Porta Portese is the biggest and most famous flea market of Rome. Colourful, kaleidoscopic, always overcrowded: that’s the market where you can find any kind of article and where you can really get bargains by rummaging around the stalls looking for weird objects, antiques or just something cheap.

The market takes place in the homonymous square and extends from via Portuense to via Ippolito Nievo, passing by viale Trastevere. The Porta Portese (Portese gate) the market is named after is one of Rome ancient gates, rebuilt in 1644 to replace the previous Porta Portuensis. The market takes place just on Sundays, from 5-6 am to 2 pm approx.

The market extension coincides with the variety of products you can buy here: from clothing (branded, second-hand or just cheap), fake brand name goods, accessories, antiques and knick-knacks. You will also find stalls selling toys, umbrellas, cosmetics, cameras, discs and compact discs, home fittings, new and period furniture and so on and so forth.

People selling stuff at Porta Portese are not just from Rome; there are also many Russians, Chinese, Nigerians, Polish, Peruvians etc who sell articles of their country of origin or reproductions. Do you mean to go to Porta Portese? We give you two pieces of advice! First of all, go in early morning, just after the sunrise. It’s at the opening of the market that you can really get bargains, also because it’s not as crowded as later in the morning, so you can roam around the stalls with no bother and have more time to negotiate with the vendors.

Second, beware of your wallet because pickpockets are often around, especially at rush hours, because of the overcrowding of the market.