3-Days in Lucca: Your Ultimate Travel Guide

Day 1

Most people arrive to Lucca by train. The train station sits right outside the city’s walls and is an easy walk to the center. If you decide to drive, know that a lot of what’s inside the walls is a limited traffic zone. Be sure to check with your hotel if you require parking on the best route to get there or if they even offer parking. 

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Check-In to Your Hotel

I highly recommend you stay within the walls. This will put you right in the heart of the action and mean less walking time between attractions, something that’s super important if you’re planning a summer trip. 

If you haven’t yet booked a place to stay, I’d recommend:

• Budget Stay: L'Iris B&B in Terrazza: The rooms are simple but the terrace is beautiful and the location is really great. 
• Mid-Tier Stay: LUCUS Exclusive Bed & Breakfast: This is where we stayed and we really loved it. It’s simple but offers a really nice garden, friendly staff, and comfortable rooms. I also saw a couple using the fountain in the garden as their own little pool and while I’m not completely sure if that was allowed, it certainly is one way to cool off. 
• Luxury Stay: Palazzo Dipinto: Although historic on the exterior, the interior has been completely remodeled for a modern and comfortable stay. If you have the budget, guests really love it here. 

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Go for an Aperitivo

If you’ve read any of the other articles on Mamma Mia Indeed, you likely know how much I love an aperitivo. You can think of this as the happy hour of Italy, but instead of it lasting for a limited time, any time between lunch and dinner is an appropriate time for aperitivo. 

Aperitivo literally means a pre-meal drink but most often bars provide some snacks with their drinks. You’ll either get something as simple as chips or something more filling like focaccia, olives, and nuts. Oftentimes you can find bars that offer a bigger appetizer (antipasti) menu. Some restaurants will also be OK with you coming in for just drinks and appetizers but at a restaurant you need to be clear about your intentions before sitting down. 

The aperitivo game was strong in Lucca, strong enough that we let it work as our dinner for two nights. I’d recommend the same on your first night here. Either bounce around to different bars seeing what they offer, or pick a place with a larger menu to order from. The ambiance at Elkano is particularly unique if you sit outside. 

While you might get carried away, I recommend a relatively early night since tomorrow will mean a lot of time walking and exploring Lucca.

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Day 2

Today is all about Lucca. You’ll walk the center, enjoy a local lunch, and bike the walls. Consider this your quintessential Lucchesi day.

Once you’ve had your breakfast, either at the hotel, or at the bar, it’s time to explore Lucca. If you’re eating at the bar (essentially the same thing as a cafe in Italy), I highly recommend you try a sfoglie di riso. This is a pastry filled with sweet, creamy rice (like arroz con leche) that I saw at most bars here. It’s a delicious option in my opinion.  

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Explore the Center

Today you’re going to really get to know Lucca. You likely saw some of the city on your aperitivo crawl yesterday but today is all about taking it slow, enjoying the architecture, shops, and churches. 

Luckily, the city is really pretty compact so if you’re able, I highly recommend you explore on foot. If you open up Google Maps to Lucca, you’ll easily see the river and highway encircling it. You’ll visit the walls tonight so for now, just stay inside them. On Google Maps, once you start zooming into the city, if on the “default” map type, you’ll see some sections of light yellow. Those are considered the more popular areas and are the spots you’ll want to walk around in. 

I don’t recommend having a strict path here. If you stay inside the yellow section, you can wander aimlessly. We found a number of cute local shops, interesting architecture, and impressive churches this way. 

There are a few famous attractions in Lucca that you’ll likely want to see for yourself. These include:

Piazza dell’Anfiteatro

This is the oval piazza that you’ve likely seen pictures of. While it’s certainly interesting with the curved walls and filled with great restaurants (we ate at L'Angolo Tondo for Raf’s birthday and really enjoyed it), it wasn’t quite as impressive as what I was imagining. Compared to many piazze in Italy, it lacks a lot of architectural detail but I guess the fact that all walls are rounded should make up for it. 

It does seem like a fantastic place to eat if you have children. Since the piazza is completely enclosed and all restaurants stick around the walls, there’s a perfectly safe space in the center that many kids were using as their playground while their parents ate. It seemed like a win-win for the families. 

Torre Guinigi

This isn’t the only tower in Lucca but is the most famous thanks to the trees happily planted at the top of it. The tower dates back to the 14th century and from what I understand takes about 200 steps to reach the top. 

We had this on our list as a thing to do, if we needed entertaining, and well, we didn’t, so we didn’t climb it. Raf and I are usually really good at finding our own fun when traveling and don’t often visit the biggest attractions unless really intrigued by them. 

