Lucca v. Sienna

Transport may be a factor, and Lucca pairs better with Pisa regarding that. Also, it’s smaller so perhaps more suited to a half day?

I would choose Siena and the charming villages between it and Florence.

Siena is my favorite town in Italy -- I'd always choose it. The Cathedral alone which is quite singular is worth the trip. but I would give it the full day.

You can do Pisa and Lucca (by train) on the same day (half a day each) since they are very close to each other and connected by frequent trains (30 min journey from each other).

Or you can do Siena by bus, and maybe squeeze a short visit to San Gimignano on the way back.

But Lucca/Pisa are on a totally different direction from Siena and you can’t really do both on the same day. Pisa and Siena aren’t even well connected, so a lot of time would be wasted on trains.

What Roberto said.

This is a lot of train time. It seems to me that the experience of visiting Lucca and of visiting Siena (one N) are not comparable. I haven't been to Lucca in a long time, but I'd add that Siena has a lot more hot walking, and waiting in line, which is a factor in a rushed, over-scheduled day. I've been to Italy about ten times, but I still haven't been to Pisa.

You've swayed me to go with Lucca. Not crazy about spending a lot of train time eating away at the hours of one precious day. Plus, I'm hell-bent on climbing the Tower of Pisa on first time trip to Italy. Thanks to all for the great perspectives! Siena on hold for the next time around.

I liked Siena much more than Lucca but as Roberto said, if Pisa is your main interest Siena doesn’t make much travel time sense. Just watch out in Pisa for the pickpockets and don’t let anyone put a bracelet on your wrist!

Just to pile on - Siena is the best one day trip from Florence and it deserves a whole day. If Pisa is your main goal then do Pisa and you can add on Lucca for the afternoon if you want to get a quick look at the town as well on your way back to Florence.

Read up on the process for getting tickets to walk the tower and plan to go early. If your interest in Pisa begins and ends at the buildings in the Field of Miracles then you can move onto Lucca afterwards to experience it in the afternoon and then head back to Florence. Don't mention Pisa to real Luccesse unless you're saying how much better Lucca is because they are ancient enemies and the locals have not forgiven or forgotten.

Also don't use "AI" to try and curate or compare human experiences or plan trips. Ask people who have experienced these things rather an a aggregation of stolen trip information fed into a "most likely outcome" generator.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

We did a day trip from Florence to Lucca to Pisa and back very easily. We spent a pleasant time in Lucca and at the station to catch the train to Florence noticed the easy connections to Pisa and hopped on. The couple hours we had in Pisa were sufficient to see the Tower and the surrounding area. Travel time from Lucca to Pisa was about 20+ minutes, and from Pisa to Florence maybe an hour + so quite doable with little wasted time riding around. A fun day. Safe travels.

Thanks, Tod & Denny. Florence to Pisa to Lucca and back wins. I’ve booked tix for Pisa, if the leaning tower doesn’t lean all the way down before I get there.

Ive been to Lucca twice. I've been to Siena once. Both were in May. (Lucca was different years.)

Both were very interesting. Lucca less crowded.

Just a tip about trains from Lucca to Florence. They're pretty frequent, but the fastest trains are about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Those trains run one an hour, usually around half past the hour, give or take a couple of minutes.

David, thanks for the tip on Lucca to Florence trains. Am I correct in believing you don’t need to buy a ticket in advance for that route?

Don't buy train tickets in advance. They are all Regional (commuter) trains like commuter trains or subway trains in the US. No price discounts, no reserved seats (first come first served, if all taken you stand up). Buy when you go at the station, or use the Trenitalia app.

Thanks, Roberto.