The market
The Balon has been going since 1856; the Gran Balon is its monthly version, with hundreds more stallholders.
On Saturdays the Balon is Turin's flea market: stalls of clothes, books and old ironwork along via Borgo Dora and in the Cortile del Maglio. On the second Sunday of the month it multiplies: antique dealers, junk traders and collectors from all over northern Italy fill the streets as far as the Cortile del Maglio and the Molassi canal.
You find everything: Piedmontese furniture, Sixties lamps, records, prints, toys, bicycles. You haggle over the price, you look a lot and buy little. Around it, the bars of the borgo serve bicerin and focaccia from 7am.
Entry is free: it is a street. And two steps away is Porta Palazzo, the largest open-air food market in Europe, open on Sunday mornings until 1pm.
The day
The Gran Balon has no programme: it has a rhythm. This one.
- 8.00The stalls openThe collectors arrive now, torch in hand. If you are after something specific, this is the hour.
- 9.30Breakfast in Borgo DoraA bicerin or a coffee at the Cortile del Maglio, then start again from via Borgo Dora towards the canal.
- 11.00Porta PalazzoThe food market three minutes away: cheeses, anchovies, the clock canopy. It closes at 1pm.
- 13.00Market lunchThe trattorias of the Quadrilatero or a porchetta roll from the stalls. The Balon thins out a little in the afternoon.
- 16.00–18.00Bargain hourThe stalls pack up and prices drop: haggle now and you take the furniture home for half.
Getting there
Route on Google MapsBorgo Dora is in the centre: you get there on foot, by tram or by metro.
What to know before you go
Four things the people of Turin take for granted.
Almost nobody takes cards. The first price is never the last: ask calmly, don't offend.
At 8am you get the best pieces, at 5pm the best prices. Decide which matters more to you.
You always come back with something. For furniture, many stallholders deliver within Turin for a few euros.
The Balon is safe, but it is crowded: backpack on your front and phone in a zipped pocket, as in any market.
Around the Balon
The Quadrilatero Romano and Porta Palazzo are three minutes away: the liveliest part of old Turin.
Nearby, on Twip
The market is free. If you want your bicerin done properly, chocolate in a workshop or dinner in a piola, those you book on Twip.
Frequently asked questions about the Gran Balon
The things people ask us before they leave.
Is there an entrance fee?
No, the Gran Balon is out in the streets of Borgo Dora: walk around freely from 8am to 6pm.
How is it different from the Saturday Balon?
Saturday is the flea market, smaller and more local. On the second Sunday of the month the antique dealers arrive and the market triples in size.
Can I haggle?
Yes, it is the norm. Politely: 20–30% off is reasonable, especially in the afternoon.
Do they take cards?
Almost never. Cash machines on corso Giulio Cesare and at Porta Palazzo.
Does it go ahead in the rain?
Yes. In heavy rain some stallholders stay home, but the market is always on.
