charnees

We will be going to Italy next spring. We will be moving from a B&B in Firenze to an apt in Lucca, and I would love to stop in at the central market before we leave town, because we will need to buy groceries for our stay in Lucca. It's not far from the B&B, so it would be easy to run over and get stuff. Do I have to get there before noon to do any shopping? It's been a long time since I was in the market and don't know about weekend closing times.

Charnee

LJ

It is open until 2pm, but much of the best produce is gone before noon (it opens around 6:30 or 7am and restaurant owners are there very early).

Zerlina

According to the APT (tourism office) of Florence, the hours of the Mercato Centrale in winter (mid-September to mid-June) are Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

I'd double-check before planning on it...

annhig

hi, charnees,

do I understand that you are planning to take groceries FROM Florence TO lucca?

I suppose you are grappling with the same problem we are thinking aobut with our trip to Venice next easter. I've "solved" it by travelling a day earlier. so we wil arrive late on Friday and wil be able to shop on sat. am.

but you might want to check whether there will be shops open on sat evening in Lucca when you arrive there. the owner/agent for your apartment should know the answer to this. or change your booing so you arrive in Lucca on friday.

it can't make sense to take food from Florence to Lucca, can it?

regards, ann

charnees

thanks, LJ, for the info on the market hours.

annhig assked, "it can't make sense to take food from Florence to Lucca, can it?"

Well, I know it sounds odd, but I am concerned that we may not get to Lucca until nothing except supermercados are still open -- and I love the huge selection in the Florence market. I remember once getting some olive oil that was to die for, so much so that I took two bottles home in my suitcase.

I don't want to be driven by the need to get to Lucca early. Can't check in until 4, etc. I expect that I will do more shopping after the weekend but want to stick to smaller shops in Lucca because I love to do that in Italy.

I was just looking at the Slow Travel board and they have a posting there that says food markets may be open about 4-6 on Sat., but like everything else on what they call Standard Italian Operating Time, you can never be sure. We ran into some problems once when going to an apt near Bassano del Grappa and had very slim pickings until Monday when the stores opened again. Changing to Friday arrival does not work, as like many apts in Italy, this one rents from Sat. to Sat.

Charnee