Mercato di San Lorenzo

This place has pretty much everything you could be looking for in a food destination. I have some adventurous eaters and some picky eaters, and both were happy here. If I was going to rate it any lower it would be from the smell of truffles that seems to be ever-present these days in most food establishments in Italy.
Pro-tip- The bar in the center of the joint has a bunch of Valentino Rossi paraphernalia, so this tells me that if you're ever in Florence when Moto GP is on, you might want to check this place out for a drink while the race is on. Might be a good time.

One of if not my favorite markets in the world. That tripe sandwich is an absolute classic. And the cock shaped pasta is radical

Our group of 5, ages 21-56, enjoyed dinner at the Mercato on our first night in Florence. There was something for every type of diner burgers made with Chianina beef, our favorite gondola-shaped fries, tagliere drizzled with truffle oil, roasted chicken and potatoes, Tuscan wine and so much more.

Obviously I'm a foody so my first stop in Florence was the San Lorenzo Mercato.
We arrived by frecciarossa (speed train) from Rome it took 1.5 hours smooth ride, 40euros. I wish we had more days in Florence, but arrived at 11am and stayed until 9. The market is very close to the train station surrounded by shops and street vendors selling leather goods, T-shirt's, souvenirs, etc... The bottom level is a mix of merchants: wine, olive oil, spices, cheeses, fresh meat, pasta, seafood, etc.... Then you go upstairs to the 2nd level and heavens gates open, the dining hall! Not only pasta, pizza but sushi, Chinese, vegan, fried chicken, smoothie bar, and a long beer tap bar. Oh also there's a pasta making kitchen but you must make reservation to join the lessons. It's a must for lunch or dinner and stop in Florence. The chicken tenders and fries good, the dumplings good, the pasta dish amazing!

Downstairs is the marketplace. Upstairs is the food hall.

I bought a TON of dried pasta seasoning, risotto, truffle sauce, limoncello, parmesan cheese, and probably a bunch of other things to take home for myself and as gifts. Here's some really good advice I wish someone would have given me:

1. The limoncello is cheaper here than places I found north of here.
2. Skip the pasta seasoning OR look very closely that there are NO BUGS in there. I bought a few and had to throw them away. I found one bug in one of the packages. Removed the bug and put the rest in a ziplock because I brought this home all the way from Italy so I'm gonna freaking eat it. But then weeks later, there were a ton of bugs trapped in the bag. SO FREAKING GROSS! So I wish I could go back in time and NOT buy it.
3. Mushroom risotto was so good. I wish I bought more of that and less of the black risotto which is the squid ink. It lacked flavor.
4. Parm cheese - I found one stall that offered to cut my purchase into 4 blocks, then vacuum sealed it for me. I traveled Europe for 1.5 weeks unrefrigerated. When I finally got home, I put it in the fridge. 9 months later - it's still good!
5. If you want to try a bunch of Italian food, go to the food court. The lampredotto was snack size and delicious if you like intestines. The expensive truffle pasta was okay in my opinion (aka overrated). And I tried the pizza which was delicious!

Aloha, when in Florence there are a few must. Besides gold & leather, the Lampredotto is a must & the Mercato is the spot to slurp it up. A fun enclosed market of food & specialty shops you'll droll while walking the isles. Colorful fresh fruits & vegetables,truffle & porcini mushrooms, cheese & meats, wine & beer - a great venue for shopping or lunch after walking the streets of Florence. Ciao!

If you're looking to buy something in leather you can hardly do better than Mercato di San Lorenzo. The entire street is loaded with carts and stores containing every sort and kind of leather goods. But, be careful. The quality of goods varies greatly so don't just look at price and think you're getting some sort of bargain, because maybe you're not. The dealers here are pretty darn honest and upfront, and will tell you about the quality of any goods, lead you away from items made of rejected leather that will shrink, wrinkle or otherwise quickly fall apart.

The smell of leather is in the air every place around here. There are lots of shoppers and tourists, but also a good number of pickpockets and those pickpockets are real slick, know every trick. So if you just stumble around, unaware with anything to pick, it will most likely end up in their pocket, not yours.

This is your go-to flea market in Florence to shop for souvenirs, leather, clothing and other goods. All of the vendors seemed to accept credit card, but I would recommend bringing euros for easier haggling/bargaining.

There are some aggressive vendors who really want your business, but we had a friendly experience for the most part. To echo what Gabrielle H said, I wouldn't recommend purchasing from your first place or settling on the first thing you find since there are many vendors that sell similar or the same items for lower.

My husband and I were able to pickup a few goodies here and souvenirs for our family and friends. This place is worth checking out when you're in Florence.

We came to this neat market as part of the walking food tour. So this place has a storied history & locals come here to buy meat, produce, vegetables & stuff. We got to sample the goods from a few of the vendors & ended up buying olive oil, pasta, truffle oil and other things to take home. We also got to eat at Nerbone, which we were told has really good beef intestine pasta / sandwiches. I have always like farmers market so getting to tour this working marketplace was a treat.

We have been to many markets like this in Europe and we just love them all. Of course some or better than others and we loved this one. We had a light, but very good lunch and then did some shopping. I bought the best prosciutto I have ever had here.