Puces de Vanves, the flea market at the porte de Vanves since 1905

The Puces de Vanves, the flea market at the porte de Vanves, appeared in 1905 in the 14th arrondissement. Sometimes called the Puces de la Porte Didot, it is the only antiques and bric-a-brac market inside Paris, held in the open air at weekends.

Willy Ronis took photographs here that became famous, and in 1992 Robert Doisneau made the portrait of the singer Thomas Fersen for his album Le Bal des oiseaux. Coluche bought his blue-striped dungarees here, Françoise Sagan her 19th-century landscapes. In 1989 the collector Marc Pagneux found the oldest known daguerreotype portrait, dated 1837.

Goods are still laid out straight from the back of the van. At the end of the avenue Georges-Lafenestre, the carré des biffins welcomes non-professional sellers from the neighbouring districts, a scheme run by the City of Paris. Catherine Deneuve, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Alexis Mabille and Armen Petrossian browse here, and the gallerist Kamel Mennour looks for photography books.

Every Saturday and Sunday, holidays included, some 380 dealers set up on the avenues Marc-Sangnier and Georges-Lafenestre: furniture and objects from 1900, Art Deco, the 1950s and 1970s, tableware, silver, jewellery, old textiles, photographs, books and curiosities.