Braderie de Lille 2025

The Braderie in Lille is Europe's largest flea market. It's an annual event that dates back hundreds of years. It started as a day when the city's wealthy residents permitted their servants to sell off their old clothes. Used clothing is still the most commonly sold item. 

In its current form the Braderie is essentially a massive sidewalk sale for retailers, but it's also an opportunity for antique dealers and collectors to sell their wares, and for individuals to hold what we would call a yard sale in a designated spot in town. There are thousands of vendors and a couple million potential buyers. It is also a big party event with music and copious amounts of food and drink. 

It appears to me that the food and drink have overtaken the flea market as the primary focus of the two day event. Bars and restaurants only have to close down for two hours during the night to give the city an opportunity to clean up the trash. I am writing this Saturday evening and the sound outside is deafening. I expect things will be much quieter on Sunday. 

We were very excited that the Braderie was happening after we arrived because we have a new apartment that needs to be furnished. We made a pretty good start on that today, buying a couple of chairs, tables, and a rug, as well as a few pots and pans for the kitchen. We will go out shopping again tomorrow and hope to add to our haul. The film crew that is documenting our move to Lille were with us again for much of the day. 

Bailey is not loving this. She still isn't fond of city crowds and traffic and it's ten times worse today. Actually the traffic is better, most of the streets in the old part of the city where we are have been closed down until Monday, but crowds are off the charts. 

Here are a few pictures from the event starting Friday evening, followed by a few of the things we bought on Saturday.

These guys reminded me of the flamingos I left behind in Virginia. 

I didn't buy them though. 

These native american figures surprised me.

What are they doing in France?

This vendor had nothing but garlic and smoked garlic. 

There's a huge carnival in town also.

All the bars and restaurants are packed around the clock.

This is the view outside the kitchen window from our new apartment.

And here are some of the items we bought today.

After selling, giving away, or trashing nearly everything that we owned, it was nice to be acquiring some new things today.