Foodies tour - Tasting Tuscany
Forget the tourist traps. This Florence food tour takes you where real Florentines have shopped, eaten, and argued about food since 1873, the legendary Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio. And your guide isn't just any chef: he's a Michelin-starred maestro who grew up in these very streets, weaving between market stalls before he ever set foot in a professional kitchen.
Your morning begins the Florentine way: an espresso, taken standing at the bar like a local. Then you step inside Sant'Ambrogio food market, one of the most authentic covered markets in Italy, where the air smells of ripe tomatoes, aged pecorino, and fresh bread. Watch nonnas inspect zucchini blossoms. Follow your chef past farmers who have held the same stall for generations.
At the salumeria, you'll taste the holy trinity of Tuscan cold cuts: silky prosciutto crudo, earthy salame toscano, and the unmistakable fennel-spiced finocchiona. Move to the cheese counter and discover why Tuscany's formaggi are in a class of their own, from young pecorino to aged cacciotta. Then pull up a stool at the market's beloved rosticceria for a sit-down tasting of pappa al pomodoro, brasato, and francesina, paired with a robust house red: the unglamorous, soul-deep comfort food that built an empire.
The tour spills out into the neighborhood for a stop at a beloved enoteca, where you'll sip a Chianti Classico and a crisp Vernaccia alongside bruschetta or crostoni, as the locals insist. The finale? A cone from one of Florence's finest gelaterie, where even the adventurous flavors somehow taste like home.
This isn't a food tour. It's a first-person lesson in what it means to eat and live like a Florentine.
Location
ITINERARY
Welcome espresso — neighborhood café
Meet your starred chef guide at the heart of Florence. Start the Florentine way: a perfectly pulled espresso at a local bar, setting the tone for the morning ahead.
Market walk — Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio
Enter one of Italy's most authentic covered food markets, open since 1873. Follow the chef through the stalls of seasonal fruit, vegetables, and local farmers as he reveals the secrets of his childhood neighborhood.
Salumeria tasting — Tuscan charcuterie
Stop at the market's finest salumi counter. Taste a curated board of prosciutto crudo, earthy salame toscano, and finocchiona — the fennel-laced Florentine salami with protected geographical status.
Cheese counter — local formaggi
Discover Tuscany's dairy tradition at the market's artisanal cheese stall. Sample seasonal formaggi chosen personally by the chef, learning about aging, texture, and the craft behind each wheel.
Sit-down tasting — rosticceria & house wine
Pull up a stool at the market's beloved deli counter for the heart of the tour. Taste traditional Florentine dishes — pappa al pomodoro, slow-braised brasato, and the iconic francesina — paired with a glass of robust house red.
Enoteca wine tasting — Sant'Ambrogio district
A short stroll into the neighborhood leads to a beloved independent wine shop. Taste a Tuscan red (Chianti Classico or Morellino) and a white (Vernaccia di San Gimignano), paired with hand-toasted crostoni.
Gelato finale — top artisan gelateria
End on the sweetest note possible at one of Florence's finest gelaterie. Choose your flavors — classic or adventurous — and discover why Italians need no excuse for gelato, even in winter.
