A Guide Book Tour of Wazemmes

To reach the market at Wazemmes, take the metro to either Gambetta station, or even Wazemmes station. Once there, simply follow the flow of people with empty shopping trolleys, and large bags. (Not to be confused with the stream people coming the other way, from the market, carrying whole plants, veggies, pillows, whatever.)

The market at Wazemmes takes place every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, though Sunday is the biggest. I find it interesting for several reasons.



First, you can buy literally anything, from fresh produce, to beauty products, flowers, shoes, cooked chicken, baked goods, and clothes for all ages. No live animals though.

Secondly, even though the Market is right next to a Christian Church, Wazemmes has become a heavily Muslim neighborhood. Thus, the market presents an interesting mix of cultures. Many of the vendors are of Middle Eastern origin, and there are booths that sell beautiful cloth, and matching jewelry. On a hunt for “traditional regional foods,” two classmates and I instead found traditional baked goods for Ramadan. By the way, that “treasure hunt” and the subsequent class presentation is the main reason for all the pictures.





Thirdly, Wazemmes is both an authentic market, and a popular tourist destination. Local people go there regularly to get groceries. I hope to become one of them, not only because it will help me reach the very cool state of sustainability, but also because the produce is fresh and the prices fantastic. At the same time, walking around you are as likely to hear they people behind you speaking in an London accent, as in French. And there are enough cameras in sight that I don’t feel awkward taking pictures. But watch yours purse! It’s just a big crowd.

Whilst walking about, a mélange of sounds will reach your ears. The multilingual babble is supplemented by the vendors yelling over the din, “Tomates, tomates,…” “Un euro, uneuro, uneurouneurouner…” “UN EURO CINQ. UN EURO CINQ.” Different smells also issue from various directions: Roast chicken, oriental spices, pickled peppers, as well as several I do not whish to identify.

So far, I have bought:
-2 scarves, 3 euro each
-2 nail polishes, 1 euro each (green and black)
-an apple sauce filled pastry, 1 euro, delicious and probably overpriced
-a lifetime supply of green beans. I wasn’t sure what the sign said, so I just asked for 1 euro’s worth. At 80 cents I said stop, but it’s still a ridiculous amount, But they are fresh and delicious, so I don’t mind.
-1 pair of shoes, 5 euro (cute black flats)
-NO goat cheese. Even though that is apparently the regional specialty.