My top holiday destinations for second-hand sourcing
The flea markets, brocantes and boutiques to plan your next holiday around
If you thought that going on holiday meant a break from thinking about my next second-hand sourcing opportunity, think again. In fact, that’s how I like to narrow down potential destinations in the first place.
When I was growing up, we’d pack up the car and drive to France for our annual summer holidays, which aside from a lot of bread and cheese, always included at least one visit to a local market at my Mum’s bequest, where she would purchase a straw basket to add to her collection. Inevitably, I now have a penchant for both baskets and markets (and cheese). In fact, that might be my personality summed up in three words.
So, is it even a holiday without a local market to peruse. The weekly markets of my childhood, yes, with stall after stall of fresh local produce, olive oil, soaps and baskets, but if the stars align and I can find a flea market or an antique market too, well that’s the icing on the cake.
When I sat down to write this newsletter I was convinced I’d been to quite a few markets on our overseas ventures but after wracking my brains (and then my boyfriend’s) turns out I might not have been to quite as many as I thought. So I’m sorry not to have quite as many tried and tested recommendations as I’d intended but luckily I’d already decided to bolster my own list by asking friends and followers (a big thank you to everyone that contributed) to share theirs too, and there’s also a lot of places on my radar that I haven’t made it to yet, so lots of inspiration still in store.
*I feel like I should preface this list by saying that no one loves a flea market like the French, and I think France is probably still the best (and for Brits, most convenient) destination to head to if you’re after some serious scavenging. And wherever you’re headed, chances are you won’t be far from a local brocante. You can look them up on this website.
Lucca, Italy. The walled city of Lucca in Tuscany, not far from Florence, is somewhere my family have been visiting for years and it holds a very special place in our hearts. They also host the Mercato Antiquario Lucchese every third weekend of the month - the second oldest antique market in Italy with over 200 exhibitors. I only found this out on our last visit in 2022 where I managed to miss it by one day…
Bordeaux, France. We visited a long while back, eight years maybe (?), and there was a lovely antiques market on the Sunday in the main square which looks like it still takes place. They also hold a larger flea market twice a year in spring and autumn, the Foire à la Brocante des Quinconces.
London, UK. For my none UK readers planning to visit, the biggest vintage and antiques market near London is Sunbury Antiques Market which is held at Kempton Park Racecourse on the second and last Tuesday of every month. Bear in mind it does mean an early start (6am) and it’s not technically in London. You can get there by train so a car isn’t essential but it would make it a lot easier, and I suppose it’ll be the size of your suitcase that will really determine what you can purchase. If you want a smaller fair in London, head along to Spitalfields market, just up from Liverpool Street station in East London on a Thursday.
Seville, Spain. Sadly the Feria Street flea market got rained off when we visited in spring 2022 but luckily the quality of the vintage clothing shops more than made up for it, and so much cheaper than London! We came away with a fair few purchases. I wish I could share the names of them but alas I’ve managed to lose all of my starred spots on Google maps.
Recommendations from others:
Nice, France. The lovely Jess Alvi-Ellis says she tries to visit Nice every year and time her trips around the brocantes, which she recommends for the art and homeware. Watch Jess’s reel here of her visit to Brocante du Cours saleya and there’s also Antibes brocante every Thursday and Saturday. Jess also shared some of her favourite vintage shops in Nice - Caprice and La Belle Epoque which she says are great for clothes.
Los Angeles, USA. Both in LA, the Los Feliz flea and the Rose Bowl flea come recommended by
@myagelber who has some excellent thrifted pieces in her enviable wardrobe. Los Feliz takes place every Saturday and Sunday, whilst the Rose Bowl, which sounds a lot bigger, takes place once a month.Lisbon, Portugal. Anna of @thelondontreasurehunter recommends the Feira da Ladra market in Lisbon, held every Tuesday and Saturday in Campo de Santa Clara, behind the monastery of São Vicente de Fora, saying (and I quote) ‘still the best [market] I’ve ever been to - particularly great for ceramics’.
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Shout out to my friend Julia who recommended Amsterdam’s markets - Noordemaarkt (Saturdays), Amstelveld (Mondays) and the Javaplein Vintage Market (held four times a year) - selling a mix of antique and vintage clothing, furniture and home decor. There’s also the IJ-Hallen, the largest flea market in Amsterdam held at the NDSM Wharf.
Others on my list:
Abergavenny, Wales. One I’ll be ticking off imminently as we’re in Wales next week. The bric-a-brac /flea market apparently takes place every Wednesday in the Market Hall.
Puglia, Italy. We went for the first time in October last year and I’m kicking myself for not seeing what markets were on. It sounds like there are various markets held in the bigger towns and cities including Ostuni and Lecce.
Arles, France. This pretty Provencal town has been on my list for a while now and they hold a monthly flea market - the brocante d’Arles.
Lille, France. Also in France, the famous Lille Braderie (the biggest flea market in Europe), takes over the city for a weekend every September with streets closed to traffic and a real carnival atmosphere. Over 10,000 vendors this is not for the faint hearted - get a flavour from Matilda Goad here who went last year.
Ghent, Belgium - I’ve heard good things for a while about Belgium as an antiques destination and would love to visit Antwerp, Ghent and Brussels, all of which have various flea markets and second-hand shops.
Japan - not somewhere I would have associated with vintage shopping but after reading this excellent debrief from
about all the second-hand stores she visited on her trip to Japan, it’s gone straight to the top of my list.
If you have any personal recommendations or places you’ve visited recently, I would love to hear about them in the comments and whether you’d suggest a visit! Thanks as always for being a paid subscriber and supporting my work with Second Best - it really changes the way I see this newsletter and allows me to justify it as work (!) not just a hobby.
Until next time x
Loved reading this and happy to see it wasn’t just my family who did (does) this ❤️ I just planned a trip so it would coincide with Milan’s Mercatone dell’Antiquariato and can’t wait.