Florence’s centre is small and flat, and the places on this page sit right among the sights. Cortese Café is on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, for the first coffee off the train; Ciro & Sons and Eataly are between San Lorenzo and the Duomo, with GROM beside the cathedral; Sgrano’s two doors are between Palazzo Vecchio and Santa Croce; and over the Ponte Vecchio, the second Cortese, Carduccio and Tamerò sit around Palazzo Pitti and Santo Spirito. From the Duomo to the Ponte Vecchio, or to Santa Croce, is about 10 minutes on foot, by our estimate. Piazzale Michelangelo is the one walk uphill: about 15 minutes on foot from the nearest places on this page, by our estimate from the map, which doesn’t count the slope.
A day that works: breakfast at Cortese Café on Piazza Santa Maria Novella, an entirely gluten-free café, with a cake to carry for later. Walk past San Lorenzo to the Duomo, about 10 minutes on foot, then down to Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi. Lunch is a stuffed schiacciata at Sgrano on Via dei Neri, entirely gluten-free in its own words and about 5 minutes on foot from the Signoria. Cross the Ponte Vecchio for Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, then have a gelato in a cup at Cantina del Gelato on Via de’ Bardi, a mixed counter where you ask for a fresh spoon, on the way up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the sunset. Come back down for dinner at Sgrano’s osteria on Via de’ Benci: fresh pasta from an entirely gluten-free kitchen.
Italy’s coeliac association, AIC, runs a network of places it calls «informati», informed: staff trained on coeliac disease, AIC’s rules for preparing gluten-free food, a signed agreement, and a visit from AIC at least once a year. It is not a certificate. In Tuscany, members get a window sticker each year that shows the year, so check the date on it. None of the places on this page carries the AIC badge in our records; each card says how the kitchen itself handles gluten. Tuscany also has a regional rule (Delibera 1128/2020): any food business that wants to prepare and serve gluten-free food must follow a training path set by the region. It is a rule for kitchens, not a promise about any one of them. AIC advises booking ahead so the kitchen can get ready; when you book, say you have coeliac disease. For AIC’s own list, its AIC Mobile app sells visitors short-term access, also in English.
Tuscan food is built on bread, which is why the dedicated kitchens matter so much here. Schiacciata, the lampredotto roll, ribollita and panzanella all carry wheat. The bistecca alla fiorentina and most Tuscan grills are naturally gluten-free, and the flatbread and the fresh pasta belong at the dedicated places on this page. Gelato is mostly naturally gluten-free, but cones, biscuit pieces and a shared scoop are the trap: keep to a cup and ask for a fresh spoon. Day trips to Pisa, Lucca, Siena and the Chianti leave from Santa Maria Novella station; pack food from Sgrano or Eataly for the day.
Sources: Associazione Italiana Celiachia, celiachia.it (the Alimentazione Fuori Casa programme), and AIC Toscana, toscana.celiachia.it (the Tuscan rule, the window sticker and AIC Mobile), read 29 September 2026 · the venues on this page, in their own words · walking times: our estimate from the map · Tuscan food traps, gelato and day trips: “Good to know” on this page.