Lucca - A small yet unique Tuscan city
Lucca is a beautiful Tuscan town whose historic centre is uniquely encircled by its 16th century walls - no other city in Italy or Europe has anything like it. These ancient city ramparts, 5 kms in circumference, today form a wide walkway on top of the walls, shaded by large chestnut tress. The walls are now conserved as an urban park dedicated for cycling, jogging and walking with panoramic views of the city and surrounding hills.
All within walking distance
Being within the city walls there is very little car traffic. Walking and cycling are the main mode of transport here, with most of the roads paved with stone. All within the city walls and within 5-10 minutes walk, you can discover:
- The delightful botanical gardens
- The main shopping street where all the locals meet for the evening 'passegiata' - Via Filungo
- The 'Anfiteatro', now an oval piazza with open-air bars and restaurants built into the original Roman anfitheatre
- Countless churches including the most beautiful (San Freddiano) and one of the largest (San Francesco)
- The huge Guingi museum and the Modern Art Gallery on Piazza della Madonnina
- The medieval 'Torre Guing'i (the Guinigi Tower) with its famous tree on top, the symbol of the city of Lucca
All-year activities
This small city of of 70,000 people (7,000 of whom live in the historic centre), features some of Italy's finest medieval and renaissance architecture. This is a city for local people as much as it is for tourists and is full of local family-run restaurants serving typical Tuscan dishes and local shops serving local needs. Being the home of Puccini it is extremely well regarded for its all-year music festivals, concerts and recitals. In summer, the city also moves to another beat with the Lucca Summer Festival http://www.summer-festival.com with open air concerts in the city's main Piazza Napoleone with the fabulous Palazzo Ducale as the backdrop. Past years have featured well-known stars such as Elton John, Enio Moricone, Anastasia, Moby, Leonard Cohen. Every month the city hosts the second largest antique market in Tuscany that takes over the streets and piazzas of the old town with furniture, grandfather clocks and bric-a-brac galore.
For a calendar of events, festivals and fairs in Lucca and suurounding area, please visit the official Lucca tourist website: https://www.turismo.lucca.it/en/home-page
The perfect surrounding area
The city is surrounded by hills which are famous for their historic villas, many of them open to the public and within cycling distance of the city. There are numerous places to sample the local wines and olive oil along the 'The roads of wine and olive oil' (Le strade del vino e dell' olio) that wind their way through the local countryside of vineyards and olive groves. Travel a bit further out (half an hour from the city) and you will find yourself at the Versilia - an endless stretch of beach where you can eat wonderful seafood spaghetti in Viareggio all year round, go clubbing in some of Italy's best known nightclubs, or simply, for a six months a year, lie on the beach, go for a swim and get some sun. If you're looking for something more active, then go walking and hiking in the beautiful hills around the city - a 30 minute drive will take you further up into mountains which range up to nearly 2000 metres high. An hour's drive away and you can go skiing in Abetone from late December to March.
Getting there
Lucca is about 30 minutes from Pisa Airport. The airport has frequent connections to most major cities in Europe through both low-cost and regular national airlines. Lucca is roughly equidistant from Rome and Milan - 3 hours drive. There are frequent train and coach connections to Florence which is a 40 minutes drive and Pisa which is less than 20 minutes from Lucca by car.
All within walking distance
Being within the city walls there is very little car traffic. Walking and cycling are the main mode of transport here, with most of the roads paved with stone. All within the city walls and within 5-10 minutes walk, you can discover:
- The delightful botanical gardens
- The main shopping street where all the locals meet for the evening 'passegiata' - Via Filungo
- The 'Anfiteatro', now an oval piazza with open-air bars and restaurants built into the original Roman anfitheatre
- Countless churches including the most beautiful (San Freddiano) and one of the largest (San Francesco)
- The huge Guingi museum and the Modern Art Gallery on Piazza della Madonnina
- The medieval 'Torre Guing'i (the Guinigi Tower) with its famous tree on top, the symbol of the city of Lucca
All-year activities
This small city of of 70,000 people (7,000 of whom live in the historic centre), features some of Italy's finest medieval and renaissance architecture. This is a city for local people as much as it is for tourists and is full of local family-run restaurants serving typical Tuscan dishes and local shops serving local needs. Being the home of Puccini it is extremely well regarded for its all-year music festivals, concerts and recitals. In summer, the city also moves to another beat with the Lucca Summer Festival http://www.summer-festival.com with open air concerts in the city's main Piazza Napoleone with the fabulous Palazzo Ducale as the backdrop. Past years have featured well-known stars such as Elton John, Enio Moricone, Anastasia, Moby, Leonard Cohen. Every month the city hosts the second largest antique market in Tuscany that takes over the streets and piazzas of the old town with furniture, grandfather clocks and bric-a-brac galore.
For a calendar of events, festivals and fairs in Lucca and suurounding area, please visit the official Lucca tourist website: https://www.turismo.lucca.it/en/home-page
The perfect surrounding area
The city is surrounded by hills which are famous for their historic villas, many of them open to the public and within cycling distance of the city. There are numerous places to sample the local wines and olive oil along the 'The roads of wine and olive oil' (Le strade del vino e dell' olio) that wind their way through the local countryside of vineyards and olive groves. Travel a bit further out (half an hour from the city) and you will find yourself at the Versilia - an endless stretch of beach where you can eat wonderful seafood spaghetti in Viareggio all year round, go clubbing in some of Italy's best known nightclubs, or simply, for a six months a year, lie on the beach, go for a swim and get some sun. If you're looking for something more active, then go walking and hiking in the beautiful hills around the city - a 30 minute drive will take you further up into mountains which range up to nearly 2000 metres high. An hour's drive away and you can go skiing in Abetone from late December to March.
Getting there
Lucca is about 30 minutes from Pisa Airport. The airport has frequent connections to most major cities in Europe through both low-cost and regular national airlines. Lucca is roughly equidistant from Rome and Milan - 3 hours drive. There are frequent train and coach connections to Florence which is a 40 minutes drive and Pisa which is less than 20 minutes from Lucca by car.