Lucca is defined by its wall — a fully intact 16th-century fortification circling the entire historic centre, wide enough on top to walk or cycle its full 4.2 km loop. Unlike most Italian city walls, Lucca's were never torn down for modern expansion, and today the ramparts function as the city's favourite park: tree-lined, traffic-free, and popular with locals for an evening walk or bike ride as much as with visitors.
Getting there
Direct regional trains run from Florence to Lucca in roughly 1.5 hours, arriving at a station just outside the walls, a short walk from the historic centre.
What to see and do
- Bike the walls — rental shops sit near several of the main gates; renting a bike for an hour and doing the full loop is Lucca's signature activity, and genuinely one of the most relaxing things to do on any Tuscany day trip.
- Piazza dell'Anfiteatro — an oval piazza that follows the exact footprint of a Roman amphitheatre, its buildings built directly onto the old arena walls — a striking piece of urban history hiding in plain sight.
- Torre Guinigi — a medieval tower topped, unusually, with a small garden of holm oak trees growing from its roof; the climb rewards with a view over the terracotta rooftops.
- San Michele in Foro and the Duomo — two significant Romanesque churches with elaborately decorated facades, both worth a stop.
Pace
Lucca rewards a slower, less checklist-driven visit than Siena or San Gimignano — there's less "essential sightseeing" and more atmosphere. A relaxed half-day to full day works well, and it pairs naturally with Pisa (about 30 minutes away by train) if you want to combine two stops in one day out from Florence.