Florence 2013 - Mercado de San Lorenzo

Every Italian City has its great market, and Florence is no exception. Mercado de San Lorenzo is right in the city centre - next to Basilica de San Lorenzo. As it is right in the middle of all the action, you will no doubt pass through it many times. There are lots of stalls outside the market catering to tourists, but the market itself is strictly for food.

Like most of the European markets I have visited, Mercado de San Lorenzo is a gourmet paradise. From fresh produce to cured meats, cheeses, bread and cooked food - the variety is as usual mind-boggling, a real feast for the senses.

I saw fresh truffles for the first time in a market. And these were really gigantic ones.

The selection of cooked food is also very good. In fact, we stopped by several times at the market for lunch.

Surrounding the market are countless stalls selling all kinds of souvenirs for the tourists. The most popular items seemed to be leather goods. Every stall we visited we asked whether the goods were made in Italy. One of the stall keepers got a bit mad and said "Yes they are made in Italy - but the boss of the factory is Chinese!"