Florence’s best food & drink

The first floor of Florence’s traditional produce market, Centrale Mercato, was transformed in 2014 into a dazzling food hall where producers offer everything from freshly-made mozzarella, truffle pasta, barbequed ribs, artisan bread and cheeses to hand-made chocolates. Pair a guided tour (to find ingredients) with a Tuscan cooking class after.

Gelato (ice cream) was invented in Florence in the 16th-century, where it first appeared during banquets at the Medici court. For five days in late May, this festival celebrates this fact with a festival dedicated to all things gelato (including frozen cocktails).

This hole-in-the-wall ice cream shop (on pretty Piazza della Passera in the Oltrarno) dishes up some of the best gelato in the city centre, all made in small batches from fresh ingredients and without any kind of artificial flavourings. Think pistachio, pink grapefruit, zabaglione and coffee; flavours move with the seasons.

This small wine bar specialises in wines from small, independent producers and always has something interesting on offer. Order one of the bubbling, melted cheese-topped crostini to soak it up; the one with truffle-infused sausage is particularly good.

For visitors who want to learn to make as well as eat the local specialities, this cooking school is a good place to start. Hands-on classes taught by pro chefs include making pasta, pizza, gelato, Tuscan meat and vegetarian. You can opt to tour the Central Market first too.

This tiny, off-piste café and pasticceria with its old-fashioned atmosphere and green boiserie makes some of the best cakes and pastries in the city. It’s famous for its divine flourless chocolate cake, but also for fruit tarts, puff pastry sfoglie, buttery croissant and excellent coffee.

A historic, atmospheric old café famous for its tiny, delicate truffle sandwiches, best sampled with a glass of the house (Antinori) fizz. You can also buy fresh truffles here when in season.

Committed foodies should look out for this annual food and drink fair held in late March that attracts producers, buyers – and droves of foodie punters – from all over Italy and beyond. Held in Fortezza da Basso.