Brocante Car Boot Sale and Gourmet Market of Cransac

Treasure Hunt and Taste in Cransac-les-Thermes

Each year at the beginning of summer, the Plateau de la Treille in Cransac-les-Thermes hosts an original event combining a flea market, car boot sale, and gourmet market. Organized by the association Les Orteils au Soleil, this friendly day invites treasure hunters to browse through stalls of second-hand items while enjoying stands from local producers offering specialties from the Aveyron region. The gourmet market showcases the gastronomic riches of the Pays Decazevillois: Aveyron charcuterie, farm cheeses, Marcillac wines, artisanal pastries, and tripoux, an emblematic dish of the region.

Cransac-les-Thermes: Three Lives Between Thermalism, Mining, and Renewal

Cransac-les-Thermes is a commune of about 1,500 inhabitants located in the northwest of Aveyron, in the Occitanie region, in the heart of the Decazeville mining basin. The town has had three successive lives. At the beginning of the 19th century, Cransac was renowned for its thermal waters, attracting spa-goers and water drinkers to its hotels and springs. The Industrial Revolution and massive coal exploitation in the second half of the 19th century then transformed the small spa town into a mining city, with its headframes, slag heaps, and smoking chimneys. In 1961, the announcement of the mine closures triggered intense strikes, before a handful of pioneers relaunched the thermal adventure with the construction of a new establishment in 1963.

The Montagne qui Brûle: A Unique Phenomenon in Europe

The thermal fame of Cransac rests on an exceptional geological phenomenon: the Montagne qui Brûle (Burning Mountain), called Lou Puech que Ard in Occitan. For centuries, the underground combustion of pyritic shales has caused humid air to infiltrate the ground's fractures, generating hot vapors at 120°C naturally cooled to 42°C before reaching the treatment rooms. Cransac-les-Thermes is thus the only spa town in Europe to treat rheumatic conditions with natural hot gases, a specificity that earned it the label of Classified Tourist Resort obtained in 2012 and renewed in 2023.

The Les Mémoires de Cransac Museum and the Forêt de la Vaysse

The visit to Cransac-les-Thermes is enriched by the Les Mémoires de Cransac Museum, located on the first floor of the Tourist Office, which retraces the town's history through its thermal, mining, and contemporary eras, with models, plans, photographs, films, and testimonials. Nature lovers will appreciate the Forêt de la Vaysse (Vaysse Forest), mainly composed of black locust trees (Vaïssa in Occitan), which is one of the largest black locust forests in Europe. In spring, the flowering of the locust trees fills the Enne valley with an intoxicating fragrance.

Finds for Every Taste

The Cransac flea market and car boot sale offers a wide range of items to satisfy all treasure hunters:

• Tableware, earthenware, and decorative objects
• Books, vinyl records, and CDs
• Clothing and accessories for the whole family
• Toys, board games, and children's items
• Trinkets, souvenirs, and collectibles
• Small furniture and gardening tools
• Local products at the gourmet market

Practical Information for Visitors

The Brocante Vide-Grenier et Marché Gourmand takes place on the Plateau de la Treille, in Cransac-les-Thermes (12110), from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Entry is free for visitors. Refreshments and food are available on-site thanks to the gourmet market. The association Les Orteils au Soleil organizes the event. For information: 05 65 63 48 85. After treasure hunting, a walk to the old mining site or a visit to the Les Mémoires de Cransac Museum will pleasantly complete the day.