251 sellers in Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne, scarecrows and bargain hunting in Viricelles, the Saint-Laurent fair in Pradelles: fifteen dates for August 1-2.
The first Sunday in August is the date half the region's village committees have circled. Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne lines up 251 sellers, Goudet expects up to 225 on the banks of the young Loire, Cosne-d'Allier claims more than forty editions. Our pick of the weekend still goes to Viricelles, in the Loire, where the car boot sale shares the bill with a parade of scarecrows built by the villagers. Twelve dates below, three more at the end, from the Bugey hills to the Bauges massif.
Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne lines up 251 sellers on the church square (Puy-de-Dôme)
Sunday August 2, the Saint-Dier-d'Auvergne flea market takes over the church square and the village streets with 251 sellers. That figure makes it one of the biggest gatherings in the Livradois, well ahead of the ordinary village sales nearby.
This historic canton town sits at the hinge of two landscapes: the Limagne plain on one side, the first slopes of the Livradois on the other. The market comes back every summer at the start of August and fills a good part of the centre. Allow time: with that many stalls, a full walk-through takes the whole morning.
Le Pré des Moines in Goudet, hunting inside a natural amphitheatre (Haute-Loire)
Every first Sunday in August, Le Pré des Moines hosts one of the largest car boot sales in Haute-Loire. On August 2, up to 225 sellers set up in Goudet, with backing from the Mézenc Loire Meygal tourist office.
The setting counts as much as the stalls here. The village sits inside a natural amphitheatre, on the still-wild banks of the young Loire. You hunt between the river and the rock faces, in a spot that looks nothing like a supermarket car park. Food is served on site, so you can stay the whole day without driving off to find lunch.
Cosne-d'Allier, forty-plus editions and 200 sellers from 5am (Allier)
Sunday August 2, the annual Cosne-d'Allier flea market takes the village streets from 5am to 6pm. The festivities committee brings together around 200 sellers, dealers and private sellers mixed. Entry is free and a refreshment stand keeps the long day going.
More than forty editions in: the event belongs to the summer calendar of the Montluçon area. Regulars arrive before sunrise, just as the dealers finish opening their crates. That is also the hour when the most sought-after pieces change hands.
Pontgibaud, two days of stalls below the Chaîne des Puys (Puy-de-Dôme)
Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2, the Esplanade de la Poste hosts the Pontgibaud flea market and its 200 or so sellers. Entry is free.
Few regional dates run over two full days at this point in the summer. This one enjoys a prime location: Pontgibaud is a small town in the Sioule valley, set at the foot of the Chaîne des Puys volcanoes. Holidaymakers heading for the craters stop off willingly, which gives the event a crowd that is more touristy than strictly local.
Pont-d'Ain opens at 4.30am on Place du Champ de Foire (Ain)
Sunday August 2, the UCEP association runs the annual Pont-d'Ain flea market on Place du Champ de Foire. Doors at 4.30am, close at 6pm: a long day, in keeping with a large-scale event that mixes private sellers and professional dealers.
Pont-d'Ain stands where the Ain and the Suran rivers meet, in a medieval setting a world away from retail-park tarmac. Getting up before dawn takes on a literal meaning here: at 4.30am, head torches are still sweeping across the crates. The very first buyers are often resellers.
Vogüé, hunting in one of France's officially prettiest villages (Ardèche)
The Vogüé twinning committee runs its flea market and car boot sale twice a summer: once in July, once on the first Sunday in August. So the date is August 2, on the castle walk and square.
The village holds the official label of one of France's prettiest villages, and its medieval castle looks straight down on the stalls. The Ardèche river runs below, which makes a morning of hunting and an afternoon swim easy to combine. The format stays village-sized, nothing like the two hundred stalls of a Pontgibaud.
Saint-Laurent fair in Pradelles, tradition on the market square (Haute-Loire)
Every first Sunday in August, Pradelles holds the Saint-Laurent fair, one of the best-attended traditional fairs in southern Haute-Loire. On August 2, the Place de la Halle fills with flea-market and car boot stalls, from 8am to 6pm.
Pradelles is listed among the prettiest villages in France and keeps an intact medieval core. The fair has a history few car boot sales can claim: it was a trading date long before it became a hunting ground. The village marks the entrance to the département, on the edge of Lozère and Ardèche.
Villard-de-Lans: 120 sellers at the foot of the Côte 2000 slopes (Isère)
Sunday August 2, the Villard-de-Lans tourist office sets up its Le Balcon car boot sale at the foot of the Côte 2000 ski slopes. Around 120 sellers, dealers and private sellers alike, lay out their goods from 7am to 7pm facing the Vercors range.
Twelve hours of opening is long for this kind of event: Sunday-afternoon latecomers still find well-stocked stalls. The seller rate stays low, at €3 for two running metres, and food is served on site. An altitude date that pairs easily with an early Vercors hike.
Viriville, a book and vinyl fair built into a festival (Isère)
Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2, the Viriville sports hall on Rue de la Gare hosts the Book and Vinyl Fair. Second-hand booksellers and vinyl dealers share the floor with stands of postcards, video games and board games.
The fair is part of the Les Souffleurs de Mots festival, which adds workshops for all ages, street shows and storytellers to the programme. The format is a clear break from the all-purpose car boot sale: people come looking for a specific title or a particular pressing. Two days under a roof, which counts in the middle of August.
Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban military fair, hunting for collectors (Ardèche)
Sunday August 2, the Les Soldats d'Ardèche association gathers collectors and history enthusiasts at the Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban village hall. The military fair brings together weapons, insignia, uniforms, figurines, military history books and militaria.
This is a themed fair, not a car boot sale: sellers show documented pieces and buyers know what they are after. Entry stays free, including for the merely curious. The event is held indoors, a serious argument if Sunday turns hot in the Rhône valley.
Viricelles, a car boot sale among the scarecrows (Loire)
Our pick of the weekend. Since 1993, Viricelles has run its scarecrow festival, and the car boot sale that goes with it falls on the first weekend of August, so August 1 and 2.
Villagers build the scarecrows themselves, then put them on display and parade them through the streets. Meanwhile, sellers and hunters take over the open air, with a regional produce market alongside. Nothing else in the Loire looks like it, and the whole thing is free. An outing that works for children and seasoned hunters alike.
Gruffy, a flea market in aid of the village care home (Haute-Savoie)
Sunday August 2, the La Grive association runs its car boot sale and flea market around and under La Grenette, on Route des Bauges at Le Mollard. Proceeds go to the Pierre Paillet care home.
La Grenette gives the event a heritage setting few villages in the Bauges massif can offer. The seller rate is €3 per running metre, cheap enough to clear out an attic without thinking twice. A modest-sized date whose charitable purpose makes all the difference.
Also worth noting this weekend
- Thiézac (Cantal) — on August 1 and 2, the Thiézac car boot sale takes over the village and the church square, as part of the Fête de Thiézac, in the heart of the Cère valley.
- Valloire (Savoie) — Sunday August 2, the cultural centre and cinema car boot sale opens from 9am on the cinema square, with books and posters sold by the library.
- Saint-Clément-de-Vers (Rhône) — Sunday August 2, the summer car boot sale takes over the streets of this village in the northern Beaujolais vineyards.
A Livradois village fielding 251 stalls, a medieval fair under a market hall, a militaria auction floor and a scarecrow parade: the first weekend of August is not hunted the same way everywhere in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. For the other regions, head to our weekend agenda. Happy hunting, from the Bugey to the Vercors.
