Car boot sale and Plant Sale of Decazeville

A Spring Car Boot Sale in the Heart of the Decazeville Basin

Every spring, the town of Decazeville hosts its combined car boot sale and plant sale, an original concept that appeals to both bargain hunters and amateur gardeners. Flea market stalls stand alongside stands selling vegetable plants, flowers, and herbs, creating a lively and colourful atmosphere typical of rural events in Rouergue. Private sellers offer a wide variety of second-hand items: crockery, clothing, toys, books, trinkets, gardening tools, and furniture, while plant sellers offer tomatoes, courgettes, salads, geraniums, aromatic plants, and perennials to prepare for the gardening season.

Decazeville, a Town Born from Mining and Iron

Decazeville is a town with a unique history in Aveyron. Founded in 1833 by royal decree, it owes its name to Duke Élie Decazes, former President of the Council of Ministers under Louis XVIII, who founded the Société des Houillères et Fonderies de l'Aveyron in 1826. On a territory of marshes punctuated by three hamlets—Saint-Roch, Vialarels, and Saint-Michel—blast furnaces and mine shafts gave birth to a true industrial city in a few decades. The Decazeville coal basin, forming a triangle 18 kilometres long and 8 wide, produced a total of approximately 110 million tonnes of coal, making this "black country" one of the jewels of French industry in the 19th century.

From Mining Heritage to Street Art

Although the last mine closed in 2001, Decazeville has reinvented itself. The Museum of Mining and Industrial Heritage retraces the epic of coal and metallurgy through the communes of Decazeville, Aubin, Cransac, Firmi, and Viviez. The La Découverte site, a former open-cast mine one kilometre in diameter and 200 metres deep, the first of its kind in France as early as 1892, is a striking testament to the scale of extractive activity. But the town has also turned to contemporary art: more than twenty monumental mural frescoes, created by international artists, now adorn the facades of the former workers' town, offering a unique open-air street art trail in Aveyron.

A Double Event for Bargain Hunters and Gardeners

The combination of the car boot sale and plant sale makes this event particularly popular in May, an ideal time for planting after the 'ice saints' (mid-May). Visitors can both find items at low prices and leave with supplies to fill their vegetable patches and ornamental gardens. This formula, common in rural towns in Aveyron and Occitanie, reflects the attachment of the people of the Decazeville basin to the land and gardening, a legacy of the mining settlements where each family cultivated its own plot.

Practical Information for Visitors

The car boot sale and plant sale in Decazeville takes place in the town centre on a Sunday in May. Admission is free for visitors. Decazeville is accessible via the RD 840 from Rodez (30 km southeast) and the RD 963 from Figeac (25 km northwest). The Viviez-Decazeville SNCF station, served by TER Occitanie on the Brive-Rodez line, is nearby. Parking spaces are available in the town centre and around the event venue.