My Vintage Weekend
My Vintage Weekend (1)
Welcome to our new vintage travel blog! Follow us as we go round towns and cities looking for the best vintage shopping, cafés and nightlife.
If there's somewhere special near you let us know and we may just turn up. x
C’est Vintage mon chéri
A weekend in Paris is not just for romance, it’s also great for some serious vintage shopping. But if you don’t want to spend two whole days lost within Europe’s largest flea market follow Aliya Rashid’s mini vintage guide and, after all the bargain shopping, you’ll still be left with plenty of time to find a wonderful café, sip some delicious coffee and sigh longingly at all the beautiful men…
The Parisian vintage set-up is very different from the likes of London. With its tradition of flea markets and friperies (thrift second-hand clothes shops), there are certainly bargains to be had. But it's vintage designer that Paris does really well – and that will cost you. So save up your pennies and spend the weekend looking for that one special dress.
During my visit I decided to live like a Parisian and rented an apartment in Amelie’s Montmartre. To the north of the centre this area is rough around the a edges and just down the road from the city’s red light district but it does have warm village atmosphere with pretty cobbled streets and it’s the perfect base from which to get to Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt – Metro Porte de Clignancourt ,18th. Open: Saturday 9-18h and Sunday 10-18h. This is the largest market in Europe but is really 14 different markets in one. Get up early, make sure you have a decent map so you know exactly where you’re going and don’t be intimidated by the hoards of men trying to sell knock-offs outside the metro. It's also best to just wear jeans and trainers in order not to draw too much attention to yourself. That way you might be able to get a better price. Expect to spend a whole day here.
The best bit of Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt are:
Marché Vernaison – Avenue Michelet: Largely outdoors, consisting of little shops and a maze of alleyways. This is by far the most interesting market with goods ranging from bric-a-brac to high-end antiques it’s great for a rummage and the perfect place to find that lovely old perfume bottle you didn’t realise you wanted until you saw it. Plenty of vintage clothing for both men and women though somewhat on the pricey side but the stallholders are friendly so engage and haggle.
Marché Dauphine – Rue Henri-Fabre and Rue des Rosiers: An indoor market set over two floors. Full of furniture, rug, art and homeware shops. Head upstairs for the vintage clothing. Falbalas has an incredible selection of vintage from the 1900s-1960s in wonderful condition but you won’t find dresses for less than €100 and the numerous ‘Do not touch’ signs are intimidating and leave potential buyers unsure of what they’re allowed to handle. The owner is not very welcoming but if you can get past all of that you will be well rewarded by what is on offer.
Le Passage on Rue Jules Valles: Easy to miss but this is the best part of the whole market. Down one side is Chez Sarah, a shop about a quarter of a mile long and ten foot wide. With strip lighting and shiny flooring it doesn’t exactly emanate vintage warmth but there’s rail upon rail of the most pristine vintage ever seen, this really is vintage Nirvana. You could spend an entire day here. With clothes ranging from 1900s-1970s you won’t find anything for less than €100 but this is definitely the place to buy that special something.
Marché Jules Valles – Rue Jules Valles: Lots of furniture, objects d’arts and junk. This is no-frills at its best.
On Sunday morning head to the south of the city to Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves – Metro Porte de Vanves, 14th. Avenue Mark Sangnier and Avenue Georges Lafenestre. Saturday-Sunday 8am-1pm. You really should spend at least a few hours at this charming street market. It is overflowing with bric-a-brac, homewares, paintings, toys, books, faded photos and the odd bit of vintage clothing. Take the time to delve deep and you will find some real bargains but don’t expect beautiful presentation.
Other smaller street markets selling vintage are on Rue des Martyrs – Metro Pigalle, 9th and Boulevard Beaumarchais – Metro Bastille, 11th. Both are pop-ups open on Saturdays and Sundays and are packed with interesting goodies at reasonable prices. Go on the off chance and even if they’re not around that day there are plenty of vintage shops and lovely cafes nearby so the trip won’t have been wasted.
I also had a look around the Salon du Vintage fair, a twice yearly event that attracts 25,000 people over the course of a weekend. It blends vintage clothing with furniture, homewares and electrics. Tilt Vintage and by Solange were particularly interesting but the event lacked atmosphere and prices were on the high side. A very pretty beaded 1930s dress for an eye watering €850 would fetch around £300 at a UK vintage fair.
If you want to check out the Parisian vintage shops I would recommend ‘Paris Vintage’ by Sarah de Haro. Though a few years old now it has been my bible for the last couple of visits. Just remember that out of the main centre of Paris shops still shut for lunch, even on a Saturday, and most shops do not open on a Sunday.
