10 Best Markets in Florence

Central Market (Mercato Centrale Firenze) is a classic, traditional food market offering everything from fresh produce to prepared foods and lots of local culture. The main downstairs portion of this city centre market has been here since the mid-19th century and is a destination for locals as well as a popular visitor spot. In the morning, Florentines come here to grab a coffee at the bar or do their daily grocery shopping for farm-fresh veggies and fresh-baked pastries.

Upstairs, the market has a more modern vibe and takes on the air of a food court selling meats, wines, cheeses and lots of prepared foods. You’ll find both Tuscan flavours here and international offerings, and even a sushi stand.

Sant’Ambrogio Market (Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio) is an indoor and outdoor covered morning market that offers authentic culture and is popular among locals with a wide range of goods. It’s a bit off the beaten path but is still in the city centre, in the Piazza Ghiberti, and is a fast-paced and vibrant destination where you’ll see locals shopping for everything from farm-fresh produce to light bulbs. This market sells just about everything from vintage clothing to gently used trinkets.

Whether you’re looking for a souvenir or gift or you want to grab some fresh prosciutto, you’ll find it among the myriad vendors here. You might even discover a rare, unusual and unique treasure among the bits and bobs here.

Porcellino Market (Mercato del Porcellino), more properly Mercato Nuovo, is a revived version of an older leather market that is nestled beneath medieval-styled arches and famed for its boar statue. This bronze statue is the reason for the market’s local name, and it is said that if you rub the boar’s nose while dropping a coin from its mouth and making a wish, your wish will come true and you will have good luck. The market is well known for its selection of scarves, textiles, clothing, leather goods, souvenirs and handmade arts and crafts.

The market is located in a historically significant 16th-century loggia. It’s also centrally located in the heart of the Florence city centre.

Mercato Isolotto is a small but well-stocked local market with friendly and helpful staff offering a wide range of interesting and unique goods from food to beauty products. Here, you’ll find fruits, vegetables and other fresh foods just off the farm. You’ll also discover clothes, both gently used and brand-new, handmade items as well as perfumes and accessories. It’s a vibrant neighbourhood market where locals come to socialise with each other and with the vendors and where you can soak up a great deal of local culture and colour.

This market is located along the Viale delle Magnolie about 20 minutes west of the Florence city centre.

Mercato delle Cascine, located in Cascine Park about 25 minutes west of Florence, is an enormous marketplace with hundreds of stalls selling almost everything you can think of. Here, you can spend hours on a Tuesday morning browsing for clothes, handbags, shoes, accessories, home decor, housewares, arts and crafts and fresh and prepared foods. You might even find the odd rare collectable.

One thing that sets this market apart from others is the prices. It’s among the lowest-priced markets in Florence, as well as one of the largest. Whatever sort of gift, souvenir or hidden treasure you’re looking for, you might just spot it nestled among the vendors here.

Mercato Ortofrutticolo, also known as the Market of Opportunities, is a speciality market allowing individuals to buy produce at affordable wholesale prices. The market opened in 2006. Wholesalers could sell fruits and vegetables to individuals at discounted prices that couldn’t be sold to the wholesale market. The produce is quality but may have minor blemishes rendering them undesirable to grocery stores. For those looking to do weekly grocery shopping, however, it’s an outstanding opportunity.

The market is located 15 minutes to the northwest of Florence’s city centre. It’s open Tuesdays and Fridays from lunchtime to evening. It does require a fee-based card to access.

Mercato di Santo Spirito is a vibrant flea market in a popular piazza in the heart of the city centre offering a wide range of vintage and secondhand goods. It’s open the 2nd Sunday of every month and presents a fun and friendly atmosphere and vibe where haggling is encouraged. Here, you’ll find antiques and historical trinkets, furniture, home decor, vintage clothing, handmade arts and crafts, vintage vinyl and even rare 1st-edition books. If you can think of it, you might just see it here.

It’s outdoors and a good way to catch some fresh air as well as local colour. It’s open from early morning to dusk, so you can spend the whole day digging for hidden treasures.

Mercato Contadino Parterre Firenze is a farmers' market about 15 minutes north of the city centre that's focused on products from small local farms all fresh from farm to table. Here, you will find all sorts of fresh and prepared foods including wine, olive oil, liqueurs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, cured meats, pasta, honey, yeast and more. This is a small market, but it seems to offer a little bit of everything, including speciality products you won’t find in bigger markets, and it’s all direct from the farmers who produce it.

Almost everything here is seasonal, so you’ll see different things each visit. You can ask for tastings, get recipes and advice and even learn about sustainable farming techniques.

Mercato delle Cure is situated in a neighbourhood with a vibe like a small village that's open 6 days a week from morning till lunch and is popular with locals. This farmers' market is hosted in the vibrant Piazza delle Cure about 15 minutes northeast of the city centre and is solely focused on fresh and prepared foods.

This is a place where locals come for their morning and midday provisions, from fresh foods and veggies to pasta, wine and olive oil, and prepared food stands for a quick bite of lunch. If you’re looking to soak up local colour or perfect your Fiorentino dialect, this is definitely the place to spend time.

Mercato delle Pulci is a flea market and an antique hunter's paradise located in a sleek, ultramodern steel and glass structure in the heart of the city centre. The market moved from the Piazza dei Ciompi in 2019. Now that it’s indoors, the market operates rain or shine, and it’s worth it just to browse the many vendors selling antiques, collectables, jewellery, trinkets, clothes, books, vintage vinyl records and other treasures.

While it might not have the historic vibe of some of the other markets in the city, it certainly offers plenty of historical items to make up for it. The vibe is fun and welcoming, and the vendors are pleasant.