If you enjoy shopping, you’ll likely be on our plan but if you don’t like shopping, this is a good way to spend some time. 

Duomo di San Martino

The Duomo of Lucca isn’t quite as impressive as the Duomo in Florence but still is quite pretty, both inside and out. Note that it charges an entry fee and that you’ll need to be sure your knees and shoulders are covered to enter. Although, I did see plenty of men in shorts so while I think the shoulder rule is strict, the knee rule didn’t seem to be. Just don’t try and get in with short shorts or a revealing dress. 

There are countless other churches in Lucca if that’s your kind of thing. Personally, as I wouldn’t consider myself religious, I enjoy going in a handful for the architecture but get a little worn down seeing more than one or two in a day. If you disagree and believe the more, the merrier, you’re in for a treat in Lucca.

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Have a Local Lunch

Sometime during your wanderings, stop for a local lunch. I don’t expect you to do all of what I wrote above before lunch but instead squeeze lunch somewhere in the middle.

For lunch, I highly recommend you try Lucca’s most famous dish, tordelli lucchesi. This is their version of ravioli with meat sauce and it really is great. I don’t eat beef but Raf does. He took it upon himself to try it once a day at different restaurants (it’s just that good). Although the competition was fierce, his personal favorite came from Rusticanella 2 da Luca. 

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Bike the Walls

Now that you’re probably a little tired of walking, it’s time to swap to a bike. You might be tempted to have the bike for the entire day, and while you certainly can, I would advise against it. You’ll miss out on a lot of the charming details and have to constantly navigate around people strolling slowly.

I’d save the bike for the walls where you have more space and can really get some wind in your hair. 

Biking the entirety of the walls only takes about 25 minutes at a leisurely pace. It’s just around 2.5 miles (4 kilometers). It’s shady and the path is wide enough for plenty of people. To turn this isn’t a bigger affair, I recommend one of two things:

• Stop for drinks and snacks along the wall.
• Bring your own picnic and find a grassy spot to enjoy it.

We went for the first option and stopped at a few bars along the wall. While this was great and certainly the easy option, if we were to go back to Lucca, I’d likely pack a little picnic now that I realize how much open, grassy space there is to spread out. 

It wasn’t on purpose but we ended up renting our bikes in the evening on our last day. Instead of returning them that night, we realized it was only slightly more to keep them overnight. This allowed us to bike back to our hotel after we finished our loops and bike with our backpacks on to the train station the next morning. Since the bike rental we used (Chronò Bikes) was so close to the train station, this saved us a lot of sweat and let us sleep in just a little bit more. 

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Day 3

Although today is your last day in Lucca, I recommend seeing some of the nearby area. If you have travel plans that continue on to these parts, take today to visit the attractions you missed yesterday or simply enjoy Lucca at a slower pace.

If today is your last day in the area, know there are plenty of interesting places to visit just a quick train ride from Lucca. 

Fear not, I won’t have you dragging your luggage around with you. Instead of leaving your bags at your hotel, I recommend dropping them at a luggage storage place anywhere near the train station. If your day trip is closer to your next destination, you can find luggage storage places around virtually all train stations. I use the website Radical Storage to find these. By searching in advance you can be confident that there’s a storage spot nearby. 

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Enjoy a Day Trip

Here are just a few options of day trips you can take from Lucca. There’s a lot more than what I have on this list since Lucca is near the coast, mountains, and plenty of towns in between. If you’re looking for something specific, you’ll likely find it nearby. If you’re not sure though where to begin, these are my top suggestions.

Montecarlo

25 minutes by car

For those that want to see the surrounding landscape and enjoy the local wines, rent a car and head to Montecarlo (the Italian one, not the one in Monaco). Although Lucca isn’t home to the famous Tuscan wines south of Florence, they do have their own varieties to try.

Although you might be nervous about renting a car and driving in Italy, fear not. The drive from Lucca to Montecarlo is straightforward. Just be sure to look for a parking place outside the town, as most likely you can’t drive right in the center of it. Set a “parcheggio” near Montecarlo as your final destination and you’ll be good to go. 

DiscoverCars makes renting a car easy. You can browse pick-up locations (I’d personally suggest the Lucca train station to keep things simple) and even change the drop-off location if you want a one-way rather than a round-trip rental. They offer a variety of car makes, models, and sizes all from different providers so you can be sure to find the car that fits your needs. Raf and I have been using DiscoverCars for years all throughout Europe without any issues. From our experience, they offer better rental prices than their competitors. 

Montecarlo is a small hilltop town. Although I haven’t yet visited, it seems like a nice spot to spend a day. The town itself will be worth walking through. If you have extra time, visit Rocca del Cerruglio while there. Most wineries sit just outside of town but driving between them won’t be difficult. If you plan to test many, most function as a B&B so you can stay the night. 

