Saint-Arnac Animation Car Boot Sale

A car boot sale off the beaten track

The Saint-Arnac car boot sale is one of the few annual events held in this tiny Fenouillèdes village. Run by the Saint-Arnac Animation association, which keeps local life alive all year round, the event takes place at the village hall, 3 rue Hugues de Paganis, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Bargain hunters will find clothes, toys, crockery, books, trinkets, antiques and all sorts of finds, in the relaxed and friendly atmosphere typical of village car boot sales. The association provides food and drinks on site, so visitors can enjoy a chat with fellow hunters and locals.

Saint-Arnac, a perched village in the Haut-Fenouillèdes

Saint-Arnac is a commune of the Haut-Fenouillèdes, in the far north of the Pyrénées-Orientales department, on the border of the Aude. With only about sixty inhabitants, it is one of the smallest villages in the department, a typically Catalan village with a rich history. The locality first appears in 899 as villare Centernacho, then as Sent Ernach in 1137: the current name Saint-Arnac comes from a medieval confusion with a fictitious saint who never existed. In the 12th century, the Templars settled in Centernach and worked the lands for the benefit of the Mas Deu commandery, near Trouillas. After the Albigensian Crusade and the Treaty of Corbeil in 1258, Saint-Arnac was attached to France while the rest of Roussillon remained Catalan, until reunification by the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. This unique past still permeates the village lanes and makes the trip well worth it for curious bargain hunters.