August's First Weekend Near Paris: a Night Sale in the 5th, Village Finds Down South

The first weekend of August reshuffles the bargain-hunting map around Paris. Most monthly markets in the region run on the first Sunday, so they all open at once on August 2. On top of that come the once-a-year village sales of Seine-et-Marne, which only happen in midsummer. My pick of the week goes to the Rue Saint-Jacques night car-boot sale, on Saturday evening in the 5th arrondissement. Hunting from 3 pm to 10 pm, on a street closed to traffic, is a different exercise entirely. The rest of the route heads south, where rural towns bring out their tables.

Rue Saint-Jacques after dark: browsing until 10 pm

On Saturday August 1, the Heureux comme le 5 association sets up its night car-boot sale on Rue Saint-Jacques. Stalls line the street between Rue Gay-Lussac and Place Alphonse-Laveran. The event returns every first Saturday of the month, from May to September 2026. From 3 pm to 10 pm the street goes car-free and fills with stalls run entirely by local sellers.

The format breaks with the usual Sunday-morning routine. You turn up after lunch, you leave after dark, and street-food stands sit between the tables. The mood owes as much to a block party as to a sale. For anyone who hates setting a 6 am alarm to go hunting, this is the easiest way into the weekend in the 5th arrondissement.

Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard: up to 200 sellers facing the Arab World Institute

On Sunday August 2, Brocante & Compagnie rolls out its big Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard car-boot sale. It spreads across the central strip of the street and Place Jussieu. It runs every first Sunday of the month, 6 am to 6 pm. With 100 to 200 sellers, it is the largest sale in the 5th arrondissement.

The layout is unusual: a long central strip with the university campus on one side and the Arab World Institute on the other. Private sellers and dealers mix together, which widens the range of goods on offer. Twelve hours of opening leave room for two passes. One early, as the boxes come out. One late in the afternoon, when sellers start sorting what they would rather not pack up again.

Château-Landon brings 200 stalls to the Gâtinais car park

On Sunday August 2, the Château-Landon festival committee holds its annual flea market on the Gâtinais car park. Around 200 sellers set out household goods, clothing, furniture and assorted finds. It ranks among the big summer dates in southern Seine-et-Marne.

The organisers look after their sellers: refreshment stand, toilets, and a free coffee on arrival. Small touches like these explain why stallholders come back year after year. For visitors, the appeal is scale. Two hundred stands in a single day, in a town of this size. Much of that stock comes from attics that never fed a Paris market. Set aside the whole morning if you plan to cover it all.

Ptits Bidous at Bouray-sur-Juine: 200 stands in the Hurepoix

On Sunday August 2, on Rue des Champs in Bouray-sur-Juine, the Ptits Bidous flea market keeps to its first-Sunday rhythm. Around 200 sellers set up from 6 am to 6 pm, with catering and entertainment on site. Entry is free.

The event has become one of the monthly fixtures of the Hurepoix area in the Essonne. Twelve opening hours, two hundred stands: the format is closer to a village clear-out than to an antiques fair. Families come, eat on the spot, and the day stretches comfortably into mid-afternoon. It is also one of the few dates on this list to pair that many sellers with free entry and a genuine programme of activities.

Seine-Port, a dealers-only market running since 1975

On Sunday August 2, on Place Madame de Montesson in the heart of Seine-Port village, the monthly market gathers around thirty traders. It takes place every first Sunday of the month, except in January and September, and has been running since 1975.

Its defining feature: it is reserved for professional dealers. No private sellers, so no family bric-a-brac tables, but stands of antiques and period objects run by people who do this for a living. Kept to about thirty exhibitors, the format bets on curation rather than volume. Place Madame de Montesson, at the centre of this Seine-et-Marne village, supplies a setting that counts for a lot. A date suited to buyers who already know what they are after.

Méréville: flea market and vintage cars by the Trajane Tower

On Sunday August 2, at 52 Rue de la Gare in Méréville, La Gare de Méréville holds its monthly outdoor market. This permanent antiques and second-hand shop, open Wednesday to Sunday from 3 pm to 7 pm, stages an open-air sale every first Sunday. Entry is free.

What sets it apart is the vintage vehicle parade that runs alongside the stalls. Collector cars and browsing tables share the same ground, facing the Trajane Tower. Food and drink round out the programme. This is the kind of date where people come to look as much as to buy. It draws a slightly different crowd from the standard village sale. A good stop for combining a family outing with a search for older pieces in southern Essonne.

La Jolie Môme opens both days in Belleville-Ménilmontant

On Saturday August 1 and Sunday August 2, on Place Mélina Mercouri in the 20th arrondissement, La Jolie Môme holds its monthly market. This cultural and community venue stages its big clear-out every first weekend of the month.

Dealers, private sellers and hunters mix in the warm, activist atmosphere the place is known for. Books, records, furniture and clothing make up most of the stalls. The Belleville-Ménilmontant neighbourhood supplies the rest: a young crowd and a mood that owes little to antiques-fair convention. Two full days is rare for a community-run Paris market, and it means you can plan a visit without rushing. Saturday is the livelier day, Sunday the quieter one for digging.

Saint-Michel-sur-Orge: stalls open from 5 am

On Sunday August 2, on the Champ de Foire in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, Rue de Montlhéry, Marco BVG sets up the monthly flea market. The organiser has run this date since 2018, every first Sunday of the month.

Sellers move in from 5 am, which tells you a lot. Serious hunting here starts before daybreak. Pitches cost around 7.50 € per linear metre, with 4 metres for a car and 5 for a van, plus a 10 € deposit. For visitors the maths is simple: arriving early means getting there before the resellers. The Champ de Foire, the town's historic market ground, gives the open-air format the space it needs.

Vulaines-sur-Seine, between the river and Fontainebleau forest

On Sunday August 2, the Vulaines-sur-Seine festival committee runs its annual flea market in the heart of the village. The whole thing takes place outdoors, on the banks of the Seine and at the edge of Fontainebleau forest.

This is the town's big summer date, the one that pulls sellers and hunters from across the region for a single day. The setting does a lot of the work: a riverside village, the forest minutes away, and the feel of a local fête rather than a market. Because it only happens once a year, this sale draws whole attics emptied for the occasion. In other words, objects that have never sat on another stall. Easy to pair with a walk in the forest afterwards.

Also worth noting around Paris this weekend

• The Bagneaux-sur-Loing flea market, Sunday August 2, 8 am to 6 pm: the festival committee's summer date, in the centre of a town known for its glassmaking past, beside the river Loing. Food on site.
• The Chaumes-en-Brie summer sale, Sunday August 2, 8 am to 6 pm: private sellers and dealers in the streets of this historic town in central Brie, birthplace of the Couperin dynasty.
• The Juvisy-sur-Orge Collections market, Sunday August 2 from 6:30 am, Rue du Marché: private sellers and dealers, collectables and general brocante, right by the RER C and D interchange.

To compare with picks from other French regions, head to our weekend agenda. Happy hunting around Paris on August 1 and 2, 2026.