Deemed the second largest flea market fair in France after La Grande Braderie de Lille, la Braderie du Canal Saint-Martin gathers more than 3,500 exhibitors, and not less than 200,000 visitors.
Held annually in mid-September in Rennes in the region of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany, this gigantic garage sale is dedicated to every enthusiast who specifically seeks out old wooden toys collections, clothing, old coins, stamps, rare decorative objects, and even fashion accessories.
The history of the Braderie du Canal Saint-Martin began in 1968, thanks to the will of a group of volunteers. Back then, it was still called the Braderie jeunesse (Youth Braderie) and was organized to allow children to exchange or sell games, toys which they no longer used, as well as objects accumulated in attics and cellars. During the first edition, there were about sixty children.
Organized then over one single morning, the Braderie du Canal Saint-Martin gradually extended in time and space, to reach its present scale. Until the early 2000s, the garage sale was free of locations, generating installations on the banks of the Canal Saint-Martin from the middle of the week preceding the weekend of the clearance sale.
Taking place nowadays throughout the Canal Saint-Martin, this massive garage sale also offers flea market enthusiasts a nice stroll along the river. Visitors spend hours poking around in the stalls to the rhythm of the most diverse music distilled by the loudspeakers of the radios holding a podium. The sale ends on Saturday evening around 7 p.m.
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