A flea market inside a 990-founded abbey at Bourgueil, the first-Sunday-of-August fair in Jargeau: twelve places to hunt in Centre-Val de Loire, August 1-2.
First weekend of August, mid-holidays: Centre-Val de Loire brings out its biggest events. Several hundred sellers in Montrichard, a fair spreading through the whole town centre in Jargeau, village sales that open at 6 in the morning.
Our pick this week is the Bourgueil Abbey flea market, set inside a monastery founded in 990. The weekend of August 1-2 is its closing stretch. Twelve events cover the region's six departments, from the Cher to the Loiret. On the list: professional antiques, old-fashioned threshing demonstrations, a city flea market and a coin collectors' meeting. The real question is what you are after: a piece of furniture, a rare coin, or simply a day outdoors?
Bourgueil Abbey flea market: several days of hunting in a monastery from 990 (Indre-et-Loire)
Until Sunday August 2, the Bourgueil Abbey flea market fills the grounds of the Royal Abbey, founded in 990. The event mixes flea market, antiques and car-boot sale, in the middle of the Bourgueil vineyards.
The weekend of August 1-2 is the finale. The format is unusual for the region, where most large events run for a single day. Here, sellers stay put for several days, which leaves time to come back the next morning for a piece of furniture spotted the day before. Worth the trip if you like walking slowly and looking twice.
Jargeau brocante fair: the first Sunday of August by the Loire (Loiret)
Sunday August 2, the Jargeau flea market and car-boot fair spreads across the whole town centre. The covered market hall hosts the professional dealers. Mail Carnot, the Grande-Rue and the Martroi, Grand-Cloître and Petit-Cloître squares take the car-boot sale.
Splitting the two crowds is what makes the day work: dealers on one side, private sellers on the other. Jargeau has held this date every first Sunday of August, on the banks of the Loire. Allow a full morning to cover both zones without rushing.
31st Grande Brocante du Blanc: hunting and classic vehicles in the Creuse valley (Indre)
Sunday August 2, the Grande Brocante du Blanc marks its 31st edition in the town centre. It pairs two things that rarely share a programme: a wide flea market of dealers and private sellers, and a gathering of classic cars and retro motorbikes.
Le Blanc is a small town on the Creuse, in the south of the Indre, and this remains the highlight of its summer. Thirty-one editions means a settled, loyal circuit of sellers. Engine enthusiasts get as much out of the day as hunters after old crockery.
Saint-Laurent-de-Lin Peasant Festival: hunting between two threshing demonstrations (Indre-et-Loire)
Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2, the Peasant Festival flea market takes place at the Chêne Pilé farm. It sits inside a full re-enactment of farm life in 1900: old-style threshing, forgotten trades, period farming gestures.
So the flea market is not the only reason to come. It is one of the few dates in the region where you can buy an old tool a few metres from the demonstration explaining what it was for. Two full days, deep in the Touraine countryside. The format suits a family outing.
Montrichard Val de Cher: several hundred sellers in a medieval town (Loir-et-Cher)
Sunday August 2, the Montrichard Val de Cher flea market and car-boot sale gathers several hundred sellers across the town centre. Entry is free for visitors.
Montrichard is a medieval town on the banks of the Cher. In August, the event rides the summer tourist flow, and the range of objects, furniture and curios reflects that. It is the biggest volume of the weekend in the Loir-et-Cher. Get there early, the aisles tighten fast by mid-morning.
43rd Amis du Vieil Aigurande flea market: forty years on the same date (Indre)
Saturday August 1, the Amis du Vieil Aigurande flea market takes over the village centre for its 43rd edition. Between 100 and 200 sellers set up in this commune straddling the border of the Berry and the Marche.
The heritage association behind it has run the date for over forty years, always on the same day. That steadiness built its reputation among hunters across central France, some of whom travel a fair distance. An old-school village flea market, no theme, no staging, where sorting is done by eye.
