Lille street

I found this sunny back-street in Lille, in Northern France, was uncommonly quiet during the

city's famous 'Braderie', the biggest flea-market in Europe. For two days, 2.5 million visitors

swirled around some 4 Km of stalls selling everything from out-and-out junk to some very

desirable antiques, from bric-à-brac to modern art, and furniture to fine linens and everything in

between. Anyone who has anything to sell puts a cloth over the pavement outside their front

door, and the bargaining begins. Although prices have gone up since our first visit about 20

years ago, that's only to be expected; what we didn't expect was how big the event has now

become, the market now having spread into the park next to the the old fort on the other side

of the ring road. Traffic conrol is impressive, the crowd is good-natured and youthful, and when

it's all over the streets are so clean the morning after, you'd never know the 'Braderie' had

happened at all. And the most impressive thing about it is that it's been going since the 11th

century.

I found this sunny back-street in Lille, in Northern France, was uncommonly quiet during the city's

famous 'Braderie', the biggest flea-market in Europe. For two days, 2.5 million visitors swirled around

some 4 Km of stalls selling everything from out-and-out junk to some very desirable antiques, from

bric-à-brac to modern art, and furniture to fine linens and everything in between. Anyone who has

anything to sell puts a cloth over the pavement outside their front door, and the bargaining begins.

Although prices have gone up since our first visit about 20 years ago, that's only to be expected;

what we didn't expect was how big the event has now become, the market now having spread into

the park next to the the old fort on the other side of the ring road. Traffic conrol is impressive, the

crowd is good-natured and youthful, and when it's all over the streets are so clean the morning after,

you'd never know the 'Braderie' had happened at all. And the most impressive thing about it is that

it's been going since the 11th century.

Morning in Lille