The Central Market

Florence's central covered food market

Mercato Centrale (Central Market)
The entire block bordered by Via dell'Ariento, Via Sant'Antonino, Via Panicale, and Piazza del Mercato Centrale
Open Mon–Fri 7am–2pm, Sat 7am–2pm, 4–7:30pm.

Sights nearby
*** San Lorenzo Leather Market [market]
** The Medici Chapels [monument]
* San Lorenzo [church]
* Palazzo Medici-Riccardi [palace]
*** Duomo group [church/museum]
** Santa Maria Novella [church]

Where to eat nearby
* Da Nerbone [snack]
* Da Mario [meal]
* Trattoria Za-Za [meal]
* Antichi Cancelli [meal]

Hotels nearby
Hotel Residence La Contessina [cheap]

Hotel Nuova Italia [cheap]
Hotel Botticelli [moderate]
Hotel Globus [moderate]
Hotel Albani Firenze [premier/splurge]
Hotel City [moderate]
» More hotels near the Mercato Centrale

ReidsItaly.com Florence Map

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TOURS FROM OUR TRUSTED PARTNERS that include Florence

Intrepid Travel 2011 Italy trips
• Best of Italy (15 days)
• Italy Experience (15 days)
• Classic Italy (21 days)
• Italy Family Adventure (14 days)
• Highlights of Italy (8 days)
• Tuscan Express (7 days)

G Adventures 2011 Italy trips
• Ultimate Italy (13 days)
• Italy Culture and History Explored (9 days)
• The Taste of Tuscany (8 days)
• Venice to Rome Adventure (8 days)
• Italy Family Adventure (10 days)

iExplore Italy trips 2011
• Italy Experience (9 days)
• Italy in Style (9 days)
• Magical Tuscany & Portofino Peninsula (10 days)
• Tuscan Delights (8 days)
• Splendors of Italy & Southern France (16 days)

The Mercato Centrale of Florence
The grandiose interior of Florence's Mercato Centrale. (Photo by Warburg)For great picnic pickings—not to mention photo ops—head to Florence's 19th-century covered food market, snuggled behind the outdoor stalls of the San Lorenzo leather market.

It looks a bit like a old grandiose train station inside, all dingy glass and steel struts, but actually was purpose-designed to be a market in 1870–74 by the same guy who did Milan's famous Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II: Giuseppe Mengoni.

The Mercato Centrale is also home to one of Florence's great old-school dining opportunities: Da Nerbone, a corner stall that since 1874 has done a brisk business of feeding hungry market patrons a few basic dishes—most popularly, a panino con bollito—a boiled meat sandwich that's bagnato, dipped quickly into the bubbling vat before being handed over.

The Mercato Centrale is open Monday to Friday 7am to 2pm, Saturday 7am to 2pm and 4 to 7:30pm.

Tips

Planning your day: If you plan to pop in, be sure to do it in the morning, since the market closes at 2pm. If all you want is a picture or two, you can be in and out in 5 or 10 minutes. Stick around to shop (or grab lunch at Da Nerbone), and figure on 45 minutes.
Be sure you grab lunch—or at least a snack—at the Da Nerbone stall.
Book a market tour and/or cooking course: Reserve either a tour of the market, or a spot in a five-hour cooking class, which includes a shopping visit to this market to prepare your four-course Tuscan feast, via our partner site Viator.com.

• Florence Market and Food Walking Tour
• Florence Cooking Course and Local Market Visit

Markets in Florence
San Lorenzo leather market
Da Nerbone (great snack stall inside the market)
Da Mario (great trattoria just across from the market)
Picnic supplies in Florence
Top 10 shopping experiences in Florence
Other sights in the northerly San Lorenzo/San Marco area

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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The Central Market

Florence's central covered food market

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