Where to stay in Lucca
Where Is Lucca Located?
The capital town within a province by the same name, Lucca is found on the Serchio river in Tuscany near the Mediterranean coast of Italy. Florence is located an hour east, Pisa is a 20 minute drive or train ride south, and Pisa Galileo Galilei International Airport can be reached by direct bus in one hour.
What Is Lucca Known For?
The city of Lucca is best known for its ancient, Gothic architecture and walled city. Inside the city walls is a highly walkable neighborhood. They do not allow cars unless you are a local resident, but many places rent bikes, if desired. Lucca has been prosperous since the Roman Empire and owes much of its success to the silk and olive-oil trades. Opera composer Puccini was born in this city in 1858.
A Quick Guide to Lucca
- City Walls: The total perimeter of the City Walls sits at just over two and a half miles in an unbroken loop, lined with trees. The walls are thick enough to walk or ride a bike on top of it, like an elevated sidewalk. You’ll even find a bar called San Colombano up there! The walls have been rebuilt three times, with the last iteration created in the 16th and 17th centuries. From above, the uniformity of the city’s red roofs cannot be ignored.
- Piazza San Michele: Piazza San Michele is lined with cafes and shops, in addition to a daily market selling candy, clothes, and tourist souvenirs. On a corner stands Chiesa di San Michele in Foro — an 11th century church built on the site of an old Roman forum — and is most noted for its interesting “wedding cake” facade and panel painting, Four Saints by Filippino Lippi. The Puccini Museum can also be found one block west of this piazza.
- Palazzo Pfanner: Built in 1667, Palazzo Pfanner is the historic home of an Austrian doctor who was responsible for bringing beer to Italy in the late 19th century. Today, the interior has several rooms decorated with collections of artifacts from Pfanner’s era including his surgical tools. The gardens are highly celebrated as being a beautiful example of Baroque-style landscape architecture.
- Via Fillungo: A busy shopping street that winds through the city, Via Fillungo is filled with shops, restaurants, and cafes great for people watching. Some call it the most important street in Lucca and use it as a point of orientation.
- Piazza dell'Anfiteatro: Piazza dell'Anfiteatro is an oval-shaped piazza built on the seating section of an ancient Roman amphitheatre. It’s filled with lots of bars and restaurants for laid back dining and socializing. In the summer, you’ll come across street music and other performers, with Via Fillungo located right outside.
- Museo della Tortura: Check out Museo della Tortura for an unnerving, yet fascinating display of medieval torture devices in an initimate museum setting.
Popular Destinations Near Lucca
- Bagni di Lucca: Treat yourself to a spa day just 40 minutes north of Lucca. A thermal spa using 25 mineral springs, Bagni di Lucca is made up of five bath houses with a long history dating back to at least the 12th century — if not longer. Lounge all day in warm water under domed ceilings in the Tuscany countryside.
- Pisa: Just a 30 minute train ride from Lucca and best known for its famous leaning tower, the buzzing university city of Pisa offers so much more. The cathedral and baptistery associated with the Leaning Tower of Pisa are a must-see, but look further to explore the churches, piazzas, museums, and even a colorful Keith Haring mural. The Pisa Marina is on a beautiful harbour with a beach made of tiny marble pebbles.
- Florence: An hour east of Lucca is the beautiful and incomparable city of Florence, bursting at the seams with churches, museums, art galleries, ancient infrastructures, and scenic views. The city has been important to not just Italy — but all of Europe for centuries — at one point being the highest seat of political power in Europe. Florentines invented opera, Renaissance, neoclassical architecture, and were the first to speak and write in a language other than Latin. These innovations are just a few of Florence’s wide range of other political, economical, and cultural accomplishments all throughout history.
Best Neighborhoods in Lucca
- Centro Storico (Old City): Centro Storico is equipped with easily distinguished boundaries due to being completely encircled in ancient city walls, with specific entrances through portals in the walls. Most everything a visitor would want or need is within this neighborhood.
Home-types in Lucca
Lucca has a variety of property types for you to consider when booking a trip. Here are the most popular property types in Lucca:
- House: 432 vacation rentals
- Bed and Breakfast: 117 vacation rentals
- Hotel: 92 vacation rentals
Points of interests in Lucca
Lucca has several popular points of interest for you to check out when visiting the area. Here are the most popular points of interest in Lucca:
- Case dei Guinigi: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Via Francigena Entry Point - Museum: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Museum of Villa Mansi: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Porta San Pietro: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Puccini's Birth Home: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Walls of Lucca: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Torre delle Ore: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Aqueduct of Nottolini, Lucca: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Bulwark Holly Croce: 3,412 vacation rentals
- Piazza Antelminelli: 3,412 vacation rentals
Popular rental amenities
Price trends in Lucca
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Nearby destinations
Fiesole Florence Colle di Val d Elsa Bologna Lucca Sestri Levante Monterosso al Mare Genoa Levanto La Spezia San Gimignano Montepulciano Sirmione Cortona Greve in Chianti Castellina in Chianti Siena Rapallo Radda in Chianti Pisa Viareggio Manarola San Casciano Val Pesa Riomaggiore Arezzo Rignano sull Arno Forte dei Marmi Parma Montalcino Vernazza Castelnuovo Berardenga Livorno Portofino Camogli Modena Volterra Gaiole in Chianti Pienza Panzano In Chianti San Vincenzo
Top destinations in Tuscany
Arezzo Castellina in Chianti Castelnuovo Berardenga Colle di Val d Elsa Cortona Fiesole Florence Forte dei Marmi Gaiole in Chianti Greve in Chianti Livorno Montalcino Montepulciano Panzano In Chianti Pienza Pisa Radda in Chianti Rignano sull Arno San Casciano Val Pesa San Gimignano Siena Viareggio Volterra
