As May in France rolls around, people start scanning the weather: will the sun shine on Sunday? Will it be warm and dry?

This has nothing to do with a picnic or a family outing, it's all about going to the brocante -- the French cross between an antiques fair and a flea market -- which is held on Sundays throughout the country once summer arrives.

When I feel relatively flush, wild horses couldn't make me miss a brocante in summer. Showing up at 6am when the brocanteurs unpack their goods and set up their rickety tables, watching as they warm up with coffee (along with a little something stronger), critically eyeing their displays...

Brocantes do take place throughout the year, but in summer, you'll have 10 or 15 to choose from within driving distance whereas during other parts of the year your choices will be narrower.

Brocante or vide-greniers?
A brocante tends to be a mixture of professional dealers and second-hand cast-offs - but summers in France also see the proliferation of vide-greniers. Literally, it means empty attic - it's what people do once a year for spring cleaning. All those cleared goods end up for sale in villages once or twice a year, when the town hall or charitable associations organize a vide-greniers to refill empty coffers. These days, it's becoming harder to differentiate between the two. As a rule of thumb, a brocante will have more dealers, and a vide-greniers more individuals.

A typical brocante will have anywhere from 15 to 1500 stalls, selling mostly antiques or second-hand goods. Big is great, but not always better.

One small brocante in Aix-les-Bains not too far from where I live is modest in size - no more than two or three dozen stalls - but exquisite in taste, especially if you like crystal or old posters. You can tell there's plenty of money in this town by the yachts and sailboats that line the marina as the brocante's backdrop.

At the other end of the spectrum are the huge mega-brocantes, like the Grande Braderie of Lille, in northern France, which boasts 200km (125 miles) of stalls and is one of Europe's most extraordinary flea markets, with everything from bric-a-brac to second-hand kitchen appliances to valuable antiques. It takes place the first weekend in September each year and you'll need the entire weekend to make a dent in it - along with the million other visitors that won't give this one a miss.

What can you buy in a brocante?
Everything under the sun, as long as it's second-hand (although a few clothes sellers do sneak in - at highly inflated prices). You'll find things for your kitchen, furniture, old books, games and music, hardware goods (from gas bottles to furnaces), art, tableware, delicate embroideries, collections of every kind, from beer bottles to creamer covers to stamps... it all depends on the brocante. Some are a little specialized - in antique posters, for example, but even so, you'll find plenty of other things.

I love old books and Art Deco art, so that's where you'll find me. I have a small collection of early 20th century mantlepiece clocks that don't work but that's what a brocante does for you - it inspires you to acquire things you don't need, in several nearly identical versions.

What about prices? You can spend a few dollars, or a few thousand. The one hard and fast rule is to bargain - but without being too pushy. Unlike other parts of the world, not everything is overpriced. If I ask for a reduction and get told it isn't possible, I don't insist. I usually find that the discount comes quickly if it is to be had at all.

The brocante that never closes
While most brocantes take place on Sundays, some are actually permanent and rarely shut down. Sundays are usually their most popular day, but you can still indulge on weekdays.

My favourite is the Puces de Saint-Ouen in Paris, a sprawling neighbourhood of antique shops and stalls that houses everything from high-priced Napoleon-era furniture to second-hand clothing.

Saint-Ouen has been in the same place since the late 19th century, when independent merchants banded together to show off their wares at the Porte de Clingnancourt, one of the more than 60 portes, or gateways, leading into Paris. As their popularity grew, so did their wares.

Today, Saint-Ouen is a collection of covered buildings, permanent storefronts, stalls, halls and patios divided into individual markets, each with its own specialty, with an area of more than 17 acres: the world's largest antiques market. It is protected as a historical site (good news for history lovers and shoppers alike) and is filled not only with extraordinary goods and bargains, but with tiny restaurants and bars as well - no well-meaning brocanteur will make it through the day without a coffee and a cognac and a convivial chat with neighbours.

Another of my favourites is Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, a wonderful market town in Provence where antiques are on show all year round, peaking during the various international antiques fairs held there each year. This gentle town along the shores of the Sorgue River is now France's second largest antiques center after Paris.

How to Find a Brocante Near You
Visiting France? Tempted? Just drive around the countryside looking for makeshift hand-painted signs put up by organizers - "brocante dimanche 4 octobre a St-Felix" is the type of sign you'll find: brocante, Sunday 4 October, in the village of St. Felix. You don't need much more information - they're are usually free, and get there early. The best antiques go first, when the professionals descend. By the end of the day, there won't be much left.

Plenty of French websites classify their brocantes according to each French department (the equivalent of a small province or state). You'll find what you're looking for at brocabrac.fr, pointsdechine.com or vide-greniers.org. ■

photos by Anne E. Sterck

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Leyla Giray is a development professional and journalist. She publishes the imaginative and offbeat website, Women on the Road for women who love to travel on their own.

Leyla was born in Paris but left town (with her parents) when she was five weeks old. She hasn't stopped traveling since. A few years ago, she quit her job for a one-way ticket to Cape Town. She returned home - which is Eastern France these days - after three years of solo backpacking across 45 countries. But who's counting.