The ultimate guide to your first Brimfield Antique Show experience

Ultimate guide to first Brimfield Antique Show experience — This guide to your first Brimfield Antique Show experience will help you enjoy yourself and find the best treasures.

Never been to Brimfield? Here’s the ultimate guide to your first Brimfield Antique Show experience

I’ve always wanted to go to the Brimfield Antique Flea Market in Brimfield, Massachusetts, ever since I learned years ago that Martha Stewart found many of her prized treasures there. But it’s a long way to Brimfield from Dayton, Ohio — 15 hours, to be exact. And there was no point going to the nation’s oldest outdoor antique show unless we drove! You can’t fit a bunch of antiques in a carry-on!

Let’s do this thing!

So, I decided this was the year! And my daughter, Rachel, was able to make the journey with me. Here’s what we learned on our first Brimfield Antique Show experience.

Our first view of the flea market fields was breathtaking — field after field along Highway 20 filled with white tents. And in every tent, the promise of treasure!

Guide to first Brimfield Antique Show experience — The Brimfield Antique Show has hundreds of tents laid out across multiple fields.

Step 1: Plan your attack

What’s the best day to go to Brimfield? Do you need more than one day to visit? Here are our best suggestions for your first Brimfield Antique Show experience.

When to go:

The Brimfield Antique Flea Market is held three times a year, in May, July and September. May and September tend to have the most vendors – and the most shoppers. Although it was hot and “off-season,” we decided to go in July. For first-timers, it’s a great time to dip your toes into the market without feeling overwhelmed.

You can get the dates at the official website: Brimfieldantiquefleamarket.com.

Each market is a week long, with the closing weekend the busiest. Again, for first-timers, I’d suggest going late mid-week. We started on Wednesday afternoon and shopped all day Thursday and Friday. Parking was easy, and the crowds were manageable. And for your first Brimfield Antique Show experience, I’d suggest spending a couple of days. Even then, you won’t be able to get to everything.

Finds from our first Brimfield Antique Show experience — We found all kinds of goodies during our first Brimfield Antique Show experience.

Parking

The flea market is spread across a dozen or more fields, all fronting Highway 20, between Palmer and Brimfield. You’ll find parking all along the path, with $5 parking at the outer fields and $20+ parking toward the center. We opted for the middle-ground, and paid $10 to park close to the middle. From this vantage point, we ventured both directions and on both sides of the streets, tackling it field by field over 2 1/2 days.

Trainmaster's Inn in Palmer, Conn. — We stayed a few miles away from the Brimfield show, at the Trainmasters Inn in Palmer, MA.

Where to stay

For your first Brimfield Antique Show experience, I’d suggest staying close by. The big chain hotels can be found in Sturbridge, but we always look for something local and historic. We found the perfect place at the Trainmasters Inn in Palmer, Massachusetts, just a few miles away from the flea market fields.

Why this was the perfect place to stay

The Trainmasters Inn was wonderfully charming and welcoming. We had a super comfortable room, easy free parking and lovely extras like fresh-baked muffins delivered every morning.

Although very close by, it was removed from the Brimfield crowds, and we were able to enjoy our evenings at charming local restaurants and bars.

Trainmasters Inn is a great place to stay for your first Brimfield Antique Show experience — The communal kitchen at the Trainmasters Inn is outfitted with all kinds of tea and coffee, and fresh muffins are delivered every morning.

Where to eat

At the show

The Brimfield Antique Flea Market has a huge food court, right in the center of the show. Pretty much every kind of fair food is available. Our favorites were the falafels on pita, the GIANT cookies and, of course, the wine slushies!

Array of food at Brimfield Antique Show — The food court at Brimfield offers all kinds of snacks and meals, including giant cookies and wine slushies.

Dining in town

In Palmer, we found wonderful local restaurants. Our favorite had to be Figlio, an absolutely charming Italian restaurant. The food was exquisite, service amazing and we felt like a local.

Meanwhile, we ate a couple of meals at The Steaming Tender, which was just a short walk from our inn. The restaurant is train-themed, and the food, though bar food-ish, was very good.

The Steaming Tender Restaurant is a short walk away from the Trainmasters Inn in Palmer, MA.

Italian Restaurant in Palmer, Conn. — We loved this Italian Restaurant in Palmer, MA.

What you should pack for your first Brimfield Antique Show experience

Bring a cart. Really. It’s sort of a pain to push it over the ruts in the field, but we could not have made it without our cart.
Water. Pack a water bottle. Of course, you can buy water, but it’s not available in every field. You don’t want to have to walk to the center to get a drink and then go back to your shopping spot.
Cash. Some vendors took credit cards, but most preferred cash. We got better deals with our dollars.