flea market” is an understatement.  Regarded as the largest market of its kind in the world and with around 180,000-200,000 visitors each weekend, at first sight its sheer size can be a very daunting prospect.  It is in fact a whole series of markets, segmented according to category and price level, ranging from vendors selling museum-quality pieces (at museum prices!), to sought-after collectables, through to inexpensive household bric-a-brac items.  Paris has a couple of smaller, lesser-known markets, but if you want to see the biggest and best, the Marché aux Puces Clignancourt-Saint-Ouen is where to go.  It’s a great experience—and you just may find that special something you didn’t even know you wanted until you saw it there!

The Belle Époque lasted from the 1870s to the beginning of World War One, and was at its height in Paris during the 1890s and 1900s.  It was a period of great optimism and cultural innovation.  It was an exciting time for art and theatre, as well as a new architectural movement generally referred to as Art Nouveau, which swept across Europe.  It was an era of confidence, prosperity and certainty, and Parisians in particular were hungry for more glamour, more beautification, and elegance.