Florence or Lucca

Hi Lisa -
Referencing a previous post:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/venice-itinerary-1afa1b48-b613-41da-8abf-56748e31516c

It looks like you have 10 days (10 days or 11 nights?): are two of those days for traveling to and from Italy? Where does the CT fall in the trip plan, and how many nights are allocated to the CT and Venice, respectively

I also see that your flights are in and out of Venice...which is some distance from both the CT and Lucca (figure on roughly 6 hours or more by rail to Monterosso from Venice ) and you will need to be IN Venice or at least much closer the night before your flight out. Depending on where these 2 days (3 nights?) will fall on the itinerary, you may want to choose a location closer to Venice. Could you provide us with your larger itinerary?

Could you share the rest of the itinerary? Sometimes that makes a difference, but overall, the answer is always to go where you feel called to go, whether you think you will return or not. You would have to return to Florence to see more of it anyway,but you can see all of Lucca in two days. I have been to Italy nine times and never to Rome, Florence, or Venice--all of which I intend to see eventually, but for now I also remain a "small town lover."

Florence is one of the top cities to visit in Italy, but you can't do it in 2 days.
You can visit Lucca for a day, it is a great city, but not Florence. Perhaps you should cut some days from CT and do both cities. You need 3-4 days for Florence.

How many nights ?
To get 2 days you need 3 nights

This is your trip. Do what will give you your idea of a lovely stay in Italy.

You don't have to go to Florence on this trip. Maybe you will go another time. Florence can be overwhelming. It can be loud and crowded and busy. But, it is filled with beautiful art and architecture, Renaissance history and excellent restaurants. I personally have a love/hate relationship with Florence.

Lucca is tiny in comparison. If your staying within the walls, it will be busy during the day with daytrippers, but mornings and evenings will be quieter. There is also beautiful Renaissance architecture, excellent restaurants and a possibility of evening concerts in one Lucca's historic churches. You can join the locals on their early evening stroll around town laughing, chatting, enjoying a gelato.

Another smaller city to consider is Verona with its Roman ruins and medieval and Renaissance architecture.

There is no wrong choice.

I think that part of your decision-making process should be how well you can handle crowds. Florence will be packed with tourists for all of the reasons you have heard about, while Lucca will be much less crowded. As was mentioned previously, a hotel within the walls for a short visit would be preferable, something like La Luna Hotel. Great, memorable food and wine is widely available, consider Osteria da Pasquale (reservations required).
Lucca does not have the art and architecture of Florence, but it is still a wonderful, medieval walled city. Two nights there is plenty of time for Lucca, but Florence would need at least twice that.

First of all, imo, thinking of this trip as your only chance to visit Italy is an incorrect mind set. Drop that from your considerations.
I would skip the CT and add those days to Florence and Lucca, mostly to Florence. Lucca can be done as a day trip from Florence, or in 2 days at most.

How exciting that you are visiting Italy!!
Use your two days to explore Florence.
Skip Lucca this time.
Of course two days are not “enough” to see Florence but you can see a lot if you plan ahead, choose your priorities, and use your time well.

Last year, I showed my friends Florence in 1.5 days because that’s all the time they had.

Here’s what we did:
Day 1: We arrived by train at midday….checked into hotel, had a quick lunch at I Fratellini, then did the self-guided Renaissance Walk in Rick’s guide book which includes exterior of Duomo. Then to the Accademia to see the David with prebooked tickets for 5pm. After that, dinner (also prebooked) on the rooftop terrace of La Rinascente dept store in Piazza della Repubblica, with gorgeous evening views of the Duomo and skyline. If you just want aperitivo you can’t prebook but the queue isn’t terrible usually. Then we strolled through the now-tranquil streets of the center back to our hotel.

Day 2: early-ish walk up to Piazzale Michelangelo for iconic views over the city. The tour busses started arriving just as we were heading back to the center, around 10.
Checked out of hotel, they held our bags.
Uffizi galleries (bought our timed tickets the day before) - we limited ourselves to about 2 hours there seeking out about 10 of the masterpieces we had read about ahead of time in Rick’s book. Their terrace has a great close up view of Palazzo Vecchio.
Ponte Vecchio - just outside the Uffizi (one of their corridors gives a great view onto the bridge, as well).
We also ducked into the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo where all the beautiful art that used to be in the Duomo is now held and exhibited beautifully. Usually not crowded, we got walk-up tickets. We did not bother waiting in line to see the inside of the Duomo.

And make time for gelato! We like Perché No and Badiani.
We left at 5 pm for train station. You’d have another night I’m guessing.

So go get a taste of Florence :)

Buon viaggio!

I think Jeanm said it best, do your research and decide which is best for you. If you decide on Florence, be sure to book any museums or other sites that require tickets in advance, maybe some restaurants as well. And if you decide on Lucca, you might need reservations at some restaurants also, especially Osteria da Pasquale, as recommended in another response.