Look good in leather

Florence's San Lorenzo outdoor leather market

Break out your haggling skills, the streets around San Lorenzo church are packed with stalls peddling knock-off Gucci scarves, souvenir T-shirts, marbleized paper products, jewelry, wallets, and especially leather—great place to shop for a leather jacket for yourself, and stock up on belts, purses, and wallets as gifts.

Many stalls are really just outposts for the stores behind them, and every owner seems to speak English better than you, so be ready for the hard sell. Be firm, be patient, and you should be able to get the goods at a price you're willing to pay.

If nothing else, it's a carnival of colors and noise and, so long as you watch out for pickpockets, can be a welcome, earthy break from all that art.

Piazza San Lorenzo and the surrounding streets
The stalls stay open 8am-8pm (later if business is booming), daily Mar-Oct, Tuesday-Saturday Nov-Feb.