The old village of Sommieres has held a Saturday morning market since the 13th century.

It’s open from 7h to 14h but some of the stalls nearer the east side of the river start closing up by 13h.

Parking is plentiful and free on the west side of the Vidourle, straight on through the roundabout and not toward centre ville, and only a short walk across the foot bridge to the beginning of the market stalls.

The main market square, surrounded by Roman arches dating from Tiberius remains the heart of the market today.

The stalls spill out as far as the river Vidourle offering the usual fruit and vegetables, cheese and roast chickens dripping juices into potatoes, onions and tomatoes, as well as inexpensive clothing, shoes, boots and jewelry.

As is with most of the larger markets, you can even find bedding and mattresses tucked in among the usual wares.

The cafes and permanent shops are open for business so you can stop for a cafe as you meander through the old village into the arched jewel of the market.

When the Vidourle floods most of this part of the old village is submerged.

Look for the flood lines marked along the lanes to get an idea of their devastation.

A habit-forming and untouchable favorite of mine is at the olive, dried fruit and tapenade stall just near the post office.

The young guy who works there is very friendly, professes to speak seven languages (his English is flawless so he at least speaks two) and makes the best tomato tapenade I’ve ever eaten.

It is eat-with-a-spoon-when-no-one-is-looking good.

The village square is where you’ll find most fruit and vegetables, honey, jam, sausges, pungent cheeses and bread.

The thing to do in Sommieres is to stroll around making your purchases until you’ve worked up a hunger (thirst) and then find a spot to squeeze into at the Les Delices du Liban.

The Lebanese family that owns the outdoor café sell delicious Lebanese food in a center market stall.

You’ll also find fresh oysters just next door which you can order on the half-shell and suck down.

The friendly, English-speaking owner bustles around taking drink orders, chatting with locals and making you feel right at home.

As it’s very popular you should get there before lunchtime and be prepared to share one of the picnic tables.

It’s magical to sit, sipping your wine or beer while you eat your fresh market finds and watch the French world go by. Be sure to look up at the Roman arches that remain.

Take your leftover baguette across the foot bridge and feed the ducks before heading home, happy and satisfied.

There’s also a Wednesday night market during the summer. It comes alive with many more of the local restaurants offering fixed menus and this past year there was a wine tasting festival.

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This article about Sommieres Market was written by Aidan

Aidan has a great blog at Conjugating Irregular Verbs

If you are the slightest bit interested in life in the Languedoc you should really visit Aidan’s blog!.

All the best

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Mirepoix Market – Ariège (09) – Monday Mornings

For Ariege, I think the Monday market at Mirepoix (and not just because of the way it sounds) is one of the best known in the department. Certainly anyone who is renting a house/gite in the area makes mention of it.

Here’s a link for general Ariege market info:
http://www.ariege-aude-lifestyles.com/markets_ariege.html

also: http://www.ariege.com/marches/schedule.html and have you seen this one? http://www.redgage.com/blogs/brianrs/french-food-markets-in-and-around-languedoc-rousillon.html

Mentions in blogs and other websites:
http://deepsouthoffrance.blogspot.com/2010/05/mirepoixs-annual-triple-market.html

http://www.laroumaude.com/en/en_area.htm says: “This magnificent market is held every Monday morning throughout the year. As well as fresh home grown produce you can buy antiques, clothing, wine, trinkets, in fact just about anything. Musicians play around the cafés which surround the square. Not to be missed.”

http://pauseforpurpose.com/2007/10/mirepoix-farmers-market

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The French Market Following the success of The French Kitchen, Joanne Harris and Fran Warde have collaborated once more to write a French cookbook with a difference. This time they have taken their inspiration from the rural markets of Gascony.

The French Kitchen A delightful book in which Joanne shares with us her family recipes, passed down through the generations. The French Kitchen is a tantalising collection of casseroles, soups, roasts, salads, tarts and sweets.

Country Cooking of France Why is the country cooking of France so compelling? The answer lies in the terroir of its pays (regions), the fresh produce and specialty foods that are unique to each area and are then transformed into such traditional favourites as Soupeau Pistou and Choucroute Alsacienne.

All the best

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My thanks go to….

