Mercato Centrale, Florence
Tucked inside a magnificent 19th-century cast-iron and glass pavilion in San Lorenzo, Florence's Mercato Centrale is where Florentine cooks have shopped since 1874 — and where hungry visitors can eat some of the most honest, ingredient-led food in the city.
Ground Floor: The Real Market
The ground floor is a working food market where butchers hang bistecca alla Fiorentina, fishmongers lay out fresh catch from Viareggio, and cheese vendors slice wedges of aged Pecorino Toscano straight from the wheel.
This is where local nonnas still do their weekly shop, and the prices and produce quality reflect that — pick up truffle paste, Colonnata lard or a bottle of unfiltered Chianti Classico to take home.
Arrive before 10:00 to see the market at its liveliest and most photogenic, before the tourist wave rolls in.
First Floor Food Hall
The upper floor was transformed in 2014 into a buzzing food hall where a dozen artisan stalls serve lampredotto (Florentine tripe) sandwiches, fresh pasta, pizza al taglio, craft beer and proper gelato all under one roof.
Nerbone, a legendary stall operating since 1872, dishes out ribollita and bollito misto from huge steaming pots — queue, grab a tray and eat elbow-to-elbow with market workers for the most authentic lunch in Florence.
The hall stays open until midnight, making it equally good for an aperitivo and a plate of cured meats after an afternoon in the Uffizi.
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