Mercato Centrale
Mercato Centrale
4.3
About
If you're a food lover, you can't miss this historic food market in Florence. As part of the San Lorenzo Market, this food market showcases some of Tuscany's finest products, from farm-fresh produce to cured meats and cheeses. Many travelers get truffle oil, honey, and aged balsamic vinegar for souvenirs—which you can try before buying. Swing upstairs to grab a quick lunch, and wander through the outdoor market for more shopping. Join a walking food tour to experience the best food spots in Florence, which often includes a stop at Mercato Centrale. Visit earlier in the day for fewer crowds. – Tripadvisor
Duration: < 1 hour
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The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Florence Historic Center
The Florence Historic Center neighborhood is a living, breathing canvas of Renaissance art and architecture. It is home to the iconic Duomo and Michelangelo’s David, and the streets echo with the artistic genius of the masters. The neighborhood is abundant with traditional Tuscan cuisine, with trattorias serving up dishes like ribollita and bistecca alla Fiorentina. The neighborhood is also well-connected with convenient access to the main train station, Santa Maria Novella. Visitors can spend their days exploring the Uffizi Galleries, strolling along the Arno River, or unwinding in the lush Boboli Gardens.
How to get there
- Alamanni-Stazione Santa Maria Novella • 7 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.3
16,729 reviews
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1,525
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445
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kissane
Perth, Australia932 contributions
Jan 2025 • Solo
The upstairs food hall is worth a visit - a great place for a quick lunch, with a large assortment of offerings, mostly pretty authentic. I used it a couple of times and enjoyed my food. Wandering waiters will take drink orders for you and deliver the drinks (for neo extra charge). If you're enjoying Florence and don't want to take the time it does to sit down in a restaurant, this is a good choice and is centrally located. Unlike restaurants, there is no cover charge, too. ;-)
Written February 2, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
zizi59
Colleret551 contributions
Feb 2025 • Couples
You will find in this central market hall version all that Italy can offer from a culinary point of view. Beware the stocking closes at 3pm on weekdays and is not open on Sundays
In the DRC is installed a real market with from time to time something to settle to taste a plank of cold meats
Upstairs it is the rendezvous of tourists or locals who meet to eat all kinds of local specialties
We were there on a Sunday lunchtime where a football match of Fiorentina was broadcast needless to say that there were many people and a beautiful atmosphere
Place to visit without problem until late evening regarding the floor
In the DRC is installed a real market with from time to time something to settle to taste a plank of cold meats
Upstairs it is the rendezvous of tourists or locals who meet to eat all kinds of local specialties
We were there on a Sunday lunchtime where a football match of Fiorentina was broadcast needless to say that there were many people and a beautiful atmosphere
Place to visit without problem until late evening regarding the floor
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Written February 17, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mike M
Cambridge, Canada242 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
You do not need a tour guide for this spot - a great open-air market with a lot of vendors selling leather goods and clothing around the outside perimeter of the building. They will bargain with you so make sure you do not pay the posted price as they are inflated (by quite a bit; I bought a leather briefcase priced at 425 Euros for 160 Euros). The building is large and has a lot of food, vegetable, and butcher stalls on the inside. Well worth the visit.
Written September 9, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chef em Casa Receitas
Ilheus, BA583 contributions
Oct 2024 • Couples
What saved our trip to the Mercato was the pizza made on time and very good. Confused, dirty, noisy environment, presence of pigeons (vector of disease) flying over our heads, very expensive dishes and beers. To know and spend a lot, worth the visit. Just for that. Eat better in many other places, without spending so much and out unhappy. For example, a package of Cantucci, traditional Tuscan biscuit, cost 10 euros, while in any other renowned confectionery it cost 6 euros. Tourist pick in the vein! Be conscious!
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Written November 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Antonello
La Spezia, Italy1,445 contributions
May 2024 • Friends
Historic structure located in the center of Florence offers a vast and varied culinary offer. The continuous opening hours (from 9am to midnight) allow you to visit it, to eat or not, at any time of the day or evening. With some friends we tested a 2.2 kg rib eye accompanied by baked potatoes (all at 57 euros per skull) and a bottle of red paid separately. The fat didn't excite me. The value for money is so-so. Expectations were probably too high. I include several photos. Greetings.
Written May 19, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Domenico P
Milan, Italy6 contributions
Jan 2025 • Friends
Then I speak for what I eat, I ate the lampredotto, on the ground floor 6€ good traditional, fits (only the price with beer would have been 11€ each but
In the end in three we paid 40 € ) bah ... we did not ask, because we stayed there one night who cares we go drinking , but quite strange as a receipt , upstairs I tried again, the next day the sandwich , but this time lampredotto to the sauce , price 7.50 € receipt this time correct for a sandwich ,
Too bad that Ciccio , inside there was very little , I was not satisfied , at this point I recommend you eat down pay something more of which you did not understand why , but at least something substantial eat . All right, enjoy!! Have fun and anyway W Florence beautiful and delicious.
