Leather

LEATHER MARKET: I recommend the one by San Lorenzo as opposed to the ones closer to the bridge because I found it to be a little less expensive and they were more open to bargaining, although the items the markets sell are virtually the same.

Some tips for getting what you want for cheaper:

• Go in with an idea of what you want (jacket, purse, gloves, etc.) and an idea of what you want to spend
• Ask them to do the lighter test because there are some vendors who will try to sell you fake leather. If it’s real leather, they should have no problem in taking out a lighter or small match/flame and run it along the leather – if the lighter doesn’t leave a burn mark or melt it, you know it’s real. Vendors are used to people asking them to do this so don’t think it’s an odd request!
• If you look interested then walk away, vendors will most likely yell after you to come back and give you a lower price just because they want the sale
• You can definitely bargain with them and having a lot of small bills (5 or 10 euros) is a good idea so you can say you only have a certain amount of money on you.  I found that you could get the small purses down to around 15 euros and smaller goods like coin purses around 5

Food

CENTRAL MARKET: Right past the leather market by San Lorenzo. It’s a little overwhelming at first but they have more food there then you can ever imagine and it’s also a great place for gifts and souvenirs! The first floor is more of a market, with boxes of pasta, spices, meats, breads, cheeses, etc. that you can take home and make. The top floor has countless vendors and restaurants selling their food with only the freshest ingredients, but they have such a wide variety from gelato milkshakes (which I highly recommend) to the best burgers in Florence.

CONAD: Florence’s grocery stores. They’re around every corner and are great if you want to duck in and grab something to snack on, especially on a long walk somewhere. They have the equivalent of plenty of American brands, you just have to look for them, but if you’re looking for peanut butter, you’re out of luck! Also a good idea to buy paper towels/toiletries here instead of pharmacies that are mainly used for medicine and toiletries will be much cheaper here!

Clothing

One thing that was nice about Florence was that while there were all of these incredible stores you could only find in Italy, there were also American stores close by. We found a 3-floor H&M, a 4-floor Zara, a Brandy Melville and more within minutes of the Duomo.

They don’t have many department-type stores, but the one that I found was called Coin, and very reminiscent of a Macy’s or Nordstrom’s. It was a little pricey but on the lower floor is the clearance section and it was nice to know if we needed an extra towel or extra set of bed sheets we had a place we could go to.

Another option is La Rinascente, which is similar to Macy’s or Bloomingdales. There’s a lot of  mid to high end merchandise here.  The store is near Piazza della Repubblica and has four floors of clothing, designer goods and housewares.  It has a somewhat unassuming store front but the top level has a cafe with a great view of the Duomo (see Food & Drink).