Lucca is a walled city in Tuscany, just over the border from Liguaria (home to the Cinque Terre). It is also quite close to Pisa and Florence. I visited here after spending a few nights in the Cinque Terre. It is also the hometown of Dan’s grandmother’s maternal family! I found Lucca to have a young feel, lots of great photo ops and not too many American tourists (although there were many Italian tourists!). Lucca would make a great stop for those looking to stay in a town in Tuscany, but over Florence and Sienna, or those wanting to see Pisa but not stay overnight there (I’ve done that and it is not the most interesting place).
HIGHLIGHTS
Highlights of Lucca? Lots! Here are my top five:
- Bicycling on the Town Walls – My # 1 highlight of Lucca was, surprisingly, bicycling on the town walls. Lucca’s town walls are larger than those of any other walled-cities that I have visited and the city has turned it into a public park – an old school High Line of sorts! You can bike or walk, and everyone is doing it! We rented bikes from Biciclette Poli, which is close to the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, at a very reasonable cost. You rent by the hour and pay when you return. Bicycling was really easy, but note that no one was wearing a helmet!
The town walls