Porta Portese – Flea Market

So you’re in Rome and looking for a good flea market. Where to go? Porta Portese is where you need to visit. You may have heard of this street market before, it’s practically world famous—largest flea market in Rome.

Let me give you a serious word of caution though. Keep your valuables locked up in your room. This area has pickpockets. Perhaps one of the more common methods is when a woman and child approach an unsuspecting tourist. Usually, the mother will distract you and hide the kids hands. Don’t let this stop you from enjoying the flea market though. Just be alert—as you always should no matter where you go.

You’ll find the market at 00153 Roma. You can’t miss it. This huge Rome flea market spans the area from Porta Portese to Trastevere station.

If you love hunting, this is the place. You’ll find all sorts of stuff—from the interesting to the trashy. Whenever you go, you’ll most likely see up to 4,000 stalls selling all sorts of merchandise.

It’s only open on Sundays and I’d advise you to get there very early (7am). The market buzzes until about 1pm. Like to sleep late? If so, prepare to wade through an ocean of people. Within a few hours after the market opens, it’s a sea of humanity.

If you like knock-off merchandise, prepare to be in heaven. They abound at this street market.

One last piece of advice—barter. Don’t buy anything at face value. Your bartering skills will be well rewarded here. If you don’t barter, you won’t get the deals.

Picture: street market Porta Portese in Rome, Italy taken by Alessio Damato