This is a really fun weekend for those who love the thrill of finding something beautiful, potentially valuable and, of course, French, for home or garden whilst rummaging amongst the tables of a sale! And you get to show how good you are at it!
Brocantes are a unique French institution, and there is nowhere better to experience them than the Pas-de-Calais region. At some point between early spring and late autumn every small village will close its main street and have a street sale – not unlike a car boot sale, but usually an all-day event and infinitely more interesting. You will find a wide range of things to buy, from bric-a-brac and genuine antiques to homemade jam and second hand clothing. A little like fishing, you never know when you might hook ‘the big one’.
In the larger towns and cities, the size of the brocantes can be truly awesome – the biggest in France being the event in Lille in September, with over a thousand stalls and the event running day and night for thirty-six hours. They are also very much social events. In some towns you will find the local band playing; restaurants serving the traditional ‘moules et frites’ to customers sitting at pavement tables; wine and beer flowing and exhibitions of all kinds.
Depot Vente. Another great institution not seen in the UK. Often large emporia, they sell all kinds of goods on commission from private owners. Just like a covered, all-year-round brocante, you can find pretty much anything and everything there. The Emmaus charity locations are similar, and huge – we have three in our area, and the main difference from a depot vente is that the goods on sale have been donated for charity. Our nearest Emmaus receives around a tonne of ‘new’ things to sell every week!
Your Weekend. Now firstly, you need to arrive on a Friday evening – Brocantes tend to start bright and early on a Saturday, and it is definitely a case of ‘The Early Bird’. So Friday after dinner, we get the maps out, mark up where the best events are to be held, create a strategy…oh, and also a ‘Plan B’ for if it rains. On Saturday – with good planning (down to you) you can visit four or even more Brocante locations or emporia – if you have the stamina! Play the game in two to four teams of two, three or four adults (you decide if children are a secret weapon or a handicap). You set the budget for the weekend (i.e. how much each team may spend on their bargains), how long the ‘hunt’ will last, and the other social elements (such as a gourmet dinner in one of the best French restaurants we know on the Saturday evening). And off you go on ‘la chasse’ . . .
As a Bargain Hunt player, you receive:
- The Rules of the Game (Chateau de Bambecq version!)
- Local knowledge of where to go and how to get there
- Listing of the weekends’ regional brocanting events – usually 30 to 40 each day
- Our contacts in the many fascinating local emporia offering a wide range of second-hand French items – useful during any Bargain Hunt and essential for ‘Plan B’
- …and for after that ‘big buy’, contacts with several craftsmen and women who can lovingly and expertly clean, repair, re-upholster and restore – usually at a far more reasonable cost than in the UK.
At the end our expert judging panel assess and give points for your haul of bargains and prizes are awarded for the best team purchases. You have the option to have the assessment and prize giving on Sunday morning (perhaps with a brunch) – or to go out for a couple more locations, come back for lunch and have prizes then or early afternoon.
Pas-de-Calais for the Real Bargains: Several UK television programmes have focused on buying antiques and collectables in France. Usually, however, they go to the south. There, largely because of the great influx of retirees from the UK, prices are relatively high. Happily, the brocantes of the north remain relatively undiscovered by the British. Consequently, prices are generally much lower, and there are some real bargains to be had! At the Château we keep an up-to-date calendar of brocantes, of which there are between twenty and forty in any one weekend in the brocanting season. We can also guide you to a variety of places where you can see and buy uniquely French furniture and ornaments, both new and second-hand. Nearby there are a number of fascinating emporia, known locally as ‘Depot-Vente’ offering second hand French furniture, household items and just about anything else you care to imagine, at remarkably reasonable prices – some at a fraction of the UK cost. There are also the genuine antique traders with the most wonderful period pieces – and prices to match!
Your Return Home. After a second day of bargain hunting on the Sunday, or perhaps just exploring the area around the Château, you can take a late crossing home, or ideally, if time allows, return on Monday, after the weekend rush has died down.
Costs. It costs just an extra £10 per head over and above our usual Chateau rates to play Bargain Hunt and enjoy the benefits of our extensive local knowledge. Oh, and if you have an estate car or a van – we suggest you arrive in it!
