Best Market and Cooking Class Tours in Florence — Our Top 9

1.Cooking Class and Lunch at a Tuscan Farmhouse with Local Market Tour from Florence

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 4,831 reviews · 7 hours (approx.) · from $145Our pick

Meet Luca or another Walkabout Florence Tours guide in central Florence for a market visit, tastings, and a 20-minute minibus ride to a Tuscan farmhouse. With chefs such as Erika, you’ll make pasta, bruschetta, roast pork, potatoes, and tiramisu, then eat your four-course meal with wine.

“Luca and Erika were both amazing and funny. We had a lot of fun and would boom this tour again for a different dish”

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2.Small Group Cooking Class & Market Food Tour in Florence

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 1,574 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $62Best value

Spend about five hours with a local chef and up to 19 classmates, starting at Florence’s Mercato Centrale. Shop for ingredients, taste olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and other local foods, then make bruschetta, fresh pasta, two sauces, and tiramisu. Federico, Tommaso, Alice, and other chefs lead hands-on classes in English.

“We are so glad that we booked this small group class (9 people) . We had Chef Tommaso, he was excellent!! He kept the group involved and kept us entertained. His assistant was also excellent, ensuring all the needed supplies were available and our work area clean. I would highly recommend this class, it started at 9am and ended at 2pm and we all walked out with a full belly, from our day of cooking.”

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3.Pasta and Tiramisu Cooking Class with optional Local Market Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 515 reviews · 4 hours (approx.) · from $83

Cook three Tuscan staples in a central Florence trattoria with chefs such as Giulia, Gui, David, or Alain. Morning bookings add Sant’Ambrogio Market and tastings, while afternoon classes skip the market. Groups max out at 12, and your meal comes with wine.

“Highly recommend even if you are an avid cook! David, our chef, provided tips that made pasta sauce(s) tastier and less time consuming to prepare! Impressed with the basic ingredients that make the pasta meal restaurant quality!”

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4.Cooking Class with Local Food Market Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 407 reviews · 3 - 5 hours · from $63

Start at Florence’s Central Market with a local chef, tasting olive oil, cheeses, cured meats, balsamic vinegar, and truffle products. Then make fresh pasta, Nonna’s lasagna, sauces, and tiramisù in a fully hands-on class before sitting down to eat with Tuscan wine. Vegetarian options require advance notice.

“Thomas’s was great. Entertaining a d engaging for the entire time. Market tour was a cool experience. Tastings for balsamic vinegar, truffle oil, olive oil was informational and great knowledge. Our class got involved and we watched. Shared wine at tables and ate our food we prepared. Great way to spend time with couples or families. Prego!”

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5.Cooking Class at a Tuscan Farm & Local Market Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 354 reviews · 6 hours · from $94

Spend six hours with Walkabout Tours exploring Mercato Centrale, then ride into the Tuscan countryside for a hands-on class led by guides such as Luca and Erika. Make bruschetta, fresh pasta, ragù, roast pork, potatoes, and tiramisù, then eat your three-course meal with regional wine. Recipes and a cooking diploma are included.

“What a wonderful day! My husband and I loved the whole experience. The tour moved at the perfect pace. We learned many helpful things about Italian cooking and dined on the food we cooked in a peaceful setting with an amazing view.”

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6.Florence Cooking Course with Historic Local Market Visit

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 151 reviews · 5 hours (approx.) · from $95

Meet at Piazza San Lorenzo at 9:50 a.m. for a guided walk through Mercato Centrale, tastings, and ingredient shopping. Then cook a Tuscan starter, two main courses, and dessert with a professional chef such as Francesco, Caterina, Noemi, or Greta. The five-hour class ends with lunch, wine, and recipes to take home.

“fun day w catrina at market and back at cooking school to prepare and eat delisih meal she was very fun and informative. attentive to dietary needs and easy to understand”

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7.Market to Table Cooking Lesson

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 96 reviews

Meet an English-speaking chef at Florence’s central market, learn about Tuscan ingredients, then ride by minivan to a cooking school. Make fresh pasta, sauce, a meat or fish course, and dessert before sitting down to eat with Italian wine. Chefs have included Julio, Emanuele, Andrea, Antonio, and Thomas.

“After walking through the market, it would have been nice to listen to our chef on sitting stools which were available throughout the restaurant. It seemed to be difficult for some- so many days of walking had tired out a good part of our group.”

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8.Market Visit and Cooking Class

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 16 reviews · 5 hours · from $102

Meet near San Lorenzo Market for a guided food shop, then cook a four-course Italian meal with a professional chef. You may work with instructors such as Katerina, Gian Lunca, or Cattina. Expect hands-on cooking, market tastings, fresh pasta, a meat or vegetarian course, dessert, wine, and recipes to take home.

“A big thank you to Gian Lunca and Cattina for making this such a balanced cooking class day. The session flowed beautifully beginning with tastings and shopping at the markets. Followed by the preparation of the meal. I learnt so much, techniques and recipes I know I will use back home in Australia. You were both very patient with everyone in the group and always willing to answer any question we may of had. Of course the best part was eating the meal prepared by everyone. I highly recommend this cooking class.”

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9.Market and Cooking Class at a Local’s Home

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 9 reviews · from $246

Join a Cesarina for a Florence market visit and private home cooking class. Shop for ingredients, prepare three regional recipes, and sit down with local wines, water, and coffee. Hosts may include home cooks such as Luca, Barbara, or Cecilia. The class is private, runs about four hours, and is offered in English or Italian.

“Our hosts name was Luca, he is a professional home chef, and he runs a catering company as his primary business, so this made for a very elegant an elevated cooking class experience. It was just my husband and I and so we really got to know, Luca, his wife, and even their small child. We loved the traditional Tuscan recipes That we made together, and he even sent all of the recipes to us in his own cookbook electronically after the class. All of the chess arena cooking class experience that we have explored have been absolutely fantastic… A must do if you love food, love to cook, and…”

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