Cours Saleya market in Nice is at the heart of the Old Town, just behind the Promenade des Anglais. Striped awnings cover its center and shelter the products on offer in the daily market, which is always pulsating with life. Crowds of locals and tourists come here to do their shopping or sometimes just to look and snap photos of the colorful displays, and the scents of fresh produce and flowers, as well as the friendly atmosphere, put everyone in a good mood.

Cours Saleya hosts four different markets over the week. The most well-known is the Marché aux Fleurs, (Flower Market) and the Marché aux fruits et legumes (Fruit and Vegetable Market), which are held 6 days a week. However, one day a week you will find neither flowers nor food in Cours Saleya. It’s the day for the marché à la brocante, the antiques/flea market.

Once a week, Nice’s colorful, sun-drenched Cours Saleya turns into a sprawling Antique Market or ‘Brocante’, where around 200 flea market vendors sell a variety of fairly high-quality antiques, collectibles, and fascinating French bric-a-brac.

Some of the most common items sold at the Brocante Saleya include antique furniture, vintage clothing, posters, antique bottles, silverware, nautical and travel items, ceramics, paintings, memorabilia, old black & white pictures and postcards, vintage toys, rustic wooden items, jewelry, and trinkets.

Unlike the food and flower market where bargaining is a no-no, on flea market day bargaining is a must – particularly considering the fact that prices start rather high.

However, bargain hunters can always manage to score a good find, particularly in the adjacent place Pierre Gauthier, where odds and ends are piled on the ground. And even if you don’t buy anything, think of the Brocante Saleya as a vast open-air museum where you can browse treasures normally found only in old French attics.