My wife and I will be based in Florence for 4 days and plan to take the train to Lucca on one of those days. We were intrigued by the description in Rick Steve's Italy book about bicycling around the city wall in Lucca. Can you rent bicycles in Lucca for this? We also plan to take a day trip to Pisa on one of those days and would like to rent and ride bicycles in and around Pisa. I also read that you can bike from Pisa to Lucca but I don't know anything about renting bicycles in Italy. Any information about this would be much appreciated.
Posted by
Idaho, USA
7626 posts
I will be in Lucca soon. There’s a bike rental next to the train station in Lucca.
Posted by
OP
15 posts
Great. I'll look on the map and take note of it.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
Particularly since you have only 4 days in Florence, I think seeing Lucca and Pisa in a single day, in that order, is a great plan. I did this in 1989, but it remains one of my greatest ever travel days.
I started by going from Florence to Lucca (I think I took the bus, but you can also take a train). I walked around town, then rented a bike and took two circuits on top of the walls. The views are great, and Lucca is a lovely town. At least in 1989, it was little visited; no idea if that's true now.
In the afternoon, I then took a bus from Lucca to Pisa. I got there in the afternoon, and walked through town to the Field of Miracles. Pisa's Field of Miracles, of course, is not little visited. But by the time I got there, the last bus tours were leaving, the souvenir vendors were literally packing up, and the marble looked lovely in the afternoon light (the way the grass contrasts with the buildings makes it look like a 3-D pop up postcard).
I climbed the tower (not recommended if you don't enjoy hanging on for dear life on slippery sloped marble) and went into the other buildings. I then took a train back to Florence.
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14482 posts
There are bike rentals within the walls as well. I've rented twice at one beside one of the gates and you just ride up the ramp to the top of the wall. The wall is not lengthy - maybe only 3 miles or so around so you can ride in 20 minutes, walk in under an hour even with stops. I'm just saying this because my first visit I had no idea it was this compact and was slightly disappointed. The next trip I had managed my expectations better!
Posted by
OP
15 posts
That's ok. I actually got the impression from Rick Steves the trip around the wall in Lucca was a fairly short event. That's why I was also interested in something I read about a bicycle trip from Pisa to Lucca. I think it's about 33 Km one-way so that's a 40 mile round trip. Not trivial.
Posted by
4713 posts
No sure about the route between Lucca and Pisa, but outside the walls in Lucca, you can ride along the river. It was a pleasant ride, but getting there on bust roads less so.