Mercato Centrale
Housed inside a soaring cast-iron and glass pavilion built in 1874, Mercato Centrale is where Florentine nonnas still elbow past tourists to buy their bistecca and where the ground floor smells permanently of white truffles, aged pecorino and fresh pasta. The upstairs food hall, added in 2014, lets you eat all of it without leaving the building.
Ground floor: the real market
The lower level is a working wholesale and retail market open Monday to Saturday mornings; butchers, fishmongers, pasta-makers and cheese vendors have traded from the same marble counters for generations.
Nerbone, a canteen tucked into the north-east corner since 1872, serves a legendary lampredotto (tripe) sandwich and a rotating daily pasta for under €8 — it is the best cheap lunch in central Florence and locals queue for it.
Upper floor: the food hall
The first-floor Mercato del Porcellino food hall is open until midnight and offers everything from Florentine-style pizza to craft beer and fresh gelato under the original iron roof trusses — a reliable dinner option that stays lively long after most trattorias have closed.
Look for the pasta-making station near the centre where fresh tagliatelle is rolled to order; a box makes a genuinely good edible souvenir if you are self-catering.
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