“Allez-y madame.”
“Bonjour! Ça va?”
The man at the fruit and vegetable stand caught me eyeing his tomatoes and hands me a bag.
The normal Paris barriers seem to come down at the markets. Vendors shout bonjour before they know you are going to buy something. It’s to get your attention of course, but they are still the warmest salespeople in the city. The fruit and veggie guy even started tutoyer-ing me (using informal “you”) after my second visit.
I fill my bag with tomatoes, and take two more for green beans and carrots while I listen to the vendor talk to an elderly man about bananas.
“Des bananes de Martinique!” Bananas from Martinique!
“De Martinique? Quelle ville?” Martinique? What city?
“Moi, j’en sais rien. Je suis marocain!” I have no idea. I’m Moroccan! And they both laugh.
After he’s finished with the bananas, I hand him my bags, and he hands me a cherry. Delicious, but what do you do with those pits?!
“Merci.”
“Des abricots pour la princesse?” Apricots for the princess?
“Non, merci, ça sera tout.” No thanks, that’ll be all.
“Deux euros dix.”
I hand him the 2 euros and 10 centimes.
“A la prochaine.” See you next time.
Yes, see you next time. But not because you call me princess and give me free fruit. Really.
According to this France Guide website (in French), there are about 90 markets in France. The majority are marchés alimentaires (food markets), but there are a lot of markets that specialize in flowers, clothes, one that has birds, antiques, and then there are also marchés aux puces (flea markets) and the bouquinistes (used books) along the Seine.
The market described above is obviously a food market, one of two that I frequent. There you can find fresh vegetables, fruit, fish, cheese, and much more. And don’t let the name foul you. Most food markets also have stands for clothes, purses, cooking equipment, flowers, jewelry, and other odds and ends, like batteries.
Food markets are usually open two or three days a week for the morning and early afternoon. The permanent covered markets are open most days, but I’ve yet to be to one, but the famous Marché d’Aligre is on my to-do soon list.
The market above is called Marché Maison Blanche and is a 2-minute walk from our apartment and occupies one side of Avenue d’Italie, the main street for shopping and errands in our area. It can be visited on Thursdays from 7am-2:30pm and Sundays from 7am-3pm. This is where I go most often because this is where my veggie guy works and it’s so close. I also bought a 10 euro purse here (It’s not of super great quality though. For great quality, go one stand down where you will find 70 euro leather purses). Yet, it’s not my favorite food market because of one little thing: it’s organization. It is one long strip to walk down, with stands on each side. It’s usually very crowded and difficult to maneuver.
My favorite can be found on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7am-2:30pm and Sundays from 7am-3pm at Place Monge, near the Arènes de Lutèce. It offers most of the same things, but is set up in a town square and therefore is much easier to move about.
My favorite stand there has spices and olives. It smells absolutely wonderful and the colors are beautiful. Sorry, I haven’t been brave (or rude?) enough to take close-up pictures of stands. I need to learn how to make something with olives so I can actually buy and use some.
Besides Marché d’Aligre, I also hope to make it to the Marché aux Puces de Vanves before going home. The first day of my sister’s visit, we tried to make it, but everyone was packing when we finally got there. By chance, on the way home, we found a one-time flea market. Tom and I found some really neat old postcards of Paris, that had actually been sent decades ago and had their originally messages on the back.
Open-air markets have made it on my list of my favorite things about daily life in Paris. The market ambiance is unique. Watching people interact with each other and smile is almost better than my free fruit.
For more info or to find other markets in Paris, go here (French only).
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