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The world-famous Roman flea market of Porta Portese takes place on the Via Portuense, the street starting staright from the Porta Portese (”Portese gate”) itself. This antique city gate was one of the main entrances in the city of Rome in the antiquity and then rebuild in the 17th century. The gate led through the Aurelian city wall in the direction of the sea-side town of Portus, hence the name of the gate and the street.

Even today the street is quite crowded with  traffic, except on Sundays: the street is closed for traffic and before sunrise every Sunday morning the area of Porta Portese starts filling up with merchants and street vendors setting up their booth or just distributing their merchandise on sheets spread on the street. By 7 AM most they are all ready for the day’s work and shoppers start arriving, and by 8 AM it’s crowded!

The market is huge, it goes on several miles along the street and you can find all you could possibly need in the incredible wealth of merchandise that’s on offer: clothes – brand new or second hand – shoes, handbags and other accessories, lingerie, suspiciously expensive looking watches, furniture and decoration items, cook ware, books, bicycles and any kind of vintage or antique treasures… Just dig in, it’s the shopping lovers’ paradise! The market stays open until about 2 PM.

And how to get there? The market is located in one of the oldest neighbourhoods of the city, Trastevere, close to the banks of the Tiber. For example from the Termini station you can catch the bus number 75 which will take you directly in front of the market, or take the metro line B to Piramide and then walk towards the river, about 10 minutes. See the location of the market on the Rome city map. For your accomodation in Rome book the Nice Hotel, conveniently connected with the market by the bus line 75, and perfect for anyone who wants style and quality at a decent price!