My husband and I are planning a fall trip for two weeks in Sicily. We would then like to spend 1 week in Italy before we fly home from Rome. We have visited the main cities and are looking for a smaller place with access to transport for day trips. Any ideas? FYI I know Sicily is Italy too😁
Posted by
539 posts
They're very different; both awesome in their own way but different.
Lucca - more chill, maybe a bit less touristic, but still tourist friendly. Siena is striking and romantic and kinda special. As much as I love Lucca, I lean Siena if you haven't been. I think your transit connections and day trips will be easier to manage there too.
But they're both really awesome places to spend a week. Do you want to chill and soak up more of a daily Italian vibe or join the crowds in Siena?
Posted by
San Diego, California, USA
1144 posts
Hello manningfs, if you're asking about Lucca versus Siena for day trips they are different.
Being a hilltown aside from some buses to local towns - Arezzo is 1:15 by bus - and many towns like San Gimignano take multiple buses to reach. Most of your train travel will be heading to Florence and then going somewhere which adds a bunch of time to a day trip.
Lucca is in flat and much better served by trains but it is further north so easy day trips are places like Pisa and Livorno and the coast is 20 minutes away with La Spezia another hour or so. Fast trains to anywhere will require the trip to Florence to catch the fast train.
Both towns have organized tours to other places you can take especially in Siena since it is in wine country and surrounded by Tuscan hillsides. I think both towns also can easily take a couple of days of exploration but keeping in mind that Siena town population is about 5x bigger than Luccas old town population. I'm a fan of Lucca but I think Siena is more special city to visit being a hilltown but Lucca is also flat which has its own charms for a longer stay.
Depending on what your criteria is you might think of someplace like Fiesole. It is small town just outside Florence but access to the city is easy and many people use it as an alternative to staying in Florence itself. Easy access to Florence train station gives a bunch of day trip options.
Again depending on what you're looking for Verona is technically a big city but the pedestrian downtown area full of cafes feels smaller than the population would suggest and you have access to the fast trains from Verona train station to Brescia, Venice, Padua, Vicenza, Bologna etc.
Hope that helps. Whatever you decide have a great trip,
=Tod