Short walk to the outdoor market of Vallouise (all Thursdays) in the Hautes-Alpes (France). Quite confidential out of summer tourist season, it attracts the crowd in July and August. Meeting place as much as buying space ...
A mountain market under the southern sun
In the summer the market is extended along the Gyr torrent on the side of the brewery Alphand but also and especially on the place called La Gravière, to the campsite. The food section is in front of and around the Saint-Etienne church. You will find market gardeners, fruit and vegetable merchants, cheese makers, butchers and delicatessens. Along the torrent welcomes the sellers of clothes, crafts etc ... The market starts early to finish in the late morning. Inevitably the best is the least good. Take the time to check the prices that fly away in the summer sun for products sometimes from the big distribution or even on the other side of the world (which is not incompatible) ...
We advise you to focus on local producers and artisans, for example those with the Esprit Ecrins National Park label. The quality of their products is often exceptional. Some local caterers offer "Tourtons" (small stuffed donuts) and even delicious oriental sweets, Asian products and creoles ...
A visit to Christiane at La Presse / Library "Mot à mot" to buy the newspaper or a magazine, before going for a coffee or an aperitif Chez Alphand (beer, lemonade and cola house) or coffee des Vallois, will complete your morning of idleness ...
Visit the market in 360 ° virtual tours
Click on the links in orange to move in the virtual tour or on the globe 
to view a map of 360 ° views and access them.
Some recommendations, without being exhaustive, of merchants:
- Honey "Du Rucher du Chardon Bleu" of Franck and Sophie Violin, beekeepers at La Roche de Rame is excellent and reasonably priced.
- Librairie des Écrins: Nice bookseller offers you fascinating readings (mountain, ecology, art of living etc.).
- Flore des Ecrins »: Laetitia Giroud sells aromatic and medicinal plants. Very friendly, knowledgeable and expert advice.
- Le Pressoir du mas des Bruns sells fabulous fruit juice (untreated) made by Aurélie Rousselot, a local farmer. Apple, pear, grape, quince etc.
- The fishmonger sells fresh and quality fish even if inevitably the prices in the mountains for sea fish are not necessarily accessible at all the purses.
- A seed seller from Genépi, Edelweiss etc. is located right in front of the war memorial. We recommend his products even if we do not find, at the time of writing these lines, his name ...
Attention, there is only one distributor of money in Vallouise (Crédit Agricole). It is often empty during the morning. When this is not the case the queue in the middle of the summer is often long.
Without doing most of its shopping, strolling and strolling will liven up your day with a certain sweetness of life. Vallouise's market allows neighbors, friends and, more generally, acquaintances to meet each other, exchange words or even drink coffee. Everyone has their schedules of attendance, some avoid it, others look for it. The market plays a formidable role of sociability and exchange ...