Lido di Camaiore

40 minutes by train 

We spent one night here since it was the venue of the concert we went to. They’re the host of La Prima Estate, a big summer music festival. We arrived early to spend the day at the beach then went straight from the sand to the concert. 

If you want to go to the beach, too, there are some things you need to be aware of (this’ll likely be the same for Vareggio and other surrounding beaches):

• There aren’t many public beaches and most stretches are owned by “un bagno” or beach club. You’ll need to pay to rent their chairs and umbrellas. They’ll all offer food and drinks as well. 
• The sea is really shallow here. The water in this area is similar to Emilia Romagna where it stays shallow for a long, long time before dipping off. The deepest you’ll get is likely to your knees. This is great if you have young kids but not so great if you actually want to swim.
• The water is a little dirty. This might have been a fluke but the water wasn’t what I’d consider inviting, and I grew up swimming in the murky waters of Georgia and South Carolina. I think because it’s so shallow and virtually no waves, the water has a tough time mixing and feels a bit stagnant. 

If you like to just look at the water, the beach is really pretty. It has a backdrop of mountains and the beach clubs are more than comfortable. If you’re looking to not spend a lot of money and do some swimming, you won’t be impressed. 

Pisa

30 minutes by train

Pisa is the most popular day trip from Lucca and fair enough since it’s so close. I haven’t been to Pisa as an adult but did go on my first trip to Italy as a teenager. I don’t remember too much of it but I do know there isn’t anything else other than the tower. You really don’t need a lot of time to explore. If you’re looking for something quick to fill your morning, great choice, if you’re hoping for an all day adventure, there are other options. 

Florence

1 hour by train

Florence is also a nearby destination that you can visit as a day trip. The only issue I’d have with this is that Florence offers a lot and a day trip might not give you enough time to scratch your itch. If you’re not a big city fan and don’t usually enjoy famous destinations, maybe you’ll be good just seeing it, but if you’re hoping to really see all Florence has to offer, I’d recommend staying for at least 2 nights. 

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Lucca Travel Tips

How to Get to Lucca

I highly recommend arriving here via train. The closest international airports are Pisa and Florence and both cities have direct train connections. Public transportation is really solid in Italy and definitely makes getting from Point A to Point B easy. 

Another option is to drive but as I mentioned above, just be sure to ask your hotel about parking as most of the center is a limited traffic zone (ZTL). For more details on what this means and other things to look out for, here’s our full guide on driving in Italy.

Best Time to Visit Lucca

I’d suggest visiting Lucca in the spring or fall for more manageable weather. Enough people live here that you shouldn’t face the issue of a dead town like you can in more tourist-driven places. 

Summer gets really hot here. We were there at the end of June and really had to stick to the shade to enjoy walking around. If you end up visiting in the summer, I highly recommend you plan yourself a little break time around 2:30-5pm. Most places close around this time anyways for their own rest break and you should do the same. 

Events in Lucca

Lucca isn’t just a pretty Tuscan town worth eating, drinking, and shopping your way through. It’s also home to a few huge events that you might want to plan for (or around). 

Lucca Comics & Games 

This is an annual comic book and gaming convention held in the city center. It’s more Raf’s cup of tea than mine and since moving to Italy he’s been hoping to attend. It’s the second biggest comicon in the world, just after Tokyo, which is really impressive and slightly surprising. 

If this isn’t your idea of fun, I wouldn’t plan your trip to coincide with this weekend. It’s usually held the last weekend of October but check the specific dates for the year of your trip to be sure. 

Lucca Summer Festival

The Lucca Summer Festival is a big-name music festival that brings performers right into the city. The festival typically lasts throughout the entire month of July but you might see some runover into June and/or August. 

We happened to arrive the night of one of the concerts. A piazza was closed for the stage and had our walk diverted but it wasn’t a huge nuisance. This was an Italian artist we didn’t know but later in the summer they were welcoming bigger, international names like John Legend and Katy Perry. 

I wouldn’t plan your trip around this like I would the comicon since the concert is just one night and the comicon involves events all day, all weekend. It just might be worth checking as bigger names might mean hotels will get booked quicker.

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Enjoy Your Trip to Lucca

With this, you’re ready for a great 3-day trip to Lucca. You can easily extend this itinerary to fill up more days like we did, but know, if you go that route you’re going to either want to do more day trips, or give in to a slow rhythm. The city isn’t big so don’t expect an endless number of things to see and do.

Likewise, you can opt for just a day or two here and use the rest of your vacation days exploring other parts of the region.

Regardless, I hope you enjoy your trip to Lucca!