Port Lympia

"The construction of the port was a project of Charles Emmanuel III, Duke of Savoy, who directed it from his capital at Turin. Work began in 1750 and the port opened to traffic in 1752. But, it soon became clear that the port was too small and had a tendency to silt up. Improvements were made but it wasn't until 1829 that King Charles-Felix took matters in hand and made the necessary enlargements. The flea market has only been here since 1995. It began shortly after WWI as a series of stalls along the banks of the Paillon river (now boulevard Risso) and was meant to help war widows, orphans and veterans earn money. In those days everyone from countesses to clochards to actresses looking for unusual get-ups came to shop there. When the Paillon river was covered in a series of 20th-century projects, the question of where to relocate the stalls became pressing. For a while they had a space in front of the Monument aux Morts but they complained that it was too hot and sunny. Finally this attractive little flea market village was constructed especially for them in 1995 and they've been here ever since. (closed Sunday, Monday)"