Florence walking food tour with local guide & tastings

4.71

(186 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the smell — not flowers or perfume, but that warm, yeasty bread drifting out from somewhere behind the stalls in Mercato Centrale. Our guide, Giulia, waved us over with a grin and handed me a tiny cup of olive oil. Sharp and grassy, almost spicy at the back of my throat. She said it’s best tasted plain like that — I’d never tried it without bread before. The market was noisy but friendly; vendors calling out in Italian, someone slicing pecorino behind us. I tried to say “grazie” properly but probably sounded like a lost tourist (which I guess I was).

We wandered through narrow streets after that, past San Lorenzo Church and into the open light of Piazza San Giovanni. The Duomo just kind of loomed up — bigger than I expected. Giulia pointed out little details on the Baptistery doors while we nibbled on cantucci biscuits (crunchier than I thought they’d be). There was this moment where everyone went quiet for a second — just chewing and looking up at all that marble and sky. Then someone’s phone rang and we all laughed because it played some pop song totally out of place here.

I still think about that bowl of fresh pasta we shared near Santa Croce — soft ribbons tangled with truffle shavings. The truffle taste is earthy but also sort of mysterious? Hard to describe unless you’ve had it in Florence with people you just met an hour ago. We finished with gelato (hazelnut for me), standing outside as the sun started to slide down behind terracotta roofs. My shoes were dusty and my Italian still terrible, but honestly, that felt right somehow.