Anne Podgorny's shop at Marche Dauphine. [Photo/Agencies]

Then, over the last two years, St.-Ouen has become cool again, as a go-to weekend destination for young Parisians as well as foreign tourists. And not only for treasure-hunting.

The Iranian-born cameraman Darius Khondji made the flea market sparkle in Woody Allen's 2011 crowd-pleaser, Midnight in Paris. (In case you don't remember, Inez dips in and out of the stalls of March Paul-Bert-Serpette Puces de Paris St.-Ouen, the largest of the markets; Gil wanders off and makes the acquaintance of a French antiques dealer named Gabrielle who shares his passion for the Lost Generation. The message is clear: Anyone can go to Paris and find serendipity, beautiful objects and a soul mate.)

I discovered that it's as easy as pie to get straight to Rue Paul Bert, one of the main streets of St.-Ouen, from the Left Bank north through Montmartre on the Right Bank via the No 85 bus. It's a lovely way to see Paris. As for pickpockets, warnings throughout the market and armies of both local police officers and private security guards serve as deterrents.

Last year, the European furniture designer Habitat spearheaded a move to transform a spacious courtyard of old ateliers and warehouses on Rue des Rosiers across the street from Paul-Bert-Serpette into soaring, deluxe spaces that look more like small museums than retail shops.

Habitat 1964, as the 1,310-square-meter installation is called in honor of the year the company was founded, plays cool jazz and showcases furnishings no longer in production, including its 1977 Mushroom lamp and 1993 Altona desk. Beware the prices: A rare Pierre Paulin couch in sky blue was recently selling for 15,000 euros.

Another pioneer is L'Eclaireur, which opened its seventh Paris outlet in a former chandelier repair atelier here. It offers high-end contemporary furniture, sculptures and vintage haute couture clothing. Galerie Gam next door specializes in 20th-century French furniture design from the 1950s through the 1970s; Le White, in objects in, bien sr, white.