Lucca

You can see Lucca in under eight hours.

Hi Charlotte - If you can arrange it I would definitely stay for two days - Lucca is just another of Italy's amazing Tuscan towns. So much to see and do BUT don't hesitate to simply sit at one of the cafes enjoying lunch or dinner and watching the people go by.
Bicycle rental are readily available and it's fun to bike the town and see as much of it as you can. Two days - maybe live there!!
In response to the other poster's you could see Lucca in under 30 seconds as you fly over it BUT to SEE IT you could easily spend days. Le Cinque Terre is FANTASTIC if you have an extra day to go up there.
Ciao, Greg

One day in Lucca should do it. I stayed there for two nights, but we also daytripped to Pisa and Cinque Terre and we saw what there was to see, as well as walked the entire wall.

depends, do you want to see it then one day, do you want to feel it two days

Less than 1 day is sufficient IMO.

And it also depends on how you define a "day". We spent a day traveling TO Lucca, stopping at many of the other Tuscan towns on our way. We finally arrived in Lucca early evening in time for dinner. The next day we walked all around, and yes, pretty much did the whole thing in one day. We spent the night again and just got up early to drive to Pisa and catch our flight.

Karen is correct

I love Lucca. If you can stay overnight, do it. The city takes on a different feel when all the daytrippers are gone.

Not trying to be a flame thrower but it seems many say you can "see" Lucca in a day. Really? By that do you just mean walking around? Do you go into the churches and museums, or are you just sight seeing? I have been several times - last time was for a day trip on the train. I made it to a wine tasting, and the new contemporary art museum and that was a half day. On previous trips we have walked some of the wall and visited the the duomo, San Giovanni, and the amphitheater.

I have yet to make it into most of the churches, or the museums. I think to do this would take several days.

So - just curious - but is it just about walking around and looking for most people?

Hi Anthony: You ask a good question that deserves a response.

Your question/comment: "Many say you can "see" Lucca in a day. Really? By that do you just mean walking around?"

Many here give Lucca a day at most, or part of a day. Is it "seen" in that amount of time. No, not in the sense you're talking about, really knowing it.

Many on this forum (those still working) don't have the vacation time and/or other resources to spend the time that would be really necessary to get to "know" places. That's unfortunate but just the way it is. Americans have some of the lowest average paid vacation times in the world. I think most of us are doing the best we can with the time and resources we have.

Of course we could make other choices but that would involve making other sacrifices, less time somewhere else or less money for something else.

Thank you for asking a thoughtful question. Most of the Helpline is about the mundane and (basically) pretty boring details of how to get from destination A to B, etc. It's nice to have a think-type question.

Lucca has some great restaurants also and don't forget to try their famous bread.

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I was trying to decide whether to keep my 2 days in Bologna and 2 in Parma, or give up one to have 2 days in Lucca. I have all my other cities time alloted for--this is my last decision.

Since I have been to Italy 3 times before, I want a "relaxing" and "foodie" trip this time.

No offense to anyone, but I have seen many churches and museums already. I am looking for something different this time.

Lucca is the home of Puccini, so it is natural that you would want to see his home...but if that was all you did, you would miss the concerts (several each week) where opera singers perform numbers from many of Pucinni's compositions and those of other famous composers as well....see the performances at San Giovanni Church (as described in RS guide)...it was one of the highlights of our 2 night stay in Lucca. I also spent some very valuable time in the Enoteca Vanni, which has been called the best wine store in all of Tuscany...with great Barola's and Brunello's in stock (including many old vintages)...you can go home loaded with wines you may have only read about before.

Just returned from Italy & we overnighted in Lucca on our way from Siena to the Cinque Terre. One day & night was definitely enough for us. I know a lot of people really like Lucca but it was probably my least favorite town; I still liked it but I liked many other towns better. What made it more interesting though was the fact that we were there during a festival called Volto Santo. They mount candles to the sides of buildings & around windows & at around 9pm the entire town goes dark except for the candlelight. It was neat to watch the men on top of trucks putting up all the candles throughout the day & then returning before dusk to light the thousands of candles. There is also a religious procession through town & a parade of people who were born in Lucca but now live in other places. This made Lucca more interesting to me & I'm glad I visited it but I think 1 day/night is sufficient.

Interesting thoughts everyone - thanks for the replies/insights. In the end I think traveling is a lot like wine - it's all about how it "tastes" to you - and there are as many ways to enjoy a place as there are people!
Cheers -

I forgot to mention one of my more interesting "food memories" is from Lucca. We stayed at Alla Dolce Vita near Piazza Santa Maria. After walking along the entire wall, we went back down into town for lunch. We chose a little restaurant bordering P. Santa Maria and I got a "salame e olivo" pizza (pepperoni and olive). I'm not much of an olive person, but I was in Italy, and they "do" olives (particularly, I've read, in the Lucca region). Much to my surprise, when we got our pizza, I had to ask my friend, "What did I order again?" My pizza had the recognizable "salame", and then a bunch of what looked like giant raisins. I picked one up and nibbled it; it was the olive, with the pit in it still! I was so surprised that the pits were still in olives on a PIZZA! I asked the waitress as best I could in Italian, "How do I eat this?" She pantomimed eating it off the pit like you would a cherry.
It's one of those little memories that made our trip so memorable and awesome!

My wife and I made it to Lucca on our 5th trip to Italy. We planned to spend 3 nights in Lucca, 2 nights in Boglona and 3 nights in Venice.

We enjoyed Lucca so much, we cancelled Boglona and spent 5 nights in Lucca. Granted, we weren't in Lucca the whole time. We made day trips to Viarggio and Pietra Santa.

If you like small towns, you'll probably like Lucca.

Best regards,

Jeffrey

Hi! I will be in Florence for 3 days in October. We have one day planned for Cinque Terre, one morning at the Academia and maybe doing lunch at the Veranzano Winery. Do you think the morning we do the Academia we can take the train to Lucca for the day? We've heard so much about it and would love to see as much as we can, would we be able to stay late for dinner and still be able to get a train back to Florence afterwards? Any idea how long of a train ride. Thanks

According to google, Lucca is on the Florence-Lucca-Viareggio line...with frequent service...travel time is listed at 70 minutes...our own experience was not so good...we must have gotten on a local train...took a couple of hours and we had to change trains.