LOCAL MARKET TOWNS

Most French towns have regular market days. The markets are usually a mix of stalls selling local food and produce plus clothes, fabric, shoes, utensils, jewelry, and household items. Most food stall holders will let you try before you buy but if you need to prompt them the phrase is "Gouté, s'il vous plait?"Those markets with * are tourist season only (usually Jul/Aug)check before you set off!

There are other markets a bit like car boot sales that are interesting and fun to visit - brocantes, puces, and vide-greniers. The brocantes are markets where people sell used things, household items, clothes not really antiques but a lot of very interesting things. The puces - flea markets are mainly clothes. If you like to rummage the interesting ones are vide-greniers and foires brocantes. "vide-grenier" means empty attic, or empty the attic, it's usually a combination of local people and dealers. Angela Rippon wrote about the fabulous vide-grenier at Mirepoix in an article for Guardian Unlimited about the best flee markets in Europe. A foire brocante is along similar lines to a vide-grenier, but with more dealers and generally higher prices.