Flea markets were once dependably dodgy places to buy mismatched shoes and broken radios. But in the last few years, weekend markets all over the world have been taken over by upscale vendors specializing in vintage and handmade goods. Many of the new flea markets are also culinary destinations, with fancy on-the-go fare. All the better for bargain-hungry aesthetes from Brooklyn to Shanghai to satisfy their cravings.
Dose Market, Chicago, Illinois
A far cry from the rag-and-bone merchants who started the flea market tradition in Chicago, Dose Market is a fashion-forward cornucopia of designer and high quality goods in a former warehouse on the Odgen Slip (River East Art Center, 435 E. Illinois St.). Among the 50 or so rotating vendors who change completely every month, standouts include Bodkin (simple, beautifully designed women's clothing in soft fabrics) and Gentleman's Boombox (vintage suitcases converted into boomboxes). Food offerings, which also change every month, include the Starlounge Coffee Cafe and Franks 'n' Dawgs (house-made creative sausage combos). The fanciness extends to the admission price—where most fleas are simply glad you came, Dose charges ten bucks at the door ($8 online).
Check website for market dates, 10 am to 4 pm.
Brooklyn Flea, Brooklyn, New York
In six years, this flea market has repurposed the whole flea market concept. On Saturdays from April through November, the Brooklyn Flea's upscale vendors assemble mid-century modernist furniture and snazzy handicrafts on a church school playground in Fort Greene (176 Lafayette Avenue), while on Sundays they gather on the East River waterfront in Williamsburg (between North 6th and 7th Streets). The winter location is in an old high-ceilinged bank building in Williamsburg (One Hanson Place). The Brooklyn Flea also kick-started the food market called Smorgasburg (on Saturdays in the Williamsburg location and Sundays at the Tobacco Warehouse in Brooklyn Bridge Park), where 75 to 100 food vendors often find themselves beset by long lines of fanatical repeat customers (Asia Dog and a truck serving lobster rolls are among the most popular). Check the website to see which vendors will show up on a given weekend—and to preview the merchandise. On June 2, 2013, Brooklyn Flea’s new weekly Philadelphia market opens with 100 vendors (The Piazza in Northern Liberties).
Brooklyn Flea, Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm. Smorgasburg, Saturdays and Sundays, 11 am to 6 pm.
Dublin Flea Market, Dublin, Ireland
The Irish capital got in on the Flea game late in 2008 with this earnest entry set in a low-slung brick building on Newmarket Square (The CO-OP, 12 Newmarket). Over 60 vendors show up at the Dublin Flea on the last Sunday of every month, appealing to a youthful crowd. The wares are heavy on vintage clothing, bikes, and vinyl records. But the market has also become a Sunday entertainment destination, with bands often appearing or a DJ performance. There's a permanent organic food store on the premises, reinforcing the fair-trade and PC credentials of the market—many visitors mention the falafel as a culinary high point.
Last Sunday of every month, 11 am to 5 pm.
Rose Bowl Flea Market, Los Angeles, California
Formerly the squarest of the big-time flea markets, theRose Bowl is now a hip hangout. This mega-event in a sport stadium takes place on the second Sunday of each month and attracts up to 20,000 visitors (Rose Bowl Drive). Though that may sound nightmarish, L.A.'s vintage stalkers swear by the market, which abounds with over 2,000 vendors who deal in antiques, vintage clothing, and Hollywood props. It's also a celeb-spotting paradise, with Hollywood A- to C-listers mixing it up with the common people. Unlike some of the less organized markets, the Rose Bowl Flea is most definitely a for-profit venture: A basic ticket costs $8, early admission is $15, and there are various parking schemes that let you pay nothing or a lot depending on proximity to the stadium.
Second Sunday of each month,8 am to 4:30 pm.
Brixton Retro & Vintage Market, London, England
Forget London's Portobello Road, with its tourist hordes and oligarch-level pricing: Brixton is the city's flea destination of the moment. Set in the Brixton Village Market south of the River Thames, formerly a run-down arcade, the Retro & Vintage Market is a relatively low-key affair that takes place on the third Saturday of every month (Coldharbour Lane). Around 30 vendors offer home furnishings, clothing, jewelry, and collectibles, with everything from framed Betty Page photos to vintage tartan dresses. But it's just as much a destination for Londoners in search of delicious cheap eats—try Cornercopia, a locavore nose-to-tail store.
Third Saturday of each month, 10 am to 5 pm.
Mercato Monti, Rome, Italy
In a city studded with junk markets, Rome's weekly Mercato Montiis a carefully curated jewel. It takes place in what the organizers bill as the "suggestive atmosphere" of the Palatino hotel's basement, which is located on a side street parallel to the Via Cavour, not far from the Colosseum. Vendors range from Leopardessa, which sells vintage clothing evocative of 1960s Italian and French movies, to young designers of handbags and home furnishings. And since this is a full-on lifestyle happening, there are regular DJs to keep you entertained too.
First three Sundays and last Saturday of every month, 10 am to 8 pm.
Marché aux Puces de Porte de Vanves, Paris, France
Paris's Porte de Clignancourt flea market may be one of the most famous, but success has driven prices sky-high and its grand scale can be off-putting. This has created an opening for the Marché aux Puces de Porte de Vanves, on the southern edge of Paris, which has emerged as an easier, more customer-friendly alternative. Approximately 380 vendors sell almost exclusively French antiques and bric-a-brac, so this is the place for that mother-of-pearl ashtray you never knew you needed. Like its modern competition in Brooklyn and elsewhere, the Vanves market also has great food, though it's less diverse—crepes with lemon and sugar, roasted chestnuts in the fall, and on Sundays the Boulevard Brune food market offers smelly cheeses and produce from the Île-de-France region.
Saturdays and Sundays, 7 am to 2 pm.
Mauerpark Flohmarkt, Berlin, Germany
As much a social event as it is a market, Berlin's Mauerpark Flohmarkt sells largely forgettable wares but its carnival atmosphere has made it a modern classic. Every Sunday, streams of hung-over hipsters converge on the park, a grassy expanse bordered by Bernauer Strasse, where the Berlin Wall used to run (Bernauer strasse 63–64). On the grounds, hundreds of stalls line improvised alleyways. Among the chaff, there are several vinyl LP vendors with great selections of rarities. Open-air karaoke competitions, held in an amphitheater at the park's edge on warm afternoons, attract a wide range of talents and enthusiastic crowds. A rotating roster of Thai and Vietnamese food vendors selling $5 curries, and German beer and sausage stands complete the Berlin experience.
Sundays, 7 am to 5 pm.
Flea Market at the Cool Docks, Shanghai, China
Shanghai is full of open-air markets selling goods of dubious provenance, but the Flea Market at the Cool Docks, which launched the summer of 2012, is trying to do things differently. The expatriates who run it ask potential vendors (local artists and designers) for a list of goods they intend to sell in an effort to block fakes and intellectual piracy. The setting is part of the allure: The new Cool Docks development offers a more relaxed shopping and dining experience than much of Shanghai, with brick streets and plentiful boutiques and expensive international restaurants. Plus, the area is right across the Huangpu River from the city's skyscraper district—guaranteeing, at the very least, a spectacular view of China's commercial capital.
See market's blog for dates, 2 pm to 10 pm.
As the weather warms up it's the perfect time to hit weekend markets for vintage bargains and fancy street food.