My first marché in France!…read more It's small but it's literally up the escalators from the metro station, which is super convenient as you don't have to carry heavy things for too long. I had bought a kilo of potatoes from some old man who was clearly on his period and wasn't too enthusiastic selling me his stuff. I found one English-speaking vendor and I bought all my fruits and veggies from him, who was directly in front of "grumpy man". The face on grumpy man after he saw how much I bought was priceless! I then saw these beautiful plant vendors and as I learned quickly, French people love their plants! A couple of brothers were nice and sweet enough to recommend me a plant for my room. They suggested I'd buy lavender so my small room can smell great. Boy were they right! 2 months later, my plants are doing well and I love them so much!

Crowded, disorganised and dirty! We visited this flea market…read moreon a Sunday morning and it was incredibly crowded and hard to move around. There were queues everywhere, it was grimy and there lots of stall selling low quality merchandise. Quite disappointing!!

This place is amazing. Well for me at least. It had everything. It had clothes that were cheap but…read morestill looked like it was new or still in good condition. You can find stuff from your head to toe like hats, shirts, sweaters, jackets, jogging pants, pants, boots and shoes, sneakers, some traditional clothing, even underwear and socks; they had it all. Aside from the clothing, I also loved the food section. They were selling fresh produce like vegetables and different kinds of olives. There were also some fruits like berries and bananas. But wait, they didn't stop there. They also had cooked food like rotisserie chicken (they're so yummy and not too expensive), some thai food, chinese food, cooked rice, ribs, oh my gosh I just want to buy all their food. It's definitely a place to check out.

Okay, this may be another of the many market squares found scattered across Europe, however the…read morething that caught my attention when I was here at least was that they had a very festival atmosphere with rides and food stalls. In fact I wasn't sure whether this was a short term festival or whether this was something that was going on, at least for the summer. Come night the entire place filled with people and in fact it was pretty difficult trying to find a seat after grabbing something to eat. It was definitely an experience, though I didn't go as far as going on one of the rides.

Tons of selection of fruits, meats, fish, cheeses, breads, sweets (waffles and other pastries) and…read moreolives. They also have clothes (coats, shirts, socks), bedding, toys, stamps, books and jewelry. I'd recommend at least one visit a month to this market. Some vendors are nicer than others. Some are more understanding of the language barrier than others. Just try your best to communicate and get adventurous trying new things.

This market takes place on, you guessed it, Sundays, in the town of Mons…read more I come here at least monthly not particulary to shop but to relax, have a coffee in one of the cafes (or a beer outside) and read a book for a while. I do shop too. My last trip, a few days ago, I ended up buying a couple kilos of tomatoes and also a kilo of mixed olives. There is just so much - every kind of vegetable and lots of fruits and the prices are often crazy cheap. Sure you can go to a supermarket but you'll pay more in most cases. For the best selection of fruits and vegetables, you have to get to the far end of the market, in Place Nervienne. Also there and along the way, you can find some food trucks for burgers, some for Asian food and my favorite (which is a big truck), one to buy whole cooked chickens along with cooked potatoes and paella and other delicious already-cooked stuff. Another favorite stop is the very large book stall. They're all in French but I collect Hemingway books in other languages, so nice to occasionally find one. If you don't see what you want, the guy working there will write it down and try to find it for you for next time. You can also buy different cheese on some stalls, all kinds of meats from a few different butchers and even some tacky junk for a euro or less. The atmosphere is great and it is just fun wandering around.