The team at http://www.stopoverconnections.com/ who were kind enough to call French Market Days a… “Wonderfully Comprehensive Website” – in their article about how to Make the most of local food during your holiday to France. If you are planning a holiday in France www.stopoverconnections.com/ is a great resource and well worth a visit!

Ricky Myles at www.guide2paysdelaloire.com who mentioned that one of his local markets, at Loué wasn’t listed. You can see details of this market in Sarthe at Sarthe (72) – You should also take a close look at Ricky’s great site at www.guide2paysdelaloire.com – full of great information on this part of France.

Susan Cees at www.latuileriechazelle.com who helped me enormously with the markets of Saône et Loire. You can see the full list of market in Saône et Loire at Saône et Loire (71) – Sue and Cees run Gite and Camping holiday accommodation in Burgundy. If you’re thinking about a holiday in that beautiful part of France you should certainly take a look at their website… www.latuileriechazelle.com

Jayne at Penstemon and Herb Nursery who let us know about the markets at Les Herolles http://www.pays-montmorillonnais.fr/page.php?id=354. She also mentioned another market every week at St Aout in Indre which she described as… “it’s a big one and very popular. It was no good for us unfortunately but great if you wanted chickens, rabbits and all sorts of other stuff – I think our problem is the product – the french aren’t as familiar with Penstemons as the brits so it’s an uphill struggle!” Jayne runs a nursery at Penstemon and Herb Nursery – you should really take a look at it!

Aidan at Conjugating Irregular Verbs who wrote a lovely article about the Saturday Morning Market at Sommieres. You can see what she had to say at… Sommieres – Gard (30)

Tanya at Tanya in Transition who said… Hi Keith! Lovely idea! Market day in Coustellet is Sunday. It isn’t year-round but it’s especially busy during the summer.

Sara Louise at Sara in le Petit Village for her comments… Great website Keith! I’ve added the link to my blog. I go to the markets in Apt and Forcalquier quite a bit. Next time, I’ll take some photos and see if I can come up with anything for you

Lynda Akin (Mt Washington/Los Angeles) for her wealth of information on the market at Mirepoix – Ariège (09)… You can see what she has to say at Mirepoix market – Ariège (09)

Kalba at Slow Living in the French Pyrénées for her notes… THE two best markets in Ariège are Saint Girons, every Saturday, and Mirepoix, every Monday. Both (but especially St G, though I’m biased) fall into the not-to-be-missed category. Keith – what a mammoth task you’ve set yourself. Let me know if you want some up to date info about Ariège markets …

Michel Augsburger at Our House in Provence for his contribution… Both Vaison La Romaine on Tuesday and Carpentras on Friday in the Vaucluse are morning markets. The former is a wonderful market year round but it is just huge during the summer. I have posted with pictures on our blog about this market.

Ian Mitchell at Chez Mr le Marquis de Galipot for his addition… Very good and very useful – Be a lot of work I would think, getting the details. On this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/iwmpop/ you can find a lot of photos of the market here at Vauvert, as you required! Basically any market scene on these albums is Vauvert! Feel free to use them! One thing mentionable, maybe, is the fact that Vauvert is smack bang in the centre of the production areas for just about anything and everything – so the market is cheap, plentiful and high quality product. Wednesdays is smaller than Saturdays, on Saturdays there around 50 or 60 stalls, of ALL types, with “les Halles” in the middle of it all. Good luck!

Fly in the Web at French Leave for her kind words… Angers… the Sunday morning market at Monplaisir…French, Arab and Turkish stalls and a real delight!

Maria Rowley, who said… Hi, what a brilliant idea, maybe you might like to look at the Brocant type market at Maseillan Plage every Saturday and Sunday throught the year, where you can find almost anything and buy and a decent Moules Frites with a free glass of wine from the local co-operatif for a very reasonable price for lunch, then if more liquid refreshment is required they have a Cave selling wines at give away prices. There are a few more markets that might be of interest, Uzes, Pezanas, Bezier, Revel the last one is tiny but brilliant, I can also recommend the market at Clermont-L’Herault.

