In today’s blog post I will tell you all about the French tradition of Brocante, why I enjoy visiting Brocantes so much and tell you about some of the best hunting spots
A Brocante is the French equivalent for a flea-market but with predominantly old vintage household goods and furniture. But let’s start at the beginning. In all French departments and of course also in my region PACA (Provence-Alpes-Cote d´Azur) you can look up Brocantes in an online published calendar (brocabrac.fr).
The Brocante usually takes place all Saturday or all Sunday and often it is in connection with a local market day or some additional stands with food or some other sort of entertainment.
And as I talk about Brocante of course I must also mention vide-grenier. There is a difference but there are also a lot of similarities. In a vide-grenier market usually the sold goods are from private households while a Brocante usually indicates that professional sellers offer goods.
Translated word by word vide grenier means emptying your basement or attic. But the stands nevertheless offer old and used houseware, garden tools, vintage clothes. And then you can also find vide maison, where a complete household gets dissolved through a private sale.
Any event Brocante, vide-grenier or vide-maison share some of the same characteristics. It is a very unique shopping experience that can usually not be found in a conventional store. Usually the visitors of a Brocante arrive early to find the best picks. In the French language there is a special word “chiner” which means to stroll languidly over an antique market. Very quickly you can engage with the seller into an intense exchange about the item you are interested in and start bartering. How much is asked? How much are you willing to pay? Maybe you want to continue your stroll and come back?
In our family we have always had a liking for old and vintage.
These items are part of a specific cultural habit, they have been passed down through generations and each piece tells a unique story. Soon enough I discovered that household goods in France tell something about how you live and what you use.
My husband knows how much I love to rummage through old and vintage items. He abhors to go to a Brocante and is very happy if I head off on Sundays on my own.
Whenever I spend a day at a Brocante I do not look for a specific item. For me to go to a Brocante is the joy to watch others in their search and experiencing the sense of nostalgia and sentimentality that comes with it.
I associate with each piece that I discover some memory and emotion that I can recall for as long as I can remember.
I first came to the South of France with a sailing boat. We started in Ventimiglia and sailed along the coast all the way to Marseille. On our last day we visited a Brocante and I bought old plates and wine glasses. I have now moved them to France and every time I use them I recall this vacation in my twenties when I was still a student.
As we renovated our mas, little did I think about interior design and furnishings. Only after the renovation was finished and the house had to be decorated did I start to think about what I wanted to get.
Our house is a lively mix of old and new and some of the old furniture we brought from Germany. But from the very beginning did I want to furnish the house in a way that is local and fits the French countryside. Old items that have already survived a century very often are made with high quality materials and craftsmanship. They are more durable and long lasting than modern items. I love to see the artistic aspect of an antique piece. It can be scarred or scratched. But it always is unique and for me also a very good way to determine an individual and personal style.
Another aspect is also time. It took us five years to renovate and step by step finish the inside and the outside of the house. (Yes the Covid pandemic definitely slowed the process and also the French laissez-faire of artists).
But I believe it is favorable to live and get to know a home before you completely furnish and design it. It is the slow process of seeing the light enter in the morning and going down in the evening. Casting shade or creating intense light. The changes with the season.
And getting used to using the house and selecting favorite places.
I find it important to understand where to place much used furniture to support comfortability and ease of use.
And this is also right for decorative items. I have bought many vintage paintings and mirrors and then switched places as the collection grew larger.
I have bought almost everything in a Brocante or a vide maison. From large furniture to very small household items. The largest items were an antique day bed (lit de jour) and an old linen closet, that really holds all our linen.
I enjoy entertaining and setting a nice table and for this reason I have a large supply of old and vintage linen and napkins, bought in Brocante, given from my mother and being family owned for many generations but also new and sewn by myself.
I renovated a large very ugly cupboard in a very tedious and lengthy process. (I will dedicate a blog post to the renovation soon). This cupboard that I bought only for its size and design fits exactly into a niche of our living room. I have slowly filled this cupboard with old glasses and vintage terre de fer porcelain that we use.
My husband is very understanding and lets me free range when it comes to adding charm in an affordable and individual way. I have very easily been infected by the collectors virus that a Brocante passes on. I truly enjoy the cultural aspect but also the deep satisfaction of a successful hunt for a now beloved piece.
And if I bring home another piece that is more beautiful than necessary I am happy to calm myself knowing that when buying something old I show sustainable behavior and promote the reuse and recycling of an item instead of buying something new.
Every Brocante has its charm. And also the small vide-greniers that often take place for some charitable event like the collection of money for a good cause. Those events come randomly and are always a wonderful opportunity to spend a morning in the sunshine. The larger and well established Brocantes in my region are the Brocantes of L’Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue, Villeneuve-lés-Avignon, Eygalières or Carpentras. They all have in common that they invite you to visit the adjacent regional market and wander the small village and explore much more than only the Brocante.
While Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue boasts many antique dealers as one of the antique capitals of France it also is called the Venice of the South of France, with the river Sorgue creating a beautiful ambience of idyllic water views and many still active mill wheels. Brocante is every Sunday.
The village of Eygalieres is a beautiful ancient village nestled in the Alpilles. It has old villas dating back to Roman times and it is well worth a visit. I love to combine the drive with its monthly Brocante (always the last Sunday of the month). Once I have visited the Brocante I wander up the hill towards the old Chapelle Sainte Sixte and take in the breathtaking views of the valley below.
Villeneuve les Avignon is an equally nice opportunity to combine brocanting and city gazing. The village dates back to the middle ages and lies at the Rhone below Fort Saint André. An old cloister Chartreuse du Val de Benediction allows some contemplation in combination with the Saturday Brocante.
Carpentras at last has the Brocante located under a very impressive alley of Plane trees. Depending on the time of year these plane trees create an atmosphere of serenity in winter when without leaves and barren or an atmosphere of cool and calm when fully green and shading the area below from the summer sun.
For sure all Brocantes go through the season. In winter they accommodate only the locals and somehow adapt their pricing. In summer they strongly grow in size, be it the stands or the visitors (tourists). This is the time of year, when even in only French spoken France you can hear the occasional English and selling prices are at their strongest.
I can in any case highly recommend a visit to participate and watch this much-loved French weekend occupation. Even if just sitting in a cafe close by and observing the goings-on.
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