staying in Lucca

Mary, exactly one month ago I was enjoying a two night stay at the Hotel Rex, across from the train station in Lucca, and just outside the old city, a two or three minute walk to a major gate through the large city wall. I chose this hotel in part because I was arriving by train, leaving by train quite early on my last morning, and expected to make a run into Pisa by train too. It was highly convenient for all that, still was on a nice grassy square or park, with no noise from the railroad station. This is a small hotel, not a B & B. My room was spacious and modern, good bathroom, good TV, good wi-fi. Breakfast was plentiful and very good. I paid 80 euros for a nice room, minus a 10% RS discount if booked directly with the hotel.

Once at the gate, it was about another five minute walk to the central part of the city -- Duomo, etc. it's a flat, easy and fun city to walk in inside the walls. During my short visit, I visited the Duomo and other churches, climbed the Giunghi clock tower with the trees growing on top, attended a Puccini opera program (I understand there is some kind of Puccini program every night of the year), and wandered the main shopping streets during the daytime and evening, plus made the 30 minute trip to spend a couple of hours in Pisa. Even went through the sales tent for the Lucca Marathon which took place the morning I left town. There is a lovely and large 200 year old park on top of the walls around the city. I was up there a short time, but I'm sure it would be easy to spend hours walking, running, biking or picnicking up there.

I had two nice dinners at Trattoria da Francisco outside the gates quite near the hotel, where I stopped by with no reservation, and at the RS recommended Trattoria da Leo with a reservation (after the concert, I had stopped by to reserve during the day). Both seemed filled with mostly local people.There is also a Grom gelateria on the main shopping street (Fulilungo?), a highlight in any town, at least in my view.

It seems some visitors really love Lucca, and others really don't. I count myself among the lovers. For me the only downside was when I somehow, my own fault I'm sure, got on the train to Pisa going in the wrong direction. After about 30 minutes of stops in small towns I had never heard of, I thought gee, shouldn't I be arriving by now. So I got up to look at the map on the train and realized I was moving away from Pisa, not toward it. So I jumped off the train at the next stop and caught one going back toward Pisa, seeing some new territory but wasting an hour or more, and slightly nervous that a conductor would come by and check my ticket for the stretch where I had none, but thankfully that did not materialize.

Enjoy Lucca Mary!

We also stayed at Hotel Rex. We were arriving by train and only spending one night, leaving early the next morning. It was a decent place in a convenient location with a good breakfast. They also have bikes available for their guests, but they may not be available when you want to use them if your time is limited. We ended up renting bikes insides the walls.

We had a very good dinner at Trattoria de Leo.

My preference was to stay at a hotel inside the walls.

There are many of them (see tripadvisor or another such site).
I climbed all the towers and took hundreds of photo.
I really enjoyed just walking around the town and also saw a musical
concert in a small church one evening.
I was there several years ago and I'll try to find the name of the hotel
I stayed it.
There are also walking tours available in Lucca for additional info on
the area.

I don't have a specific recommendation (you don't mention a price range) but I loved staying inside the walls. There is music everywhere, lots of concerts but also the wonderful sounds of musicians and singers practicing.

We stayed at the B&B Al Tuscany twice and loved it. Very centrally located within the walls and is very charming. They had expanded their breakfast selection last time we were there in 2009 and it was great. There is a small elevator to get to the B&B as it is on the second floor. We had great meals at L'Antico Sigillo.

We really enjoyed being inside the city walls when we were there a couple years ago. We're planning to return in March and expect to stay at the same hotel--Piccolo Puccini.

Also, we'd add another vote for Trattoria de Leo.

In April we had excellent dinners at Osteria Del Neni and Osteria Tosca. Besides the meal itself, the tiramisu at Osteria del Neni was terrific. Have a great trip!

This past Sep we stayed at La Boheme B&B. They have a web site so you can see the rooms. Beautiful room at a good price right in the middle of the walled city. Nice breakfast as well. We had a car and they had a place to park inside the walls just a few blocks away. Two of the places that Rick recommends for food are just a few blocks away and were quite good and good price as well. It is an easy walk out the gate to the train station if you want to take the very short train ride for a day trip to Pisa. Hard to imagine a better place to stay in Luca. Oh, they do have a couple of bikes if you want ride on the wall

This past Sep we stayed at La Boheme B&B. They have a web site so you can see the rooms. Beautiful room at a good price right in the middle of the walled city. Nice breakfast as well. We had a car and they had a place to park inside the walls just a few blocks away. Two of the places that Rick recommends for food are just a few blocks away and were quite good and good price as well. It is an easy walk out the gate to the train station if you want to take the very short train ride for a day trip to Pisa. Hard to imagine a better place to stay in Luca. Oh, they do have a couple of bikes if you want ride on the wall

Mary,

I also stayed at Hotel Rex, and found it a very convenient location. It seems like an older hotel, but the rooms were nicely maintained and very comfortable. It was an easy walk from the hotel to the centre of town.

One restaurant that I quite enjoyed was Trattoria Pizzeria da Francesco, which is just a short distance from the rail station (about an eight minute or so walk from the hotel). I dined there a couple of times, and found there were more locals there than tourists. It seemed to be a very popular place!

Happy travels!

If in Pisa all you want visit is the "Piazza dei Miracoli", then even better than the train is the direct bus from one of the old city gates in Lucca to the entrance of the Piazza. Couldn't be more straightforward than this!

Hi Mary. We were in Lucca for a week about three years ago. We rented an apartment that was just outside the Sant'Anna gate. That is where the bus station is located, and the TI, so it was very convenient. We found having our own apartment was preferable. We had coffee and pastries at the Pasticcieria Sant'Anna a half block away every morning, and were able to make a few meals or bring home dinner from the rosticierria around the corner. It was only a 15-minute walk from the train station too.

We also loved Trattoria da Leo, as a matter of fact, between Lucca, Firenze and Roma it was the best meal I personally had there. We are returning in May and that's the first place I'm going to eat when we arrive!

Have a wonderful time.