The Lille flea market, Braderie de Lille

Restaurants compete in which one most mussels are eaten - the waiter waits for your last morsel, then grabs a plate of empty shells and eagerly runs to dump them to a huge mountain in the middle of the street, surrounded by flies

In the Middle Ages, when the butlers in Lille were given the right to sell their masters' unwanted clothes one day a year, they had no idea that they just founded the tradition. The market grew slowly until it became the largest flea market in Europe. It takes place the first weekend in September and the two-day shopping frenzy attracts more than two million visitors each year.

Already the day before opening, sellers from different countries draw chalk-lines to mark their territory so that no one will occupy it; and many sleep in tents in the park. The stalls are said to be spread over a hundred kilometres. The entire centre turns into a huge pedestrian zone. You can have a map of the streets divided into areas by seller or by type of object being sold, but it's not very helpful; at least we did not feel that they strictly adhered to it.

Everything can be bought and sold there: antiques, clothing, jewellery, dinnerware, carpets, glasswork, paintings, collections, silverware, furniture… You can find new and used objects, low cost items, but also such a junk you wouldn't take with you even if they added a hundred euros to it. Prices are high, low or whatever you are able to bargain. Some will enjoy it and others will not. We snubbed the "fashion sale", consisting of polyester Chinese garments, but we saw people leaving with full bags and a smile.

There were some moments when we literally had to fight the crowd; the critical moment came in the afternoon. We got into a huge human congestion; we could neither move forward nor go back. The mass was pulling us right and then left; I considered having the first panic attack in my life. I couldn't breathe, people pressed so hard we almost turned into pancakes. One second before I almost fainted mercifully, the pressure suddenly eased and finally we managed to get out of it.

Never ever! We lost interest to rummage through the tens of thousands of stalls, instead of searching for good deals we settled in a restaurant and ordered a glass of wine and inevitable “moules frites” (mussels with French fries). Their season just started. From the 15th century, the traditional meal during the flea market was roasted poultry, but during a temporary disappearance of chicken, due to a disease, mussels became the cheap alternative. Nowadays, they are the most popular dish.

One more tradition the market has: restaurants unofficially compete in which one most mussels are eaten. They will bring them to you in a huge pot and you can see them waiting impatiently for your last morsel. Then the waiter grabs a plate of empty shells and eagerly runs to dump them to a huge pile in the middle of the street, surrounded by flies. Up to 500 tons of mussels is consumed during this weekend! As you’d imagine, the air is filled not only by the melodies of street musicians, but also by the unpleasant odour of seafood...

If you like this article, you can share it to others, thank you:-)