A favorite spot to stop is Parini’s, a stall selling cured meats, cheeses and specialty sauces, where you are free to sample before you choose which things to buy. However, it is great fun to walk around and take in all the new things you have probably never seen or eaten before, including cow stomach, brains and tongue. The butchers and fishmongers probably are of little interest to tourists unless you have an apartment and want to cook for yourself. On the ground floor, you will find the butchers, fishmongers, fruit and vegetable vendors and small specialty shops selling local olive oils, meats, cheeses and much, much more. The ground floor houses everything, from butchers to florists, from fast "take out" local food to specialty ingredients It certainly recalls European architecture, most notably Parisian. With cast iron and glass all around, the building mixes classic to the modern: the exterior is an ample, squat base made out of local pietra serena similar to the nearby Palazzo Medici Riccardi, with loggias and 10 arches on each side while the inside is spacious and bright with its glassed ceiling. The Mercato Centrale is in a beautiful building designed by Giuseppe Mengoni, the same architect who designed the Galleria Vittoria Emanuele II, and built from 1870-74 when Florence was still capital of Italy. The Central Market is a two-level food market, making up the second half of the San Lorenzo Market. This part of the market is open Tuesday through Saturday. The vendors, who speak English very well, may seem stiff on their initial prices but be firm and you will be sure to walk away with a deal. You can absolutely feel free to bargain here and try to snag a deal because many goods are marked up in price from the beginning. If you are buying something that is quite specific, such as a certain type of leather briefcase, they may bring you back to their warehouse, most likely just down a side street or directly behind the stall to give you more options and show off their stock. Many of the stall owners have small warehouses closeby where they restock every night and store their stalls. This is a great place to find gifts to bring back to your friends and family without burning a hole in your wallet because vendors stock a variety of things ranging in prices from 2 euros for a bracelet or Florentine magnet to hundreds for a leather jacket. There are so many options and you may find yourself having spent all your money before you have made it past the first row of vendors. Take your time looking around and make sure you have seen everything before you start spending. File between the hundreds of stalls on either side of the street with vendors selling pottery, clothing, notebooks, souvenirs and various leather goods including bags, belts, wallets and jackets. Start your visit to the San Lorenzo Market by discovering the outdoor section of the market, which runs along several streets surrounding the Mercato Centrale.
Above, a "before" picture and below a "now" photo. The market now starts after the square ends. The outdoor market used to spread all the way to Piazza San Lorenzo, but in spring 2014 the city ordered stalls be removed.
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