Narbonne also has a brocant type market every Sunday weather permitting down the whole length of its main through road. One of the best little markets is the one in Meze in the food hall on Sunday mornings only, where you can buy some sublime food, but be early as all the best food goes very quickly, I can recommend the braised Quail. As you may have gathered I’m rather fond of French markets, so when you find a good one its like finding gold dust, so I will mention Revel again, its one of those markets that time has forgotten, if you ever find yourself in that part of the world do visit, but be prepared to be looked at rather suspiciously especially if you are blond and of fair skin, but oh! the food goodies are just superb. If you wish I will keep you informed of any new markets when I next visit which sadly will not be until September, when I will be driving the whole length of central France from Dunkirk to Marseillan. I hope this has been of some use to you.

If you’d like to add any details of your local market days in France, all you need to do is send your text and photos (should you have any) about your favourite French market to contact@FrenchMarketDays.com

All the best

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Josselin Market – Morbihan (56) – Saturday Mornings

Easter always marks the start of the bigger markets at Josselin (and the influx of English holidaymakers.)

The atmosphere of a Fete or Special Occassion is there all through the summer and I know from experience that that will remain until late October.

But even in the winter the Saturday  morning market at Josselin is well worth a visit.

There are, on average, about 70 stalls.

The market opens at 8.30 and finishes dead on 12.30 –  a siren is sounded to announce the imminent end of the market and I sometimes wonder if some of the older residents of Josselin are reminded of the war?

The market is mainly local food products, some hardware and textiles.

The cooked chicken or pork are well worth buying to take home for an easy meal.

Plenty of local bars and restaurants mean that a cup of coffee (or something stronger) is only a few steps away.

The fish seller (at the top of the market) is known for miles and is generally considered to be the best source for fresh fish in the area (unless you are prepared to go to the fish market at Vannes!)

Maybe I’m biased but… the smoked garlic from the man at the bottom of the hill is… to die for!

The pictures really do tell the tale. Although early in the year, the market was bustling and all the stalls seemed busy – there was even a queue at the horse butcher – I only hope they weren’t English people unaware of exactly which animal the meat had come from.

As the year progresses, the market gets bigger and bigger and is at its busiest during August.

I love wandering round the crowded market, seeing all the good things on offer and meeting friends. It’s almost a social event that I can look forward to all week long.

The fish for sale there look so fresh, the vegetables look so good – it’s making me hungry even as I write this.

Music while you shop, what could be better?	Apart from some pretty girls in local costume!
French markets are all about fresh produce!	And tasty chickies too!
This little doggy went to market…	After a hard morning’s shopping, what better than to relax in the bar?
It wouldn’t be a French Market with garlic, now would it?	You are never too young to fall in love with charcuterie, are you?
An olive a day keeps the doctor away!	I could spend hours by the fish stall – planning meals and working out what to buy!
Whatever I’m eating, I’ve got to have a few oysters as well!	A lovely market in a lovely medieval market town!

Please click on the photos to see them full size

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This article about Josselin Market was written by Keith Eckstein

Keith Eckstein runs www.BrittanyWebsites.com and www.WebDesignForGites.com as well as a number of other websites.

Keith believes in providing cost effective and efficient websites at affordable prices.

If you require a website (or would like your current website to be revamped) you should feel free to contact Keith on (0033) 299 91 73 15

Alternatively, you could email him at contact@brittanywebsites.com

Even if you would just like a general chat about you thoughts about a website, please feel free to call him.  There’s no charge for a chat!

All the best

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If there is a French Market near to you that you enjoy visiting once a week (or perhaps when you are over for your holidays) and you would like to share it with other visitors to French Market Days you are more than welcome to let us know about it and we will publish your thoughts (and pictures, should you have any) here.

For an example, please take a look at Josselin (56) – I’m sure that you can share your excitement about your local French market as well!

All we need is some text (a couple of hundred words should be fine but, the more, the better) and some photos if you have any.

If you haven’t got any photos of your favourite French market, don’t worry; we have a large stock of photos and will be able to find a few suitable ones to embellish your article.

Obviously, if you have a website (business or professional) please make a point of giving us the details so that we can link back to it.

If you would like to include a few words about yourself (or your business, if you have one) then let us know and we’ll include those as well!

The example shown at Josselin (56) – shows my business details (as I wrote the little article about my favourite market) but, those details could so easily be yours!

All you need to do is send your text and photos (should you have any) about your favourite French market to contact@FrenchMarketDays.com

All the best

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