Guide
Market shopping in Milan, hour by hour
The same market, three hours apart, feels like a different place. At 8 everything is there and there is room, at midday the crowds arrive, towards one o'clock the discounts start. Here is how to pick the right time.
7:30, setting up
Almost every Milan street market opens at 7:30. In practice many stalls are still setting up at that hour: stallholders arrive, unload their vans and lay out their goods.
Around 8:30 the empty pitches are handed to waiting traders in the "spunta", and whoever gets one has half an hour to set up.
If you want to know how it works, we explain it in our guide to how a Milan street market works.
From 9 to midday, the best time
By about 9 the market is complete, and until midday is the best time to shop: fruit and vegetables have just been laid out, the fish is at its widest choice and the deli stalls have everything.
It is also the time to try a new stall and ask questions. Traders have fixed pitches: if you like one, you will find the same stall in the same spot the following week.
Midday, lunch
Around midday the market turns into a place for lunch: spit-roast chicken, vegetables, the fishmonger's fried fish. We cover it in our guide to eating at the market.
From 1pm, the discounts
After 1pm the choice thins out, but it is time for end-of-market discounts on fruit and vegetables: traders who would rather not reload their vans often drop prices or sell fixed-price boxes. Monday to Friday every street market closes at 14:00, so the window is short.
Afternoons: Saturday only (and Sunday at Pagano)
If you work office hours, note that during the week not a single street market is open in the afternoon. Afternoons are mostly a Saturday thing: nine markets stay open after 14:00, until 15:00, 16:00, 17:00 or 18:00.
On Saturday Papiniano, Fauché, Garigliano, Valvassori Peroni, Ciccotti and Darsena stay open until 18:00; Osoppo until 17:00, Benedetto Marcello until 16:00, Tabacchi until 15:00. On Sunday there is Pagano, until 16:00.
Which day to choose
Saturday has the most markets: twenty across the city, against 14 or 15 on the other weekdays. On Sunday there are only two.
Every day has its own page with the full list, for example Saturday markets or Sunday markets.
- Bring your own bags or a trolley: many stalls still hand out bags, but not all.
- Almost every stall takes cards, but for a few euros cash is quicker.
- Buy in season: it costs less and lasts longer. Our seasonal produce calendar tells you what to look for month by month.
Frequently asked questions
What time is best to go to a street market?
Between 9 and midday for the best choice. After 1pm the choice thins out but the end-of-market discounts start.
Are any Milan street markets open in the afternoon?
Not Monday to Friday: they all close at 14:00. On Saturday nine markets stay open after 14:00, some until 18:00, and on Sunday Pagano until 16:00.
Which day has the most markets in Milan?
Saturday, with twenty street markets. On Sunday there are only two.