French Life-expat France

The ‘French market’ experience is one of the highlights of a holiday in France. But you need to be sure which kind of experience you are having…

Not far from where we live, on the southern edges of the Dordogne region, is an attractive little medieval town called Issigeac. It is one of the most unexplored and most attractive towns in the region, and much of the time it is also very quiet.

It’s main attraction is on a Sunday morning, which is market day. Partly because it’s a nice market, in great surroundings - the market spreads up the narrow side-streets and brings the town to life - and partly because it is on a Sunday. People often arrive for their holidays on Saturday evening and Issigeac market is one of the few places where they can stock up on food on a Sunday morning.

Over the last few years the fame of Issigeac market has spread, and people come from far and wide. It is now one of the big attractions in the Dordogne on a Sunday, and rightly so.

But - and I’m sure you guessed there would be a but - there is a problem. Yesterday I happened to cycle around Issigeac at market time. Every field nearby had become a parking space, every road entering the town was lined with cars, and the market itself looked to be a dense impenetrable throng of people. More like Oxford Street on Christmas Eve than rural France.

The fame and success of the market has transformed it completely, in summer at least, and every local producer - wine, cheese, sausages, fruit, honey, and much more - gathers there. This is a good thing, since the visitors are happy and the traders are happy, but it does mean that some of the ‘traditional French market’ appeal has been lost in the quest to be a tourist attraction.

So what to do if you are looking for a more authentic French market experience?

• Wherever you are visiting in France, try to get to the local market early. Often in tourist areas the locals are in the market fighting over fruit and vegetables from 7-9 am, giving way to tourism from 10-12.
• Go to a market in a less visited/less touristic town.
• Try a market in a large town - these are a crucial part of the local economy and in a larger town are less likely to be swamped by tourism.

One last comment. It is not unknown for market traders, especially those offering specialist, made on the farm, type products to increase their prices, sometimes quite dramatically, when there are lots of tourists visiting.

‘Try our cheese’ (wine, sausage, etc) they will suggest, brandishing a sample at you. You will, and it will be very tasty. Of course you’d like to buy some, that’s why you are here, to enjoy the local produce. If you don’t have bottomless pockets, check the price first or you can quickly find you’ve spent your whole weeks food budget!