Last updated: October 2026
Market day in a Tuscan town is a proper event. Stalls go up at dawn, nonnas arrive with shopping trolleys, and you can buy a pair of slippers, a porchetta sandwich and a kilo of tomatoes in the same five minutes.
Plan a day trip around one. Here’s which town has its market on which day, starting with my old patch.
At a glance
| Day | Town | What |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Saturday | Florence, Sant’Ambrogio | Food market, mornings |
| Monday to Saturday | Florence, Mercato Centrale | Covered food market (closed Sunday) |
| Monday to Saturday | Pistoia, Piazza della Sala | Daily food market, mornings |
| Tuesday | Florence, the Cascine | Huge general market, mornings |
| Wednesday | Lucca | Weekly market, mornings, outside the walls |
| Wednesday | Pistoia | Weekly market, centre |
| Wednesday | Siena | Weekly market at La Lizza, mornings |
| Wednesday | Forte dei Marmi | Weekly market, mornings |
| Thursday | San Gimignano | Weekly market, mornings |
| Thursday | Montepulciano | Weekly market, mornings |
| Thursday | Montecatini Terme | Weekly market, mornings |
| Saturday | Lucca | Weekly market, mornings, outside the walls |
| Saturday | Pescia | Weekly market, mornings |
| Saturday | Pistoia | Weekly market, centre |
| Saturday | Greve in Chianti | Weekly market, mornings |
| Third weekend of the month | Lucca | Antiques market |
| First Sunday of the month (and the Saturday before) | Arezzo | Fiera Antiquaria |
Public holidays can move or cancel a market, so check before you go.
Around Lucca, Pescia and Pistoia
Lucca
The weekly market is on Wednesday and Saturday mornings at Piazzale Don Franco Baroni, just outside the walls. Clothes, shoes, household bits and food.
The antiques market is the one to plan for. It’s on the third weekend of every month, in and around Piazza San Martino by the cathedral, spilling into the nearby streets. Old furniture, prints, silver, linen, junk and treasures. Free to wander.
Pescia
My old town’s market is on Saturday morning in Piazza Mazzini, the long main square. Fruit, veg and seeds are in Piazza del Grano. Pop into a bar for a coffee and watch the town do its shopping. More about Pescia.
Pescia is also home to a huge flower market, the Mefit. But it’s a wholesale trade market, not one for tourists. The public can only get in with permission, at set times, and there’s a fee.
Pistoia
Pistoia has a big market on Wednesday and Saturday in the historic centre. And Piazza della Sala, just off the cathedral square, has a daily food market, Monday to Saturday mornings, with bars all round it for lunch afterwards.
Montecatini Terme
Thursday morning, at Piazzale Granduca Leopoldo.
Florence
- Mercato Centrale (San Lorenzo): the big covered food market. The ground floor is the traditional market, with butchers, cheese stalls and veg. Open Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday. Upstairs is a food hall.
- Sant’Ambrogio: smaller, more local, and much loved by Florentines. Monday to Saturday mornings.
- The Cascine: a huge general market along the park by the river Arno, on Tuesday mornings. Clothes, shoes and bargains.
Siena and the Chianti
- Siena: Wednesday morning at La Lizza, near the Fortezza. It doesn’t run on Palio days.
- Greve in Chianti: Saturday morning in Piazza Matteotti, the funnel-shaped main square.
- San Gimignano: Thursday morning, in Piazza del Duomo, Piazza della Cisterna and Piazza delle Erbe. Lovely with the towers all round you.
- Montepulciano: Thursday morning, in Piazza Pietro Nenni.
The coast
Forte dei Marmi: Wednesday morning in Piazza Marconi. Famous for clothes, linen and cashmere, and for well-dressed people hunting bargains. See my Versilia beach guide.
Arezzo’s antiques fair
The Fiera Antiquaria in Arezzo is one of the biggest antiques fairs in Italy, filling the streets and squares of the old town on the first Sunday of every month and the Saturday before. The remaining dates in 2026 are 31 October to 1 November, and 5 to 6 December.
Market tips
- Go early. Markets wind down by lunchtime, and the best stuff goes first.
- Bring cash for small stalls, and a bag.
- Don’t touch the fruit. Point, and let the stallholder pick. It’s the done thing.
- Learn a few words. Un etto is 100 grams. Mezzo chilo is half a kilo. My Italian phrases for village life has more.
- Look for local food. Beans, cheese, honey, olive oil and seasonal veg. In my area, look out for the famous Sorana beans.
- Watch your bag. Busy markets are a pickpocket’s dream.
- Market days are parking nightmares. Go by train if you can.
Then take your picnic up into the hills. My what to eat guide tells you what to look for.
You might also enjoy:
Susan
