The market is located on the northern edge of the 18e arrondissement in what is the suburb of St-Ouen. It spreads between the Porte de St-Ouen and the Porte de Clignancourt, with the bulk of the licensed markets closer to the latter. The best métro stop is Porte-de-Clignancourt (métro line 4).Officially open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 9am to 6.30pm – although this can vary depending on the weather, and many stands are closed on a Monday – the puces de St-Ouen claims to be the largest flea market in the world, the name "flea" deriving from the state of the secondhand mattresses, clothes and other junk sold here when the market first operated in the free-for-all zone outside the city walls. Nowadays, however, it's predominantly a proper – and very expensive – antiques market, selling mainly furniture but also such trendy "junk" as old café counters, telephones, traffic lights, posters, juke-boxes and petrol pumps. First impressions as you walk up the busy Porte de Clignancourt from the métro stop are that there's nothing for sale but cheap jeans, leather jackets and African souvenirs, whilst the Porte-de-St-Ouen métro approach brings you past the dregs of secondhand merchandise. Between the two, along rue Jean-Henri-Fabre and its continuation rue du Dr Babinski, just on the north side of the périphérique, something of the old rag-and-bone element survives alongside grey- and black-market imports, the modern-day equivalent. To the tune of stall-holders' music systems, constant traffic noise and multinational conversations, job-lots of batteries jostle with rip-off DVDs, household cleaning products with African labels, and endless stalls of shoddy clothing. There are, however, twelve official markets within the complex. Marché Biron – the poshest – Marché Cambo, Marché Antica and Marché Malassis all sell serious and expensive antique furniture. Marché Vernaison – the oldest – has the most diverse collection of old and new furniture and knick-knacks, while Marché Serpette and Marché des Rosiers concentrate on twentieth-century decorative pieces. The relatively new and swish Marché Dauphine has mostly rather expensive furniture and furnishings, while Marché Paul-Bert, offers all kinds of furniture, china, and the like. The shops in Marché Malik stock mostly discount and vintage clothes, as well as some high-class couturier stuff. Finally, there's Marché Jules-Vallès and Marché Lécuyer-Vallès, which are the cheapest, most junk-like . . . and most likely to throw up an unexpected treasure. It can be fun to wander around, but it's foolish to expect any bargains. In some ways the streets of St-Ouen beyond the market are just as interesting for the glimpse they give of a tempo of living long vanished from the city itself. Should hunger overtake you, there's a touristy restaurant-buvette in the centre of Marché Vernaison, Chez Louisette, where the great gypsy jazz guitarist, Django Reinhardt, sometimes played. There's also plenty of opportunity for snacks on rue Paul Bert and a good brasserie which serves huge salads.
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