Porta Portese Market, Rome

We were up very early to go to Porta Portese flea market, the biggest and most popular flea market in Rome. It was so much fun. It was a huge maze of stalls – a lot of new clothes, shoes, jewelry, handbags, etc. But there were also so many stalls of antique stuff and even just some junk! We happily made a few purchases. Just outside the market we found a bakery and bought several kinds of Italian pastries to try - from cannolis to crème & liquor filled horns.

The market is about 10-15 walk from the bus stop. Market open early Sunday morning to about 1 p.m.

This had changed a lot since I was here 17 years ago.There was much more new things-witch weren´t very good value,and much less old things.On the other hand-I saw no thiefs!Last time you couldn´t go through without notising them.We do like these places in some grazy way-I don´t know why.My husband even bought a pair of shorts there-and they are not so bad.I thought I would have bought a cheap summer-skirt,but they weren´t so nice as in Milan fleamarket(where I didn´t buy,because I knew we were coming here..).
If you like to go this kind of places,be careful.Even if we didn´t see any thiefs,I can´t believe,they are totally gone.There was policemen also,so maybe it´s getting better.Area is huge.We were planning to go to some other market as well,but this was enough for one day!

What to buy: You can find antiques there also.There is also some cheap clothes,dishes and other things,if you need something very cheap,and no need to last forever.But there was also for example leather-jackets,witch were very expensive.I´m not sure would I dare to buy hudreds of euros jacket from a market..

From early, maybe 7 until about 3. But it thins out from 2.
Then the clean up goes nearly all night. Bit of a nuisance if you live close by. The roar of the trucks, the hoses.
Stallholders just dump lots of stuff, especially used clothing. You'll see people beachcombing.
There are plenty of places to buy food and drink - take away stuff, nothing flash.
NB!!!!!! Do look out for your wallet etc. People get robbed here all the time. It gets very crowded. I saw a young local chase a pickpocket but the pickpocket was too fast for him, jumped over some people who were sitting on the kerb, and vanished in the crowd.

What to buy: You'd find nearly everything except fresh fruit and vegetables. There is a much smaller produce market that runs in Via E. Rolli every day of the week except Sunday.
There is an antique/collectables section, a used clothing section, then suitcases, bags, clothing, toys, kitchen goods, cds. Not much high end stuff though, like I saw in the market at Florence. Cheap and cheerful is how I would describe it.
A little light bargaining is not viewed askance. And if you are a pretty young woman like my daughter, and the stallholder is a young man and it is nearly packing up time, then you could do quite well.

A very popular street market, held on Sunday mornings, from very early to around 1pm, on the left bank of the Tiber, between Porta Portese and Stazione Trastevere, centered on Via Portuense. The wares are mainly clothes, old and new. There you can by souvenirs very chip.

What to buy: womens and mens clothes

SUNDAY ONLY The particular "type" for this shopping tip is catagory "other" because it is "all of the above" - books, clothing jewelry, toys/games, bath and beauty, etc. This is a huge flea market - most items are from India, China, Africa - some Italian second-hand goods. This market has become increasingly ridden with junk - however, you CAN find good things if you have the time to get through all the other stuff. Last visit I bought 100% linen pants for 50 cents € as I stopped by when most sellers had already closed up and were driving out. WATCH YOUR WALLET/PURSE here - I only go here with the waist pouch.

What to buy: You must be very discerning and carefully choose good bargains among all the junk - which you CAN find.

What to pay: Barter - they will take MUCH less rather than pack things up to re-load on their trucks if you are there around 2:00 and 3:00 p.m.

On Sundays from 7am to 1pm, there is a huge open-air flea market at Porta Portese. The vendors sell merchandise ranging from clothes, auto parts, watches all the way to "antiques" - well, some might even be antique...! It is a lot of fun, but by 10:30am the market is full of people - so you might want to go early!. As at any street market, beware of pickpockets.

I don't think that flea market is a correct name
for this event. Let me start saying that is is
huge. I've read somewhere that the market
has a 1000 stalls. (and that only 10% got a
license. lol)

We enjoyed it very much.
Frederik even bought shoes. Those white
extravagant Italian ones you wont find
easely anywhere else , and that for a very
low price. I was temted to buy a nice
italian leather wallet from a posh shop
from the via condotti for 33% of the price.
Very cheap , because it was last years
collection. Who cares?

Anyway , you should go here to sence some
couleur locale and get in touch with the real Rome.

What to buy:
Leather jackets for very low prices ,
wallets , clothes for 1 , 2 and 3 Euro.
If you walk farher away from the Porta Portese
you'll find the flea market area. Very nice.

As many markets of this kind, spending a few hours here is not only shopping, is making an experience. You can find anything in Porta Portese, and especially have fun. A lot of "real" people! Every sunday morning.

What to pay: Bargain! Bargain!

You can buy almost anything at Porta Portese. It's a fascinating street market that stretches for a mile or so along the street running parallel to Via di Trastevere.
This is the place I would recommend people to go if they want cheap buys of medium (sometimes mediocre) quality. I, personally, am willing to pay five euro for a shirt that will fall apart after the third wash - since I only do my laundry once a month that shirt can last a while!
Ok, that was more than you needed to know.
You can also buy antiques and furniture, paintings, records, falafel mix, coats (fur coats especially :(
It gets insanely crowded so go early if you want to walk around without too much stress and still get the good bargains (it starts around eight or nine, I believe). Go late if you want to experience and see some of it but aren't interested in buying anything. It's actually kind of interesting to walk around at the end (watch out for the vendors vans tearing out!) - there's lots of paper trash everywhere and harried shoppers trying to get the best last-minute bargain.
If you're going to be in Rome for a while then I would recommend going more than once because it will feel a bit different each time.

What to buy: Keep an eye out for some of the stuff from Africa and South America. You may not want to buy it but it's interesting to look at. I especially like the little bobble-head type statues they sell of turtles... you'd have to see them to know what I mean.

What to pay: Everything is cheaper than in the stores but it always depends on what you're looking at and what time of year - boots might start to be marked down as summer nears. And same for sandals in fall.

If you are looking for real bargain, Porta Portese on Sunday mornings (from 8am-1pm) is a real treat.

What to buy: Anything you are looking for, you can find in Porta Portese.