Local shopping

In Rome, every neighborhood has its daily street market. Here you have the unmissables

Touring a city and getting to know the places where the locals go to pick up ingredients for their day’s meals is experiencing the city in the most authentic way. In Rome, every neighborhood has its daily street market selling fresh fruit and vegetables and delicatessen delights, in addition to a few Sunday flea markets, full of vintage and antique treasures where you might manage to secure a bargain. 

Campo dei Fiori

Campo de Fiori

Definitely one of the city’s oldest markets, Campo dei Fiori is both a tourist attraction,  where tourists hope to find authentic Roman delicacies, and a local market where Rome residents come to buy groceries. On this picturesque piazza- housing one of the city’s oldest and most delicious bakeries- you can find souvenirs of all kinds, from T-shirts to miniature liquor bottles, but mostly fresh flowers, fruit and vegetables and a wide variety  of ready-made spice mixes for the seasoning of Italian pasta dishes, such as carbonara, amatriciana  and cacio e pepe, as well as risottos in a packet and three-colored pasta. The market is open Monday through Friday from 7.30 am to 2.30 pm. 

Mercato Trionfale

Mercato Trionfale

Mercato Trionfale is considered to be not only Rome’s first and biggest local market, but also Italy’s and Europe’s largest street market.  Located on Via Andrea Doria, just steps away from the Vatican, the market is open every day of the week from 7 am to 2 pm and it is mostly frequented by the locals. The many stalls offer fresh and dried fruit, rice and grain of all sorts, freshly-caught fish and dried salt cod, cold cuts, cheese, eggs and wine on tap, in addition to dry goods, clothing, handbags, shoes, toys, Christmas decorations, honey, jams and hard-to-find ethnic cuisine ingredients.  If you’re staying at an apartment with a kitchenette and plan to try cooking for yourself, this is a great spot to source your ingredients because of its very good prices  and wide variety of quality products. 

Mercato dei Fiori

Mercato dei Fiori

This is paradise for flower lovers. The flower market located at 45 Via Trionfale is open to the public only on Tuesday mornings from 10 am to 1 pm and it is crowded with elegant Roman ladies buying fresh locally-grown or Dutch-imported flowers to decorate their homes and tables or plants for their gardens at very reasonable prices. On the other days of the week, the market is open from 6 am to 10 pm, but only for wholesale and retail dealers. The market spreads over two floors, with vendors selling cut flowers of all varieties on the upper floor and indoor and outdoor plants on the lower floor. 

Mercato Esquilino

Nuovo Mercato Esquilino

This is the street market of Rome’s international community: it’s like walking into a multicultural hub where Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and African vendors work together. The market, at 160 Via Filippo Turati, is housed in a large, modern structure, behind the main train station, in the Chinatown area.  It sells tropical fruit, locally-grown vegetables, spices, meat and fish, cheese and grain from all the world, at very cheap prices. This market is the place where Rome’s immigrants communities source their home ingredients. It is open from Monday through Saturday from 5 am to 3 pm. 

Mercato Testaccio

Nuovo Mercato di Testaccio

This is a traditional Roman market where, in addition to vendors selling fresh fruit and vegetables, there is a wide range of delicious street foods, from pizza to meat, cheese, pasta and all kinds of bread. It is a great spot for a quick lunch in one of the liveliest and most authentic sections of Rome. The market is on Via Galvani and is open from Monday through Saturday from 7 am to 3.30 pm. 

Mercato di via Sannio

Mercato di via Sannio

Located in the heart of the San Giovanni area, just steps away from the Aurelian Walls and the Basilica, this is a daily street market offering clothing, accessories and vintage fashion pieces. It is a historic market, open from Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 2 pm. It is situated on the street by the same name and it is a great place to find jeans, military jackets and reasonably-priced clothing. 

Porta Portese

Porta Portese 

It is Rome’s  most notorious and certainly most famous market.  It has inspired songs, poems and films and its appeal lies in its charm and liveliness. Porta Portese, with over one thousand vendors, is Italy’s best-known flea market, where one can find literally everything, from antiques and vintage furniture to new and second-hand clothing, vinyl records, CDs, books, prints, old newspapers, lingerie, household-linen, pet food, watches, cameras, shoes, shells, costume jewelry, leather jackets, luggage and toys. The market is huge and extends from Porta Portese to Viale Trastevere, so if you want to take a leisurely Sunday walk,  we recommend to go in the early morning hours to avoid the crowd. The market is open every Sunday morning from 6 am to 2 pm. 

Borghetto Flaminio

Borghetto flaminio

This market is full of collectibles, vintage pieces and designer clothing, at very affordable prices. The  stalls rotate from Sunday to Sunday and there are often private individuals selling their own used household goods.  Located just steps away from Piazza del Popolo, the Borghetto market is on Via Flaminia and is worth the trip to delve through racks of second-hand items and vintage souvenirs. You can enter the market for around € 2 every Sunday from 10 am to 7 pm.