Amboise professional flea market: around fifty dealers facing the Loire (Indre-et-Loire)
Saturday August 1, the first Saturday of the month, the Amboise monthly professional flea market brings around fifty dealers to Quai du Général de Gaulle, between the Espace Henri d'Orléans and the Square des AFN.
No car-boot sellers here: professionals only. Antiques, old furniture, art objects and curios, on a quay facing the river. The town of Amboise runs the event, one of the most closely followed hunting dates in the Touraine. Prices sit higher than at a car-boot sale, and so does the standard of the stock.
Saint-Julien-sur-Cher: 160 sellers, pétanque and a barbecue by the water (Loir-et-Cher)
Sunday August 2, the Saint-Julien-sur-Cher flea market and country day gathers around 160 sellers on the banks of the Cher. The festivities committee adds a pétanque contest and a barbecue.
Shaded banks matter a lot on August 2: you hunt without roasting. The format reads like a village fête that swallowed a flea market, rather than the reverse. You can spend the whole day there, buy nothing, and still call the trip a success.
Boulevard Alexandre Martin: the Saturday-morning flea market in Orléans (Loiret)
Saturday August 1, as every Saturday, the Boulevard Alexandre Martin weekly flea market occupies the car park in the heart of Orléans. Between 50 and 110 professional sellers unpack from 7.30 am.
Old furniture, trinkets, collectible crockery, books, household linen, retro objects: stock turns over week to week, which explains why regulars keep coming back. This is the weekend's city date, reachable without a car. Handy for a Saturday morning downtown before the Sunday country sales.
Argenton-sur-Creuse summer flea market, every Saturday until August 29 (Indre)
Saturday August 1, the Argenton-sur-Creuse summer flea market returns to the town centre, as every Saturday from July 4 to August 29. Dealers and private sellers offer furniture, trinkets, books and assorted objects.
Argenton is nicknamed the Venice of the Berry: balconied houses hanging over the Creuse, medieval bridges, reflections on the river. The setting carries much of the appeal. Being weekly, the event stays smaller than the big Sunday fairs. It pairs well with a walk along the water.
Le Lotus flea market in Vierzon: about a hundred sellers and a shaded guinguette (Cher)
Running from July 5 to August 23, the Le Lotus flea market and car-boot sale sets up on the shaded car park of the Robert Barran rugby ground, Avenue Édouard Vaillant. Around 100 sellers, from 7 am to 6 pm.
What sets it apart is Le Lotus guinguette area, open free of charge under the trees. A drinks stand and food complete the set-up. Shade is a serious argument in August, when most flea markets run in full sun. A Cher date that holds through the whole summer season.
Dreux numismatic meeting: coins, tokens and medals among collectors (Eure-et-Loir)
Saturday August 1, the Amicale Numismatique Durocasse holds its sale and exchange meeting at 17 Rue Saint-Jean in Dreux. Coins, banknotes, tokens, medals: a narrow field, and a deep one.
These meetings run on Saturdays, from April to December. They welcome every level, from someone who inherited a box of coins to a seasoned numismatist. It is the opposite of a general flea market: you arrive with a precise question and leave with an answer. The sharpest format of the regional weekend.
Also worth a look this weekend in Centre-Val de Loire
- Bourgueil annual flea market, Sunday August 2, Place des Halles and surrounding streets, with the square given over first to professional dealers (Indre-et-Loire).
- Brokaselles flea market in Selles-sur-Cher, Sunday August 2 at the exhibition park, open from 5.30 am to 6 pm, free entry (Loir-et-Cher).
- Sazeray flea market festival, Sunday August 2, combining a flea market, a country produce market and an open-air meal in the streets and at the municipal ground (Indre).
- Saint-Genou August flea market, Sunday August 2, private and professional stalls through the village streets, beside the Indre river.
Other regions have their own line-up, all gathered in our weekend agenda. Happy hunting in Centre-Val de Loire, this August 1 and 2.
