Con su muralla de fortificación que data de la época romana y la estatua de Ambiorix que no puede escapar a la atención de los transeúntes, Tongeren ofrece un marco ideal para la venta de antigüedades. Desde hace más de 30 años, Tongeren reúne una vez a la semana a más de 350 expositores y unas 40 tiendas de antigüedades para mostrar su mejor mercancía a los numerosos visitantes, en uno de los mercadillos semanales más grandes de Bélgica.
Y para dar cabida a los 350 comerciantes, el rastro de Tongeren se extiende por 7 calles: Leopoldwal, Veemarkt, Maastrichterstraat, de Schiervelstraat, Clarissenstraat, Eburonenhal y el primer nivel de Julianus.
Debido a su tamaño, este mercado de antigüedades goza de reputación internacional, y es el lugar de encuentro de un número creciente de visitantes holandeses, alemanes, franceses, británicos y estadounidenses, todos ellos en busca de esa pieza "única" de anticuario o de mercadillo. Por eso, no se sorprenda si oye a un estadounidense regatear el precio de una vieja silla rococó o ve a un italiano montar un escándalo porque un vendedor pide un precio demasiado alto por un jarrón Art Déco que le encantaría regalar a su mamá.
Tenga en cuenta que los precios suelen ser bastante altos en el mercadillo de Tongeren, aunque siempre es posible hacer gangas. Además, no olvide echar un vistazo a las muchas pequeñas tiendas de antigüedades situadas alrededor del mercadillo, y relajarse en uno de los cafés o restaurantes de buen gusto cercanos antes de volver a casa.
Cathy Nichols
2nd mayo 2015 en 20:59I have read so many marvelous things about the antique market / flea market in Tongeren which is supposed to be the biggest one in Belgium. So we visited it last Sunday.
First of all: it is big and it is impressive. No doubt. But the atmosphere of flea markets (that I love so much) is simply not there. It is like a big exhibition of professional sellers of antique stuff, that happens to happen partly outside in the streets of a town, partly in halls and an underground level of a parking garage.
The sellers I experienced where not willing to negotiate on the price …which I think is the biggest part of the fun on a flea market. And a lot of times the supposedly antique stuff turned out to be new stuff which was just made to look old. So, at the end of the day my personal decision is:it was nice that we have seen that but I would not go there a second time.
My personal thoughts: for people who are looking for treasures (antique-vice + price-vice) this is not necessarily the place to be.
Klaas Hengo
2nd junio 2015 en 02:51Der größte und schönste Antiquitätenmarkt in Benelux ist in der ältesten Stadt Belgiens, Tongeren – etwas westlich von Lüttich und Maastricht und gerade einmal 120 km von Köln entfernt. Jeden Sonntag von 7-13/14h öffnen ca. 40 Läden ihre Türen, ca. 400 Strände zeigen ihre Kostbarkeiten und drei große überdachte Hallen laden zum regensicheren Bummeln ein. Dazwischen gibt es in der Innenstadt entlang der Antiquitätenstände reichlich Restaurants, Hotels und Cafes.
Tipp: Früh anreisen und das Auto kostenlos am Bahnhof abstellen.
Elco Rielink
19th junio 2015 en 19:05You never know what you’re going to find here, and I absolutely love it. The largest flea market I’ve ever seen, wrapped around a large part of the old city of Tongeren. The earlier you go the better! Plan on being there several hours, and end your day with a pile of french fries smothered in whatever you please at the end!
Jordan Wilkins
5th septiembre 2015 en 08:52We have family in the antiques businesses, so this was not our first flea market. Overall, we loved the Tongeren market and spent an entire Sunday rooting around for treasure. We were out there at 6 am with flashlight and left after the last vendors packed up their stall around 1 pm. Our favorite part of the market was the basement of the parking garage and the adjacent basketball court building. Both of those locations had dealers that were willing to haggle and negotiate with you.
Since we love antiques, this flea market was the whole reason we went to Tongeren as part of our trip through Belgium. Bottom line, I’m so glad we went and will almost certainly come back in a few years to this fun market!
Kyle Owen
18th enero 2016 en 03:08My wife and I love going to the European Antique Markets and this is one of the best, We looked all over Europe for Vintage Royal Albert Tea Sets and I found mine here and got an amazing deal, this place is worth spending a day exploring, do not miss your chance to find a treasure!
Traci Garner
26th marzo 2016 en 00:12I have gone multiple times with friends. Love looking for little trinkets and treasures. A great variety of items from antiques to near items. Most is outdoors but two sections of it is indoors. Most areas are big enough to take a stroller but wouldn’t really recommend taking kids here. This is definitely a fun trip to go on with your friends.
Ian Cameron
29th diciembre 2017 en 17:19We have been to the Tongeren flea market on three occasions. The first was a bit dissapointing as the market had moved to another location due to a religious festival in the town. We have been back twice since and seen the full market in all its glory. Lots to see and buy. We stayed ìn the town and got into the market early – after couple of hours it was back to the hotel for breakfast and then out again for a second look. On our last visit we made a week of it visiting Tongeren first, a few days touring and then the flea market in Amiens the following Sunday . We found the Tongeren market a bit expensive however the traders will haggle and the prices get better as the day progresses.