My initial plan was to just stop in Pisa on our way to Flo. It's a must for my niece. I'm wondering if we leave CT around 8:00, keep our Pisa stop to a couple of hours to see the Big Three and go to the top of the Tower, is it possible to squeeze in a visit to Lucca? Although it would be a busy day, is 3-4 hours in Lucca better than nothing?
Thank you!
It's only 20 minutes by direct train from Pisa to Lucca, and travel time from Lucca to Florence is about the same as from Pisa to Florence. The Pisa-Lucca trains only run every few hours, so check Trenitalia schedules to see if there's one at the time you need. As long as you're up for a busy day, Lucca is well worth a few hours (although you'll leave wishing you could stay longer).
Are you driving or taking the train? We drove this route and had a great but busy day. We didn't stand in line to go up the tower though. But we did see the big 3 and get our touristy photos of holding up the tower. You can rent bikes in Lucca and take a bike ride around the walls. It really is a nice place and yes 3-4 hrs is better than nothing.
Before you do it, check the train schedules carefully to make sure it's doable. It's never fun to drag into your hotel very late at night because the train you thought you could catch wasn't running that day.
Pisa is a must see but only for the two hours you describe.
Lucca has a nice wall turned park. The wall isn't medieval looking like San Gimignano, however, it looks more like Ft. McHenry.
The town is very flat. I could see it being good for people who have trouble negotiating hills and a good place to rent a bike. For us it was just okay and we wouldn't build a trip around it.
We were there in October and it was dead (another reason to rent a bike there) while other places had manageable crowds. I can see how in high season Lucca might be a pleasant alternative to drastically crowded alternatives.
