Discovering The Vancouver Flea Market
Written by Jaillan Yehia
Vancouver Flea Market
One of my favourite things to do in a new city is poke around at a flea market for nik-naks to bring home, especially in places where the cost of living is high; in Asia and Africa shopping is cheap and souvenirs are easy to pick up anywhere. Here in Vancouver and in European cities too it’s easier to find a bargain at a flea market, and it can be a lot of fun and far more rewarding than buying a mass produced piece.
I’m a bit of a flea market fanatic. Which is odd because when it comes to vintage clothing I rarely have the patience to unearth a hidden gem, but as soon as I’m dealing with things you don’t have to try on, especially accessories and crockery, I’m all over flea market finds.
Flea markets – always full of interesting treasures
At home in the UK I’ve found vintage examples of English classic brands such as Spode and hand-engraved crystal and when I’m overseas I’ll always seek out the local brands – in Scandinavia I’ve picked up plenty of Royal Copenhagen plates for a song and in Iceland, where everything, including souvenirs, is very pricey, I brought home vintage beer glasses for just a pound a pop.
Glass figurines for a dollar a pop at Vancouver flea market
Here in Vancouver a great place to go for a trawl is the covered Vancouver Flea Market on Terminal Street, a few minutes’ walk from Main Street Skytrain.
Souvenir T Shirts at Vancouver Flea Market – try finding a T Shirt for $4 in a store
There are occasional antique markets on Sunday but otherwise its open every weekend as well as public holidays from 9 am until 4.30 pm and sells a selection of merchandise from T Shirts and second hand clothes to books, home wares and art.
Booklets at Vancouver’s flea market
There are a couple of different tactics you can employ here – either go early to snap up the real finds, or turn up right before closing (usually my modus operandi, but that may have more to do with the fact that I don’t like mornings!) and try to pick up a bargain as the stallholders may prefer to take a reduced price than cart the item home again.
Native art is one of the souvenirs you can pick up at Vancouver’s flea market
Happy (bargain) shopping!
More Info
Vancouver Flea Market is at 703 Terminal Avenue, in downtown Vancouver.
The market is closed during the week and opens on Saturdays and Sundays at 9 am and closes at 5.
On holidays its best to check, but opening hours tend to be 10-4.
Email – [email protected]
Phone – 604 685 0666
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