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Eat and drink your way through the San Lorenzo market quarter, Florence

Food & Drink

Eat and drink your way through the San Lorenzo market quarter

Florence · Tuscany

QUICK INFORMATION

CATEGORY
Food & Drink
COUNTRY
Italy
REGION
Florence · Tuscany
DURATION
A morning and lunch, or an evening
DIFFICULTY
Easy, level walking through a compact quarter.
BEST TIME
Year-round; the indoor food hall is a good wet-weather option.

ABOUT THIS EXPERIENCE

The San Lorenzo quarter, around the Medici parish church of the same name, is Florence’s market district and one of its best eating areas. The Mercato Centrale, a 19th-century iron-and-glass hall, holds the produce and meat stalls on the ground floor and a food court of regional counters on the upper floor; the outdoor piazza around it is the city’s leather market. The side streets hold the tripe sandwich (lampredotto) stalls that are Florence’s street food, the old wine bars, and the trattorias that serve the city’s honest cooking. It is the quarter to come hungry to.

WHAT YOU’LL EXPERIENCE

What you’ll experience

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

THE EXPERIENCE IN DETAIL

What it’s really like

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

HIGHLIGHTS

Moments worth savouring

01

The Mercato Centrale — the 19th-century food hall, with produce stalls below and a regional food court above.

02

The lampredotto stalls — Florence’s street food, a sandwich of the fourth stomach of the cow, served from carts across the quarter.

03

The Medici Chapels — the domed chapels behind San Lorenzo, with Michelangelo’s New Sacristy and the ducal tombs.

04

The leather market — the outdoor stalls of the San Lorenzo piazza, the city’s traditional leather goods market.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Good to know before you go

More here soon — the road is still being mapped.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Before you go

Access
The market is a short walk north of the Duomo and the train station; the food hall is closed in the early afternoon.
Best Time
Mornings for the produce market; lunch and early evening for the food court.
Context
The San Lorenzo quarter sits between the train station and the Duomo, at the edge of the historic centre.

MAP & LOCATION

Eat and drink your way through the San Lorenzo market quarter

Eat and drink your way through the San Lorenzo market quarter, Florence, Tuscany, Italy

43.7772, 11.2497

Open in OpenStreetMap

ATTRACTIONS NEARBY

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FOOD & DRINK

Where to eat nearby

01

Trattoria Sostanza — a historic trattoria since 1869, famous for its butter chicken and artichoke tortino, book ahead

02

All’Antico Vinaio — the city’s famous schiacciata bread sandwich, queues around the block

03

Trattoria Mario — a no-reservations lunch-only trattoria near the Mercato Centrale, honest Tuscan cooking

04

Osteria delle Tre Panche — a tiny wine bar serving the best maccheroni in the city, a few tables only

05

Ristorante Cibrèo — the classic Florentine restaurant, the place for ribollita and the chicken liver pâté

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HOTELS & STAYS

Where to stay nearby

01

Hotel Lungarno — a riverside boutique hotel overlooking the Ponte Vecchio, with a private art collection

02

Hotel Brunelleschi — a hotel built around a Byzantine tower in the historic centre, steps from the Duomo

03

Hotel Torre Guelfa Palazzo Acciaiuoli — a medieval tower hotel near the Ponte Vecchio, with a rooftop terrace

04

Hotel Cellai — a charming garden hotel in the San Lorenzo quarter, good value for a central stay

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NEARBY DESTINATIONS

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