In the end in three we paid 40 € ) bah ... we did not ask, because we stayed there one night who cares we go drinking , but quite strange as a receipt , upstairs I tried again, the next day the sandwich , but this time lampredotto to the sauce , price 7.50 € receipt this time correct for a sandwich ,
Too bad that Ciccio , inside there was very little , I was not satisfied , at this point I recommend you eat down pay something more of which you did not understand why , but at least something substantial eat . All right, enjoy!! Have fun and anyway W Florence beautiful and delicious.
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Written January 6, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Vadim
Murmansk, Russia35,007 contributions
May 2023 • Solo
The central market or San Lorenzo Market is a place that is hard to miss in Florence. Mercato Central is a fairly new market, the result of urban planning. In 1874, Giovanni Mengoni was invited to design it, the same one who would create the famous Vittorio Emanuele Gallery in Milan in the future and die during its construction. Inspired by the Parisian architecture of the Second Empire, Mengoni created a building made of cast iron, steel and concrete with wide glazing, which even now, due to the abundance of light, creates the illusion of an open-air market. Now San Lorenzo can be conditionally divided into 3 large parts. There is a food market on the ground floor, a food court on the second floor and an open-air leather goods and souvenirs market on 3 sides of the indoor market. The grocery market is open from Monday to Saturday from 7:00 to 14:00, the food court is open daily from 10:00 to midnight. Of course, I bypassed all three, but purposefully came to the food court and the leather market. If the grocery market is definitely not the cheapest option in the city, then the food court, in my opinion, is the best opportunity to try a lot in one place at quite reasonable prices. The most popular "feature" on San Lorenzo lampredotto. This is a simplified version of the Florentine dish -trippa alla fiorentina, cow's stomach, cleaned of fat and cooked in a sauce of tomatoes, celery, carrots and garlic. Lampredotto is not prepared from the whole stomach, but from the 4th department (rennet). If five years ago I found only one point for cooking lampredotto, now there are several of them. In addition to the food court, there is an excellent selection of drinks. I tasted one of Italy's best wines, Brunello di Montalcino. The wine is expensive, but you can drink a glass. 10 euros per glass. After a hearty snack, you can go to the leather market. The choice is good, the prices are too. It is naive to think that they sell Italian products on it, Well. maybe only in expensive segments. Look for Italian sellers too. There are none of those with whom I have spoken. More and more Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Middle East. Souvenir prices are definitely lower here than in the center. So the San Lorenzo Market is the right place. In every way. ..
Written April 29, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
OTELLO
Catania, Italy603 contributions
Jan 2025 • Friends
Very easy to reach.. With its unmistakable entrance.. It ranges in various culinary cultures.. Preferring Florentine cuisine.. You will find from sushi to lampredotto, tripe, Florentine schiacciata, desserts, ice cream, meat and chicken stends, vegan alternatives, poultry, fair prices for Florence .. I recommend you taste the lampredotto .. For those who have never eaten it to a particular flavor .. There are plenty of seats and drinks arrive directly at the table.
Otello23ct@hotmail.it
I.g Otello Giuseppe
Otello23ct@hotmail.it
I.g Otello Giuseppe
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Written January 21, 2025
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anna C
7 contributions
Aug 2024 • Couples
Very suggestive location and absolutely worth visiting. You can feel the original nature of the Point of Sale even if now there are more street food stands around the world and managed by anyone but Florentines than the Point of Sale. Prices in line , very crowded and difficult to shoot in summer . It is no longer so difficult to find a place to eat, to try the sandwich with the lampredotto from Lombardi 5 euros . The bathrooms are dirty and crowded despite the staff trying to keep them clean. The ground floor, in my opinion, is much nicer and more livable than the first floor, an area perhaps more characteristic. Recommendation because the atmosphere is very special
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Written August 24, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Clair
Andalucia, Spain2 contributions
Sept 2024 • Family
Referring to the food hall upstairs, the reality is you are paying top prices and eating on a shared bench with plastic cutlery on paper plates. The food is good no question but it's priced double a local trattoria's prices and equal to a high end restaurant. For example, check out La Capannina Bistrot around the corner. Main courses from €7 in a traditional trattoria. Not worth the prices they are charging.
Written September 27, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Are there many gluten free options available here? Looking to possibly visit in April, but can’t figure out from the website if it’ll be worth it for us. Thanks in advance
Written March 24, 2024
We went to IL Pranzo Na Nerbone, Florence. Yes, they are able to prepare gluten free items. The foods and the shopping at the Mercato Centrale is the best. Especially, the outdoor vendors! Ciao
Written March 25, 2024
Someone knows whether the market will be open on June 2nd (public holiday)?
Written May 29, 2023
Will the market be open on 1 January 2023?
Written December 2, 2022
No idea. Definitely contact them via their website.
Written December 3, 2022
Not sure about lifts, maybe? There was an escalator going up!
Written September 6, 2022
purtroppo no, ma d'estate istallano ventilatori, che aiutano tanto
Written November 4, 2024
Buonasera, è possibile sapere gli orari e i giorni di apertura? In particolar modo per i giorni di Pasqua grazie mille
Written February 3, 2020
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