Antique | schwingeninswitzerland

In English, terms like into attic sales, flea markets, secondhand, garage sales, car boot sales, all mean cheap prices on used stuff. In French, terms like brasserie, vides greniers, marche aux puces, brocantes, all mean about the same thing.

In 1754, Carouge, just beyond Geneva’s city limits, was granted to Victor Amideus, King of Sardinia. It became a refuge for Catholics, less puritanical Protestants, and even Jews. Its streets are laid on a grid pattern with lots of trees and planters. The city has low Mediterranean style buildings and interior courtyard gardens. We like to go for a stroll there and aren’t the only ones. It’s become a trendy ‘hood.

Some people have a problem with buying or using people’s old stuff. I have no such compunction and am a sucker for these sales. This one didn’t have much furniture (which is fine because I don’t have much extra space), but had a lot of everything else including Mexican food (which is a rarity here). It was great, but perhaps the least spicy Mexican food ever. The Swiss don’t eat spicy food and so most foreign food is toned down for the Swiss market. We didn’t care. I have a supply of assorted hot sauces at the apartment. If you come visit us, please bring more.

We don’t have children, but I wanted to buy some of the toys anyway. When I was young I had one of the Fisher-Price castles like the one below and loved it. It was hard to pass this puppy up.

I think these sales are great places to pick up unusual souvenirs. We’ve had visitors pick up paintings, books, beer steins, cool glasses, tastevins, vintage t-shirts, Swiss army knives and other cool Swiss army gear at the flea market.

I got a couple of Swiss army knives, a couple of old champagne buckets (to use as planters on my balcony), a leather purse big enough to hold my giant camera (super cute for summer), and a Sherlock Holmes book (in French). While I didn’t need any of it, apparently I could live without it.

I love these sales because you never know what you will see. They are like a mini cultural time capsule. Although you might be able to find an old wheel in the US, you probably won’t find some old spraying equipment or watch parts.

Find Everything From the Everyday To the Eclectic At Geneva’s Plainpalais Flea Market (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)
Our Basement Bomb Shelter, Otherwise Known As Our Storage Unit (schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com)

Historically, Plainpalais was an area outside the densely populated city of Geneva where they brought the sick to avoid contagion and an epidemic. Located close to the Old Town and a public transportation hub, Plainpalais is now used for special events like festivals, the circus and markets. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, there is a large flea market, marche des puces in French, there.

There are several reasons to love flea markets. They include:

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love a bargain.
Individuality. Having the same stuff as everyone else is just plain boring.
It gives you a chance to buy quality things for a reasonable price.
Phenomenal people watching.
Sustainability. Keep something from going into the rubbish bin. Recycle it.
It’s free to go walk around. It’s a great and convenient place to meet up with some friends to walk around and chat.
In expensive Geneva, it is a great place to pick up some cool souvenirs for your friends and family. When the nicest girl in the world visited, she purchased a Tastevin and some beer steins to take back to her brothers.
Where else are you going to buy fossils, a mounted Boar’s head or old Swiss army gear?

Plainpalais flea market is a Geneva institution and has operated since 1848. It is not as large as those in some larger European cities. Geneva’s wealth and highly mobile population means that it makes up for it in quality. As Geneva is home to so many foreigners from all over the world, it has a larger number of unique items from all over the world.

Here are some of the great things you can regularly find at Plainpalais:

Old books,
CD’s

Kitchen gadgets;
Dishes and cutlery;
Decorative and practical household wares;

Furniture;
Antiques;
Paintings, posters, and other great wall art;

Clocks;
Fabric, trim, sewing machines and other craft items;
Records;

Old watches and watch parts,
Clothing,
Shoes,
Toys

Suitcases, briefcases and purses;
A lot of the things you could find at the dollar store;
1 CHF/2 CHF boxes and 5 CHF tables;

You can also find more unique higher end pieces. Invariably, there is a constant supply of eccentric, unusual and sometimes slightly freakish pieces (see the mounted Boar’s head above).

People begin setting up as early as 8:00 (perhaps earlier but I’ve never been there earlier than that) and continues through out the day. On days with poor weather and little turnout, vendors tend to close up shop early, as early as noon.

Most items are not marked with a price. You pick up an item you like, take it to the person that looks like they might have set up the stall and ask “how much”? Be ready to negotiate and have coins and small bills handy. When I go, I don’t walk around with a Starbucks cup (at 5-7 CHF/$8-10 a pop, I don’t do that here anyway). I carry a backpack instead of a nice purse. Why? I like to negotiate and an expensive handbag screams “quote me a higher price.” Haggle, negotiate, be prepared to walk away, drive a hard bargain. Oh yeah, and have fun.