For bargains check out Free P Star. They have two shops in Marais – a studenty one on Rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnarie, Metro Hotel de Ville and a more organised one with a large selection of ’60s and ’70s dresses on Rue de Rivoli, Metro St Paul. With dresses from €10 be prepared to get your hands dirty and dive straight in.
Vertiges, Rue Sait-Martin and Vintage Désir, Rue des Rosiers are also worth a look.
For more up market clothing from the 1940s onwards try Mamie and Mamie Blue on Rue de Rochechouart, 9th. These are generally held up to be Parisian vintage institutions and are so packed you can hardly move. Prices are on the high side for the quality of stock but if you’re brave enough to sift through the layers, you can find some real gems.
If designer is what you’re after than look no further than Scarlett on Rue Clémont Marot, 8th. This tiny shop is jam packed with every designer name in the business. A Chanel bag or two anyone?
Tempolino on Rue Gerando, full of homewares, furniture and clothing, and Paul and Claire, selling clothing from 1960s-1980s on the Montmartre side of Rue des Martyrs, are not to be missed. Paul looked very relieved when I bought an orange and gold lurex 1960s dress for €35. ‘Paris is still very conservative,’ he explained.
If you still have some time left then do check out the Lomography Gallery Store on Rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie. It’s a funky little shop dedicated to retro film cameras with a whole wall of colourful photographs. Librarie Scaramouche on Rue St-Martin is an old movie shop with books and posters galore dedicated to a more glamorous era.
Eating and drinking: Paris has cafés in abundance with a vintage feel. The café at Hôtel Amour on Rue de Navarin, 9th, is a blissful place to have a coffee, cake and just about everything else. If you must visit the Café des 2 Moulins (Amélie’s Café) do so for a quick coffee and than go up the road to Rue Abbesses and find a nicer café. Vingt Heures Vin on Rue des Abbesses is a wine shop with a lovely little café where they serve the most sublime baked camembert in honey. Sunday brunch has to be at the retro L’Industrie on Rue St Sabin in Bastille. A great meal and the lovely waitress kept the coffee coming. Really what more could you ask for from Paris?
Look out for our other vintage weekends away! If you know of anywhere special where you live, let us know and we might just turn up and take you out for tea and cupcakes as a special thank you!
Email us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Useful websites:
www.eurostar.com
www.antikita.com for a good map of Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt under Access.
www.marcheauxpuces-saintouen.com
www.airbnb.co.uk and www.housetrip.com have a wide range of short term apartments to let.
A weekend in Paris is not just for romance, it’s also great for some serious vintage shopping. But if you don’t want to spend two whole days lost within Europe’s largest flea market follow Aliya Rashid’s mini vintage guide and, after all the bargain shopping, you’ll still be left with plenty of time to find a wonderful café, sip some delicious coffee and sigh longingly at all the beautiful men…
The Parisian vintage set-up is very different from the likes of London. With its tradition of flea markets and friperies (thrift second-hand clothes shops), there are certainly bargains to be had. But it's vintage designer that Paris does really well – and that will cost you. So save up your pennies and spend the weekend looking for that one special dress.
During my visit I decided to live like a Parisian and rented an apartment in Amelie’s Montmartre. To the north of the centre this area is rough around the a edges and just down the road from the city’s red light district but it does have warm village atmosphere with pretty cobbled streets and it’s the perfect base from which to get to Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt – Metro Porte de Clignancourt ,18th. Open: Saturday 9-18h and Sunday 10-18h. This is the largest market in Europe but is really 14 different markets in one. Get up early, make sure you have a decent map so you know exactly where you’re going and don’t be intimidated by the hoards of men trying to sell knock-offs outside the metro. It's also best to just wear jeans and trainers in order not to draw too much attention to yourself. That way you might be able to get a better price. Expect to spend a whole day here.
The best bit of Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt are:
Marché Vernaison – Avenue Michelet: Largely outdoors, consisting of little shops and a maze of alleyways. This is by far the most interesting market with goods ranging from bric-a-brac to high-end antiques it’s great for a rummage and the perfect place to find that lovely old perfume bottle you didn’t realise you wanted until you saw it. Plenty of vintage clothing for both men and women though somewhat on the pricey side but the stallholders are friendly so engage and haggle.
Marché Dauphine – Rue Henri-Fabre and Rue des Rosiers: An indoor market set over two floors. Full of furniture, rug, art and homeware shops. Head upstairs for the vintage clothing. Falbalas has an incredible selection of vintage from the 1900s-1960s in wonderful condition but you won’t find dresses for less than €100 and the numerous ‘Do not touch’ signs are intimidating and leave potential buyers unsure of what they’re allowed to handle. The owner is not very welcoming but if you can get past all of that you will be well rewarded by what is on offer.
