From Bastia to Porto-Vecchio via Balagne and the Costa Verde, ten flea market picks for the Ascension long weekend in Corsica.
Insular, mountainous, demanding with its distances: Corsica does not have the flea market density of large mainland regions, but it makes up for it with the loyalty of its weekly hunting grounds and with settings few other territories can rival. For the Ascension long weekend, ten markets stand out between Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse, from sun-drenched Ajaccio squares to the Costa Verde seafronts. Our pick of the week: the Olmeto Animation Committee Yard Sale, landing precisely on Sunday May 17 at the Baracci thermal baths park, in the spa village of the Valinco gulf.
Olmeto Animation Committee Yard Sale, the Sunday event of the weekend
Sunday May 17, the Olmeto Animation Committee (CAO) hosts its annual yard sale and flea market at the Baracci thermal baths park, a former spa overlooking the Valinco bay a few kilometres from Propriano. Private sellers and professionals lay out everyday objects, forgotten treasures and curiosities in the open air, in a wooded green setting unusual for the region. One of the few rendez-vous landing precisely on the Ascension weekend in Corse-du-Sud, and therefore the big event gathering of the weekend. Free entry, light catering on site.
Boulevard Pascal Rossini Flea Market, Ajaccio's Sunday institution
Sunday May 17, the Boulevard Pascal Rossini Flea Market holds its weekly rendez-vous opposite the high school and the municipal swimming pool, in the Cannes district. Around thirty exhibitors lay out antiques, old objects, knick-knacks, furniture and second-hand items along the pavement from morning. The Sunday institution of local bargain hunters, attended year-round by greater Ajaccio residents and passing holidaymakers. The pavement format, modest in size but regular in quality, makes it a rendez-vous to pencil in for any Ajaccio Sunday morning.
Place César Campichi Flea Market in Ajaccio, two days of hunting
Saturday May 16 and Sunday May 17, the Sacrée Attraction association holds its Place César Campichi Flea Market over both days of the weekend. This twice-weekly market covers the whole Corsican tourist season, from March to late September, and offers the rare advantage of two consecutive days of hunting at the same spot. Exhibitors are stable from one week to the next, allowing regular hunters to follow stock rotation. Compact format, relaxed neighbourhood vibe, perfect complement to the Boulevard Pascal Rossini market.
Porto-Vecchio Weekly Yard Sale, Avenue de Bastia in solidarity mode
Sunday May 17 from 8 am to 2 pm, the Porto-Vecchio Weekly Yard Sale takes over Avenue de Bastia in the centre of the Extreme-South capital. Notable specificity: the event is run for the benefit of four rotating associations — SOS Décharge, Global Earth Keeper, Corse Parkinson and Chats de Solfa — embedding it into a charitable, solidarity dynamic. Locals and holidaymakers cross paths around a friendly second-hand market. For hunters staying in the south of the island, the natural Sunday rendez-vous in Porto-Vecchio.
Sarrola-Carcopino Grand Flea Market, 50 stalls at the former ASPTT stadium
Saturday May 16, the former ASPTT stadium of Sarrola-Carcopino hosts the Grand Flea Market organised by SAS Piétri, about ten minutes drive from central Ajaccio. Around fifty exhibitors lay out from 8 am to 6 pm old objects, furniture, crockery, clothing and curiosities on the vast stadium grounds. Free entry, pitch at €15, bar and toilets on site, and above all a 500-space car park that solves the eternal parking problem of large Corsican flea markets. One of the largest volumes of the weekend in Corse-du-Sud.
Zonza Yard Sale, hunting at 800 metres altitude
The Zonza Fête Committee hosts its spring yard sale on Place Bruny, in this Alta Rocca highland village surrounded by Laricio pine forests. Fifty to a hundred private and professional exhibitors set up from 7 am to 5 pm in a mountain setting at 800 metres altitude, radically different from the coastal flea markets. Refreshments on site, free entry. The Corsican village atmosphere is authentic here, the altitude freshness welcome, and exhibitors are often Zonza locals emptying their attics.
Place Saint-Nicolas Sunday Flea Market in Bastia, facing the sea
Sunday May 17 from 7 am to 1 pm, the Place Saint-Nicolas Sunday Flea Market holds its weekly rendez-vous on the largest urban square in Corsica, opposite the port of Bastia. Around thirty exhibitors mixing professionals and private sellers display old furniture, collectibles, postcards, books, knick-knacks and second-hand items along the plane-tree-shaded esplanade. The setting is a postcard: the statue of Napoleon as a Roman emperor watches over the hunting, the marina bustles in the background. The big Sunday rendez-vous of Bastia hunters.
Aregno Flea Market, hunting opposite Algajola beach in the Balagne
Sunday May 17, the Aregno Flea Market holds its weekly rendez-vous opposite Algajola beach, in the Balagne. The setting is one of the most spectacular of the selection: between turquoise sea, fragrant maquis and mountain backdrop, the market gathers private and professional sellers around furniture, knick-knacks, clothes, books and objects of all kinds. Combine without hesitation with a morning swim at Algajola or a visit to the nearby village of Pigna, one of the prettiest in inner Balagne.
Moriani Plage Flea Market, 40 professional dealers on the Costa Verde
Saturday May 16, the Moriani Plage Flea Market gathers about forty professional exhibitors at Moriani-Plage, a coastal hamlet in the commune of San-Nicolao. The specificity: a market with a professional dominant, with antiques, old objects and collectibles rather than a private yard sale. The Costa Verde setting, between Tyrrhenian Sea and the first foothills of the Castagniccia, adds the charm of the often overlooked eastern Corsican coast. More targeted than the yard sales of the selection, interesting for hunters seeking pieces already filtered by professionals.
Calvi Weekly Flea Market, the Sunday rendez-vous of western Balagne
Sunday May 17, the Calvi Weekly Flea Market is held on Route de Calenzana, on the way out of town towards the Balagne hinterland. Private and professional sellers offer furniture, crockery, old objects and second-hand items in a classic roadside market format. The Calvi counterpart to the Aregno market: less photogenic in terms of setting, but more accessible if you are staying in Calvi itself or in the citadel area. Combine with a coffee facing the citadel after the hunt.
Also worth a look this weekend in Corsica
For more regional Ascension long weekend picks, head to our national agenda. Enjoy the Corsican hunting weekend, and remember to arrive early: on the island, markets often start at the crack of dawn to beat the heat.
