On stepping out of the Porte de Clignancourt metro station, or parking their bike (or Vespa, in the case of Paris-based artist Marin Montagut) on Rue des Rosiers, in the French capital's fourth arrondissement, dedicated treasure hunters start to feel their pulse quicken. It makes no difference if you were here yesterday, or last week, or if it's your first time: there is absolutely no knowing what awaits you today. Which is what makes the Marché aux Puces - and, indeed, any flea market - so thrilling. A certain amount of luck - good fortune, magic, je ne sais quoi - is essential.

"I have a big love for flea markets," says Montagut, the Toulouse-born watercolourist whose eponymous Saint-Germain-des-Prés shop and home are both furnished almost exclusively with foraged items. "I go every weekend when I'm in Paris. I have a house in Normandy, and when I'm there, I go to Normandy flea markets. My parents are antique dealers, so… I'm in this universe."

Dive into rituals around the world...

Montagut has already orbited the marché this morning, picking up an ornate round decorative miniature, behind whose age-smoked glass lies an illustration of St Gregoire VII, his eyes raised pleadingly towards heaven, with gold curlicues and pearls embedded around its circumference. Inspiration for his own objets d'art in the palm of his hand.

Not that you need a professionally trained eye to find items that will make your heart sing. Nor a papal shopping budget (unless you're set on a vintage lambskin leather Chanel bag or Louis XV dining table that once graced the apartment of a royal mistress). We chance upon original 80s geometric clip-on earrings in turquoise porcelain for the equivalent of £1 a pair; 70s magazines, pin badges and jeans patches for a fraction of that; and a cornucopia of killer vintage deadstock, accessories and homeware for prices similar to, or less than, what you'd pay for the same in London's Brick Lane or Portobello Road.

Antique finds around Paris' Marché aux Puces. | Photo credit: Bert e Boer / Shutterstock

You do, though, have to accept that you're only going to scratch the surface on any given visit. Think of yourself as a magpie, hopping between branches; not a marathon runner. Rummaging is required. With 15 distinct areas, and some 1,700 antiques, bric-à-brac and vintage clothing vendors, the Marché aux Puces is as labyrinthine as any Marrakech souk. You might want to focus your attention on one of a popular quartet of well-established sections - the Marchés Vernaison, Dauphine, Paul Bert Serpette and Biron - or only look at the stalls on your left as you proceed westerly, or only those with a yellow sign... Let your instinct be your guide. Don't be afraid to get lost. Allow your eyes to skim over the rainbow of anthropological artefacts laid out across tarpaulin-covered tables and behind artfully arranged windows, pausing here and there to zoom in on your peccadillos of choice, be that antique house number plaques, 60s-made toys, immaculately preserved old broderie anglaise, rare vintage vinyl, Japanese denim, feather boas or historic nautical paraphernalia.

On a practical note, many of the merchants now accept card payments, but not all. Carry some cash, to avoid a long schlep to the nearest ATM, and a large tote. And don't be nervous about haggling; sellers are usually prepared to negotiate, particularly later in the day. Ask questions. Listen to stories. In a market that's been going strong since 1885, there are a lot of them.

The decorative miniature picked up by Montagut, left, and Parisian antiques on offer.

"There's a particular kind of book from 18th-century France I always look for," Montagut says. "You put secrets inside, like erotic scenes, and after, you put it in the library… These were a big inspiration for me to make my own collection of secret books."

Voilà. Make like an artist. Shop for ideas. Even if you go home empty-handed, a visit to the Puces will fire your imagination, and might just set your life off on a different course, prompting fresh travel adventures or a new creative enterprise. Vive la liberté! Vive the thrill of the chase.

Sustainable shopping: four more flea markets in Europe to visit

A stall holder at Dry Bridge Flea Market in Tbilisi, Georgia — photo credit: Yukliasupova / Shutterstock

Dry Bridge Flea Market, Tbilisi, Georgia

Best for: quirky historical memorabilia

Established in the 90s, following the collapse of communism, when city residents started selling their possessions in order to make some much-needed cash, this Tbilisi market is now a permanent fixture, with vendors making a full-time business out of selling collectables. Open daily, year-round (other than on Orthodox Christmas and Easter), on the Dry Bridge (Mshrali Khidi) and overflowing into adjoining Dedaena Park, it's packed with domestic flotsam and jetsam - old telephones, cameras, tools - alongside military items such as medals and compasses, making it an illuminating window into the Georgian capital's turbulent history.

Address

Dry Bridge (Mshrali Khidi), Tbilisi 0105, Georgia

IJ Hallen, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Best for: hippy vibes

Sure, you can get the bus to this vast outdoor market (check the website for dates), but it's far more fun to arrive by ferry, especially on a sunny day, when the atmosphere is more like that of a festival than a secondhand marketplace. With more than 500 stands, and loads of cool coffee shops and cafés around its edges, it's easy to spend a whole day zig-zagging up and down IJ Hallen's aisles. Most of the sellers are young and happy to chat, so it's a great place to pick up local recommendations on where to go while in town - as well as all the pre-loved fashion and homeware bargains you can squeeze into your suitcase/carry-on/layer up in for the journey home.

Address

TT Neveritaweg 15, 1033 WB Amsterdam-Noord, the Netherlands

N/A

Go to website

Place du Jeu de balle Flea Market, Brussels, Belgium

Best for: trinkets and vinyl treasures

While it's shifted locations a few times since its 1854 inception, this daily market in the city's Marolles/Marollem district is now synonymous with the handsome square on which it's set, so-called in French (it's Vossenplein, or Foxes' Square, in Dutch) because it used to serve as a playing field for Frisian handball, or jeu de balle. There's no food sold here, so you'll have to fuel up in advance, but that won't deter flea market aficionados, who, in the shadow of the Church of Notre-Dame Immaculee, can rummage through countless stands stacked with higgledy-piggledy piles of furniture, second-hand clothes, jewellery, old photographs, art and much more to their heart's content.

Address

Place du Jeu de Balle 79, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Antiques at Portobello Road Market, London

Portobello Road Market, London, UK

Best for: antiques and street eats

Don't rule this one out just because it's on your doorstep, Londoners. With a history stretching back to the 19th century, Portobello Road Market (which spills onto Golborne Road) still offers some of the best people-watching and vintage gem-finding opportunities in the capital. Some of the stalls - selling everything from museum-worthy antiques to fresh fruit and veg - have been in the same family for generations, while hot-ticket new restaurants, such as Straker's, helmed by FoodTok star Thomas Straker, are pulling even east Londoners to W11. The vendors are here from Monday to Saturday, and watching the buskers won't cost you a penny.

Address

Portobello Rd, London W10 5TY, UK

N/A

Go to website

Read more about modern rituals in our latest issue.

Planning a trip to Paris?

Vol. 39

Ritual

Antarctica • Estonia • Japan • Malaysia • Panama • Romania

Marin Montagut interiors, Paris

Discover More

The Local: The Parisian Purveyor of Old-World Wonder

Read now