Mercato di San Lorenzo

This is the place to shop for all things Italy. Get your souvenir shopping done here. Florence is known for its leather, so I would highly recommend looking here.
If you see something you like, don’t buy it right away. A lot of the vendors sell the same things for different prices. There was a beautiful leather purse that I really wanted but I waited until I could get it for the cheapest price possible and it was so worth the wait. It started at around 70 euros which at the time is close to 90 American Dollars (USD) and I bought it for 40 euros! Any price that the vendors are trying to sell you, try and talk them down. You will usually be successful because they want to sell to customers so badly. Shopping here is generally cheaper than shopping in a store which has a low success rate for trying to get lower prices.
I got lots of little things like postcards, magnets, and just little things. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is shop and this was a great place to do just that. Even if you don’t want to buy anything, it is so much fun to just walk around and soak in Florence.

If you need anything in leather this is the place to go. Over the years I bought two leather coats, wallets. vests, and many other items at half the price as in other places in Italy. If you forgot something in Rome or Venice to buy, chances are you can find it here. Go inside the main market for a great snack or lunch. FYI if you like a jacket, bargain with them keep in mind this is not Macy’s or Bloomingdales.

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.

Great market, redone in 2014. Don’t miss it during your trip to Florence. Food court will make it hard to choose what to eat.

What a fun place to shop!
This is the historic market of Florence where leather goods, souvenirs, clothing etc can be purchased outside.
Inside the market building is the food market which is under some renovation of the floor.
There are cool little shops next the the SL market that have been around a long time.
Check it out to comparison shop for your gifts.

Haggle. Haggle. Haggle!!! There are plenty of shops selling the same thing so if you don’t get the price you want from one stand, move on. We got great deals on cashmere scarfs and souvenirs for my family. I wanted to buy a purse but I was hesitant it was not real leather. Some of the sellers can be aggressive, but just walk away and ignore them. It’s definitely an experience you shouldn’t miss.

Right outside of Mercato Centrale.
They have all your typical touristy souvenirs — magnets, shot glasses, keychains, snow globes, etc. They also have clothing, shoes, belts, scarves, jewelry and bags. I contemplated buying a bag but I’m sure at those prices ($ 20 up), it wasn’t real Italian leather. The bags do say they’re made in Italy but I overheard a customer saying that even though it says it, they’re really made in China (surprise, surprise). SO if you don’t mind that, go ahead and buy one. You can definitely haggle and if they say no, bring your business to the next stall. They’re all the same.

I went to the Mercato di San Lorenzo multiple times, as it is an excellent place to get all of your souvenir shopping done at a fraction of the cost. There is a variety of items that you can purchase, from purses to belts to wine stops and pretty much anything that screams italy.
One of the most general rules in Europe is to bargain prices at these types of places, or at least try. Most of the items are overpriced anyways to draw out tourists who think they may be cheaper than an in-​store purchase.
If you are looking for leather goods (one of the things that Florence is known for) and for a decent price, this is the place to go. Before purchasing anything, definitely have a look around — most stalls have the same stuff but you can check around for prices so that you can estimate a good bargaining point (I always start my price point low about 40% off their original price). If you’re not comfortable with starting that low, I would say go for 20 – 30 Euros off.
Overall, definitely give this place a look at least once.

Separate from the Mercato Centrale (the large interior market where all the food is), the bazaar/​flea market ringing the Centrale is a great place to go for clothing and souvenirs.
The market is huge and there is a ton of merchandise available – much of it is identical or hard to distinguish. However, some if it is definitely better quality than others, and some of it is imported from China, not made in Italy. Make a circuit of the entire market and be sure to ask if the goods are made locally.
My girlfriend and I found some gorgeous silk and knit scarves and we both found wonderful belts for ourselves and others. I managed to snag a couple of touristy knicknacks for people back home as well (including a corny kitchen apron featuring Michaelangelo’s David – penis and all).
I’d recommend bringing some shopping bags and stocking up on a lot of the gifts you want to bring home. You’ll find better prices than at the shops near the tourist attractions and will be able to get most of your shopping done in one place!
Also be careful about prices. If it’s not posted, then it’s probably negotiable. I think I made a misstep of letting one merchant know how much I paid for my current belt before he quoted me the price of the one I wanted to buy. I might’ve gotten it for less if I hadn’t done that.

Wow! Wer auf Leder steht :-) ist hier richtig!
Lederjacken, Lederröcke, Lederstiefel, Handschuhe, Taschen, Koffer, etc.
alles aus Leder! In allen Variationen täglich von 09:00 bis 19:00

Mmmm… I swear I can still smell the leather!!!
I wish someone prepared me before entering the Mercato di San Lorenzo. Leather leather everywhere… hanging off the stalls, hanging on people’s arms and on the ground – bags, wallets, belts and everything and anything that could be made of leather. Plus other souvenir stalls were mixed in the crowd. These people were serious about selling their products! Definitely touristy since there were swarms of groups and in some areas it was annoying to push through.
If you’re the bartering type than this is the place for you! I’m personally horrible at it and good thing one of the girls I traveled with was a pro. I mean, why would you honestly pay over 100 euros on something that could most likely be fake? The bags we thought looked great were flawed when we looked at it up close and some were discolored from being in the sun. We walked out of the market empty handed.
Great experience… just wish I found something I could’ve taken home.

I heard a lot of great things about this market so I was pretty excited to drop in to see what it was about.
I was a bit disappointed with how little stands were out. I might have gone during low season and a lot of stands were gone but I’m not 100% sure. There were a main strip of stands that sold leather goods and scattered between each leather vendor were people selling tacky souvenirs and jewellery. Around this main strip of booths were other scattered booths selling what seemed to be knock off items of knock off clothing which seems strange ;)
Don’t get the wrong if you’re here for leather this might be the place for you as there were a lot of «booths» selling leather but they all seemed to be extensions of stores that were located behind one of the booths.
When purchasing anything from here I’d start at 50% of their asking price and go from there! Most will give you that large discount. You might want to go lower but depending on the mood of the vendor they might be jerks to you but you have to take it in stride.
So in summary it was a very small market mainly located at an intersection consisting of a block or two of booths. It was mainly leather goods but had some souvenir and knock off items.
If you want an awesome street market experience you can check out some of these recommendations
If you’re only looking for leather goods then this place might be awesome for you!