Base city in Northern Italy

Could you give us some ideas of what you are looking for so we have something to go on? I typically either choose a place I really want to be in for several days, or I pick a region that has several places and zero in on a base that is convenient.
The places you mentioned are very different from each other, so I'm a bit at a loss of what you are interested in. Add what time of year as that often makes a difference. Also, how many days do you have and where do you depart from?

Lucca and Viareggio are in Tuscany that’s central IT not northern. If you’re interested in northern IT the Lombardia region i.e., Milan would make a good base.

Thanks for the reply. I think we are set for Luca as our base. We are coming from Geneva Switzerland and we have ten days until our next River excursion. We want to rent a car and tour along the coast and then end up in Nice. If you have better options to stay in that area, we would welcome them to not be in Luca the whole time. We been to Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Rome, and Tuscany. We want small city to relax and enjoy life. Your input is appreciated. Thanks

The answer will probably depend on which cities you want to visit in that area. The "base city" should ideally be within easy rail travel to the places you want to visit. Could you elaborate on places you want to see in northern Italy?

Luca is a man’s name (“Luke” in English).
You probably mean Lucca with two C’s.
You won’t need a car to visit the coast between Tuscany and Nice. Trains will do. However first you. We’d to decide what to want te see, then you decide on a base and on the best means of transport.
Lucca is a nice medieval town, Viareggio is a decent size sea resort town which is busy and vibrant in summer. If your goal is to relax, the coastal options are many.

Hello matthig, if you are looking for a small town to relax in Lucca is a solid option.

It is large enough to have many restaurants and cafes and shopping but is not super touristy and walks or biking on the old ramparts is leisurely. It is a little far west for days trips to larger cities like Bologna but it is close to coast and you could visit Pisa, Livorno or coastal cities easily as day trips.

If you wanted a larger city you could opt for Verona. It is larger but the old town feels small tucked into the bend in the river. It is a very pretty city and pedestrian friendly for walking, shopping and spritzing or eating. It is well connected to Bologna, Venice, Vicenza, and other places well worth a visit. It is much further east so you would probably want to train to Genoa (3 hours) or someplace more on the coast before you rented a car and continued on.

I guess you need to balance whether you're more interested in smaller town Italy decompression or having access to day tripping experiences.
Either way it sounds like a great series of adventures, enjoy!
=Tod

We are going in September and staying in Bologna.
It's very central with easy train access

That’s quite a trip from Geneva to Lucca. I don’t ever see much on the forum regarding the towns/cities on the western coast of Liguria (Golfo di Genova) but wonder if one of those might fit your requirements and make for an easier day of travel from Geneva, then going to Nice.
Maybe there’s a reason, ie; the area isn’t very nice, to not have any info on that coast. I would like to see what people have to say but could start my own thread for that too!
Renting a car for travel within Italy is fine, but remember the drop charges for a rental when it’s one country to another can be prohibitive.