Mercato Centrale Florence: cooking classes, tickets, prices and hours

Entry to Mercato Centrale Florence is free: there is no market ticket to buy, only food, a cooking class or a food tour. The first-floor food hall is open daily 9:00–23:00, while the historic stalls on the ground floor trade in the mornings and close on Sundays. This guide covers prices, hours and the difference between the two floors, so you do not turn up on a Sunday morning for pecorino and find the shutters down.

Opening hours: two floors, two timetables

The official website is mercatocentrale.it/firenze. The food hall closes at 23:00, not midnight as some sites claim. The ground floor follows the City’s calendar for historic markets; the first floor is a food hall for visitors and locals alike, with long opening hours.

Cooking classes in Florence: GetYourGuide, Tiqets and what to check

For a pasta class, GetYourGuide has the strongest offer: a pasta class with unlimited wine from €18, highly rated across a very large number of reviews, plus a pasta and tiramisu version at a similar price. On Tiqets you will find pasta and gelato (€48) and pizza and gelato (€47) classes, and a wider range of 3–5 hour formats (small groups, farms, chefs). Always compare the length, the exact kitchen address (often not inside the market), the language, whether wine is included and the cancellation policy.

Price ranges beyond the €18 entry-level class: pasta and tiramisu with wine around €69, small-group classes with lunch €79–87, steak and market tours around €139, farm classes around €180, and classes with a Michelin-starred chef over €250. For mid-range formats, expect €50–140 per person for 3–5 hours. Under €20, check carefully what is included (wine, ingredients, actual length). The pizza and gelato classes are a different format from the pasta-and-wine ones — a good choice if your group prefers pizza, but at a higher price, so decide whether three hours is worth it.

The market is a landmark and a place to eat afterwards, not necessarily where the class takes place. If your voucher gives an address in the Oltrarno or Santa Croce, that is where you need to go, not Via dell’Ariento.

We are an independent guide. If you book through our Tiqets or GetYourGuide links we may earn a commission; the price you pay does not change.

Food tours and street food

Food tours (2–2.5 hours, sometimes up to 3.5) combine tastings with a walk through the historic centre, and some include priority access at the famous All’Antico Vinaio sandwich shop — useful in high season, but check what is actually included (sandwich, waiting time). Prices on booking platforms range from €42 to €120 depending on the format. They work best in the late afternoon or at dinner time, not on a full stomach after three food-hall stalls. If you have a cooking class the same evening, skip the tour: that is too much pasta and too much budget.

How to use the market without a class

1. Morning: the ground floor for pecorino, bread, schiacciata and fruit (Monday–Saturday).
2. Lunch or dinner: the first floor — pick one stall and eat there.
3. Sunday: food hall only (the ground floor is closed).
4. Arriving by train: luggage storage → 5–10 minutes’ walk → a quick lunch before the museums.

On the ground floor, buy things that travel well: bread, fruit, vacuum-packed cheeses. Oil, pasta and biscuits are fine in your luggage if well packed (liquids follow airline rules); buy them after you have dropped your bags. Upstairs, choose one main dish and stop there — the food hall invites endless grazing. If you want lampredotto from a counter, compare prices with the tripe stalls outside the market: in the centre a sandwich costs around €5. Bistecca alla fiorentina is a restaurant meal, sold by weight (around €50/kg), not a quick kiosk bite.

Indicative prices (food and activities)

Practical questions on site

You pay at each stall, not at a central till. Seating is at shared tables: at peak times, be ready to wait your turn. Toilets are signposted on the first floor. Do not count on the Wi-Fi or sockets for a work call. Dogs and pushchairs are allowed but awkward in the narrow ground-floor aisles in the morning. The food hall is stalls and trays with a fast turnover, not a restaurant for a long dinner — for that, head to the Oltrarno. In summer, drink plenty of water; popular stalls have queues, so if you dislike crowds, avoid 13:00 and try 11:30 or 15:00.

Mercato Centrale vs Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio

Centrale (San Lorenzo) has the evening food hall, lots of visitors and the station nearby. Sant’Ambrogio is more of a neighbourhood market, typically open Monday–Saturday 7:00–14:00 and closed on Sundays, with covered and outdoor stalls. For a less touristy feel, go to Sant’Ambrogio in the morning; for a flexible dinner until 23:00, stick with the first floor at Centrale.

Itineraries

Half day: arrive at Santa Maria Novella → luggage storage → lunch at Mercato Centrale → the outside of San Lorenzo → San Marco or the Accademia if booked. In the evening, a cooking class (typically 18:00–21:00) instead of the food hall, or a food tour. Do not squeeze a cooking class and a Chianti wine tour into the same afternoon: book wine tours for the next day.

Food only, in 3 hours:

1. 11:30 ground floor (on weekdays) for cheese and fruit to take away.
2. 12:30–13:30 food hall: one savoury stall and one sweet.
3. 14:00 walk towards the Duomo or Santa Maria Novella.
4. Optional evening: a pasta class (booked in advance).

After a class, do not rush straight into a big museum: take a gentle walk around the outside of the Duomo and leave the museums for the next day.

Mercato Centrale and museum tickets

The market is a good break between two museum slots: for example, the Accademia in the morning → lunch in the food hall → the Uffizi in the afternoon. Avoid strong-smelling food and big shopping bags in museum queues, where bag limits apply. The Firenze Card and combined museum tickets give no discount at the food hall.

Common mistakes

• Going on a Sunday morning for the historic stalls (closed).
• Assuming the food hall is open until midnight.
• Looking for a “Mercato Centrale ticket”: entry is free.
• Confusing the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio with the Centrale.
• Turning up at the market for a class held somewhere else.
• Doing heavy food shopping before the Uffizi or Accademia (bag limits).

Useful hours around the market

Nearby

• Santa Maria Novella
• Duomo / San Lorenzo
• Wine tours if you want Chianti after pasta
• Things to do
• City tours — many routes pass San Lorenzo

Before you book

Confirm the class date and language, find the meeting point on the map, check the 24-hour cancellation policy and what happens if your train is late. If you arrive at Santa Maria Novella with a suitcase, store it first: neither the kitchen nor the food hall is a place for luggage. For problems with a booking, contact GetYourGuide or Tiqets directly; we are neither the market nor the cooking school, but you can send questions about prices and hours to travel@alltours.florence.it.

In short

Entry to Mercato Centrale is free; what you pay for are cooking classes, food tours and the food itself. For a pasta class, compare GetYourGuide (from €18) with Tiqets (pasta and gelato, and mid-range formats). The food hall is open 9:00–23:00; the ground floor only on weekday and Saturday mornings.