Neighborhood 48H guide
San Lorenzo: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
The central market and the Medici.
North-west of the Duomo, San Lorenzo is market streets around the Mercato Centrale, with its upstairs food hall, the Medici Chapels behind the church of San Lorenzo, and Palazzo Medici Riccardi on Via Cavour.
Photo gallery
Photo: Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
Five minutes from the Duomo, with good value and market food.
Who it's for: Food lovers and budget travelers.
Pros
- Food market
- Value
- Central
Cons
- Street-stall crowds
- Plain streets
- Busy by day
48H in San Lorenzo
Medici and market lunch.
09:00 – Medici Chapels
Michelangelo’s New Sacristy.
11:00 – Palazzo Medici Riccardi
The Magi Chapel frescoes.
12:30 – Mercato Centrale
Lunch in the upstairs food hall.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
Mercato Centrale
Piazza del Mercato Centrale
19th-century iron market hall with food stalls on the upper floor.
Photo: Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Medici Chapels
Piazza di Madonna degli Aldobrandini 6
The Medici mausoleum, with Michelangelo’s New Sacristy.
Official site / map →See / do
Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Via Cavour 3
The Medici family palace, with Benozzo Gozzoli’s Magi Chapel.
Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
Mercure Firenze Centro
San Lorenzo
Four-star hotel with a garden near the market.
Check rates on Expedia →Hotel · Expedia
The Social Hub Florence Lavagnini
San Lorenzo
Large design hotel with a pool, north of the market.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for San Lorenzo.
Since 1 January 2025, every Italian short-term and tourist rental must have a national identification code (CIN), shown in every online listing and outside the building. Hosts face fines of €800–8,000 for having no CIN and €500–5,000 for not displaying it. Before booking on Vrbo, check that the listing shows a CIN.
Browse vacation rentals in San Lorenzo on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in Florence
- Duomo — Brunelleschi’s dome and the Bargello.
- Signoria & Ponte Vecchio — The Uffizi, Palazzo Vecchio and the old bridge.
- Santa Croce — Michelangelo’s tomb and a collector’s palace.
- Sant’Ambrogio — The Synagogue and Michelangelo’s house.
- Oltrarno — Pitti Palace, Boboli and Santo Spirito.
- Santa Maria Novella — The marble basilica and the station quarter.
- San Marco & Santissima Annunziata — Michelangelo’s David and Brunelleschi’s loggia.