This is a great chance to gaze at 18th century painted panels, tapestries, paintings and magnificent sandalwood library furniture before some of these pieces are trundled into vans to adorn the homes of French media moguls and the stock smartly replaced.
The 400-plus stands of the mainly French dealers who exhibit here are largely set out to catch the eye and pockets, particularly of interior designers, with an emphasis on homewares, almost all of it French.
Some 35,000 visitors throng to each of these pop-up shows and if you plan a visit, get there at opening time and take cash because few dealers have card facilities and there are no cashpoints on site.
The second annual Foire de Chatou runs from Friday September 22-Sunday October 1. Trade day is from 8am on Thursday, September 21, and public opening times are 10am-7pm every day.