Le Passage on Rue Jules Valles: Easy to miss but this is the best part of the whole market. Down one side is Chez Sarah, a shop about a quarter of a mile long and ten foot wide. With strip lighting and shiny flooring it doesn’t exactly emanate vintage warmth but there’s rail upon rail of the most pristine vintage ever seen, this really is vintage Nirvana. You could spend an entire day here. With clothes ranging from 1900s-1970s you won’t find anything for less than €100 but this is definitely the place to buy that special something.
Marché Jules Valles – Rue Jules Valles: Lots of furniture, objects d’arts and junk. This is no-frills at its best.
On Sunday morning head to the south of the city to Marché aux Puces de la Porte de Vanves – Metro Porte de Vanves, 14th. Avenue Mark Sangnier and Avenue Georges Lafenestre. Saturday-Sunday 8am-1pm. You really should spend at least a few hours at this charming street market. It is overflowing with bric-a-brac, homewares, paintings, toys, books, faded photos and the odd bit of vintage clothing. Take the time to delve deep and you will find some real bargains but don’t expect beautiful presentation.
Other smaller street markets selling vintage are on Rue des Martyrs – Metro Pigalle, 9th and Boulevard Beaumarchais – Metro Bastille, 11th. Both are pop-ups open on Saturdays and Sundays and are packed with interesting goodies at reasonable prices. Go on the off chance and even if they’re not around that day there are plenty of vintage shops and lovely cafes nearby so the trip won’t have been wasted.
I also had a look around the Salon du Vintage fair, a twice yearly event that attracts 25,000 people over the course of a weekend. It blends vintage clothing with furniture, homewares and electrics. Tilt Vintage and by Solange were particularly interesting but the event lacked atmosphere and prices were on the high side. A very pretty beaded 1930s dress for an eye watering €850 would fetch around £300 at a UK vintage fair.
If you want to check out the Parisian vintage shops I would recommend ‘Paris Vintage’ by Sarah de Haro. Though a few years old now it has been my bible for the last couple of visits. Just remember that out of the main centre of Paris shops still shut for lunch, even on a Saturday, and most shops do not open on a Sunday.
For bargains check out Free P Star. They have two shops in Marais – a studenty one on Rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnarie, Metro Hotel de Ville and a more organised one with a large selection of ’60s and ’70s dresses on Rue de Rivoli, Metro St Paul. With dresses from €10 be prepared to get your hands dirty and dive straight in.
Vertiges, Rue Sait-Martin and Vintage Désir, Rue des Rosiers are also worth a look.
For more up market clothing from the 1940s onwards try Mamie and Mamie Blue on Rue de Rochechouart, 9th. These are generally held up to be Parisian vintage institutions and are so packed you can hardly move. Prices are on the high side for the quality of stock but if you’re brave enough to sift through the layers, you can find some real gems.
If designer is what you’re after than look no further than Scarlett on Rue Clémont Marot, 8th. This tiny shop is jam packed with every designer name in the business. A Chanel bag or two anyone?
Tempolino on Rue Gerando, full of homewares, furniture and clothing, and Paul and Claire, selling clothing from 1960s-1980s on the Montmartre side of Rue des Martyrs, are not to be missed. Paul looked very relieved when I bought an orange and gold lurex 1960s dress for €35. ‘Paris is still very conservative,’ he explained.
If you still have some time left then do check out the Lomography Gallery Store on Rue Sainte Croix de la Bretonnerie. It’s a funky little shop dedicated to retro film cameras with a whole wall of colourful photographs. Librarie Scaramouche on Rue St-Martin is an old movie shop with books and posters galore dedicated to a more glamorous era.
Eating and drinking: Paris has cafés in abundance with a vintage feel. The café at Hôtel Amour on Rue de Navarin, 9th, is a blissful place to have a coffee, cake and just about everything else. If you must visit the Café des 2 Moulins (Amélie’s Café) do so for a quick coffee and than go up the road to Rue Abbesses and find a nicer café. Vingt Heures Vin on Rue des Abbesses is a wine shop with a lovely little café where they serve the most sublime baked camembert in honey. Sunday brunch has to be at the retro L’Industrie on Rue St Sabin in Bastille. A great meal and the lovely waitress kept the coffee coming. Really what more could you ask for from Paris?
Look out for our other vintage weekends away! If you know of anywhere special where you live, let us know and we might just turn up and take you out for tea and cupcakes as a special thank you!
Email us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Useful websites:
www.eurostar.com
www.antikita.com for a good map of Marché aux Puces St-Ouen de Clignancourt under Access.
www.marcheauxpuces-saintouen.com
www.airbnb.co.uk and www.housetrip.com have a wide range of short term apartments to let.
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My Vintage Weekend
