Car boot sale of Maisons-lès-Chaource

The Maisons-lès-Chaource Car Boot Sale, between Champagne and Burgundy

Every year in June, the village of Maisons-lès-Chaource comes alive with its annual car boot sale, a popular event that brings together local sellers and bargain hunters in the warm atmosphere of village festivals in the Aube region. A few kilometers from Chaource, this discreet town in southern Champagne offers an authentic setting for a day of treasure hunting in the open air.

Maisons-lès-Chaource, village in the Chaource region

Maisons-lès-Chaource is a commune in the Aube department (10210) belonging to the Pays de Chaource, a territory that extends between the Aube and Yonne departments, on the border between Champagne and Burgundy. Its very name indicates its proximity to Chaource, a town renowned throughout France for its eponymous cheese, Chaource, a soft cheese with a bloomy rind (AOC) whose production is closely linked to the terroir of this hinterland of the Aube region.

The village is located in a landscape of hedgerows and gentle forests, very different from the chalky Champagne of the north of the department. The wooded valleys, wet meadows, and streams of the region give the Pays de Chaource a particular landscape personality, halfway between the sobriety of Champagne and the richness of the Burgundian countryside. Houses made of local limestone, half-timbered barns, and enclosed farms characterize the traditional architecture of this area.

Chaource itself, a few kilometers away, has a beautiful medieval heritage: its Saint-Jean-Baptiste church notably preserves a famous 16th-century 'Mise au tombeau' (Entombment), a masterpiece of Champagne sculpture. The Pays de Chaource is also crossed by the Landion valley and its many ponds, which constitute a popular area for walks and fishing for the region's inhabitants.

Open-air attics of the Pays de Chaource

The Maisons-lès-Chaource car boot sale celebrates the domestic heritage of the rural Aube region in southern Champagne. The stalls offered by private sellers reflect the richness and diversity of local attics: antique and rustic furniture, regional tableware and earthenware, linens, agricultural and artisanal tools, books and family albums, old toys, vinyl records, trinkets, and decorative objects. The Pays de Chaource, a region of diversified livestock farming and agriculture, has preserved many objects in its farms that bear witness to past practices and know-how.

For collectors and flea market enthusiasts, these village car boot sales are valuable events: prices are reasonable, items are authentic, and contact with sellers is direct and warm. Lovers of old papers, regional ceramics, or old agricultural equipment are often rewarded by their visits to these rural events.

A day in the land of Chaource cheese

The Maisons-lès-Chaource car boot sale fits perfectly into an excursion in the Pays de Chaource. You can combine a visit to the market or car boot sale with a tasting of Chaource cheese from a local producer, a walk through the medieval streets of Chaource, and a stop at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church to admire the 'Mise au tombeau'.

In June, the surrounding countryside is at its most beautiful: green meadows, flowering hedges, and forests in full leaf create an idyllic setting for a day of relaxation and discovery. The relaxed and good-natured atmosphere of the car boot sale is perfectly suited to this early summer rural ambiance.

Access and practical information

Maisons-lès-Chaource is accessible from Troyes via the D443 towards Chaource, about forty kilometers southwest of the prefecture. Parking available in the village. Free entry for visitors. Information available from the town hall or local organizers.