Last Sunday, my friends and I headed down to 77th street for the weekly Grand Bazaar flea market. The market, which is open once a week all year long, is a perfect Sunday afternoon activity. Just a 15-minute walk from Lincoln Center, you can spend the day shopping, eating and wishing you had enough money for all the antiques and vintage goods. 

The market features over 100 vendors to get your fix of food, clothes, jewelry, home decorations and everything in between. We started our trip right outside the market, where independent sellers have tables full of knick knacks and goods. These tables had many small unique pieces that were on the cheaper side, so it’s definitely worth taking a look before heading into the market. 

Inside, the market consists of a schoolyard covered in rows of tents covering a variety of tables. The variety of goods allows for hours of browsing, and you can find tons of unique pieces. Because of the vintage clothing and handmade goods, the market can tip more on the expensive side, although prices definitely vary depending on the item and the table. 

I ended up walking away with a vintage slip skirt, some posters, a necklace and some handmade pottery. All the vendors were very nice and happy to answer any questions or let you try on the clothes. Most of the tables had business cards with a link to their website, so anything you don’t see at the market, you could try looking for elsewhere. One of my favorite vendors was a guy selling “really bad portraits” where for $5 he drew an extremely hideous portrait of my friends and I, which was definitely worth the money. 

There were also a lot of really great food options to choose from, both to sit down with or take home. There were food trucks with pizza and hot dogs, but there were also little bakery tents and a homemade pickle tent, which I highly recommend to all dill lovers

Going to flea markets is definitely one of my favorite things to do. It’s so important to support small and independent businesses and a flea market is a great place to do it. Everything I saw was pretty much one of a kind, so finding unique and personal items was really fun. 

If you’re looking for a unique and fun activity to do on a Sunday afternoon in the city, the Grand Bazaar is definitely worth checking out, especially as the weather gets warmer.