Gran Balon Flea Market

On a typical Saturday in the city of Turin, 100,000 visitors descend on Porta Palazzo, Europe’s largest open-air market. For over 150 years, this sprawling market has offered a cornucopia of footwear, clothes, housewares, toys and food from across Italy and around the world. With over one thousand merchants and 700 street vendors, Porta Palazzo is a commercial hub whose opportunities have always attracted newcomers to the city.

Unique to Porta Palazzo is the Gran Balon flea market, which has been taking place on every second Sunday of the month. For over 30 years, this sprawling flea market has offered a cornucopia of antiques, vintage clothing, old furniture, silverware, ceramic, old books, decor and collectibles from across Italy and around the world. With over 250 flea market vendors, the Gran Balon is a commercial hub whose opportunities have always attracted newcomers to the city.

In the heart of the Gran Balon, a hot air balloon rises 150 meters high, giving its passengers a breathtaking view over the city of the Savoy. The attraction was inaugurated in 2012, as a tribute to one of the possible etymologies of the market’s name, according to which ‘balon’ refers to an air balloon that took off from this neighborhood in the 18th century.

Although there is no historical evidence of that episode, the balloon has now become a symbol of this open-air emporium, the largest in Europe, which has been bustling with activity since the second half of the 19th century. To this day, every second Sunday of the month the Gran Balon attracts a crowd of browsers, collectors, and tourists who walk around the most diverse objects.

It is worth noting that a more modest weekly flea market, the Balon flea market, is taking place every Saturday on Porta Palazzo.