Every design for Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine

Squeezed between the Seine to the west and the edge of Paris to the south, Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine sits right on the boundary of three departments, with Saint-Denis on its other flank and Clichy just across the line. Until recently the town was simply Saint-Ouen; the riverside was added to its name by ministerial order, and it fits.

What makes the place unlike any other is its flea market, the marché aux puces, which brings together more antique and second-hand dealers than anywhere else in the world and draws crowds from Saturday to Monday. On those days the streets around it fill with browsers, dealers and collectors. The rest of the week Saint-Ouen belongs to its residents, the Audoniens, who walk their dogs in the Grand Parc des Docks de Saint-Ouen, meet in the squares and pass the Château de Saint-Ouen and the Pavillon de Vendôme without a second glance.

The town takes its name from Saint Audoin, a Frankish bishop of the seventh century, and on the map his name turns up again in the Cimetière de Saint-Ouen, a quiet rectangle beside the busy streets.