Sunday day trip in March from Florence to Pisa and Lucca

Posted by ken (Florida) on 01/07/24 01:11 AM

strong textHave 5 nights in Florence. My daughter (13) and wife want to go to see Leaning Tower of Pisa. I am thinking of adding Luca. We will traveling on a Sunday (only day without plans).

Plan is to take direct train Florence depart 7:53 am 1h 20min Pisa San Rossore arrive 9:13 am.
We have 11 am tickets to climb the tower (refundable and changable).
Take direct train Pisa San Rossore depart 12:55 pm 22min Lucca.
Ride bikes on walls and walk around a few hours.
Lucca depart 5:31 pm 1h 21min arrive 7:54 pm Florence (we are staying pretty close to train station).

Does this sound reasonable? Any suggestions? Thank you.

update......thank you everyone, I appreciate the help. I change my time to 5 p.m. For the morning we will either go to Lucca or spend additional time in Florence depending on how we feel. Will leave it flexible.

Posted by MaryPat

Irving

01/07/24 01:58 AM

3127 posts

You need more time in Lucca and less time in Pisa. Lucca is an attractive town known for its ambience. Riding bikes on the ramparts and walking down some streets in a short amount of time will show you its potential but you won’t experience its charm.

Posted by Suki

01/07/24 02:01 AM

11500 posts

I understand that your family is interested In Pisa, but Lucca is so much better to visit.

Posted by rgmacel

01/07/24 02:38 AM

53 posts

I agree with the above post. Spent 10 days in Lucca and loved every one. Only went to Pisa once, that was all we needed.

Posted by Accidental Southerner

New England

01/07/24 02:44 AM

668 posts

The key piece of info is your statement that your wife and daughter want to see the Tower, so your only question is whether to add Lucca to your day trip. I recommend you don’t.

I spent a month in Lucca last year. It’s a lovely city. My rental agent (a Lucca native who lives in the historic center) says that before the end of March is considered low season and that most shops will be closed on a Sunday afternoon in low season. You won’t arrive in time to have a sit-down lunch before the restaurants close for the afternoon, either. Yes, you can bike the beautiful walls, but you won’t really be able to experience the charm of this charming city as pointed out by a previous poster.

I’ve seen other threads on this forum describing what Pisa offers to round out a day trip in addition to the Tower. Maybe you can get some ideas by searching for those threads. If I find it I’ll post back.

Edited to add: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/pisa-italy

Buon viaggio!

Posted by Accidental Southerner

New England

01/07/24 03:12 AM

668 posts

Here’s another idea: see Lucca in the morning, bike the walls, stroll the lanes and have lunch there. After lunch, train to Pisa for a late afternoon Tower climb before heading back to Florence. I just re-read your post and saw that you have fully changeable Tower tickets, assuming the train timings will work.

Posted by Larry

Carmel, CA, USA

01/07/24 04:14 AM

2456 posts

Some years ago, I was in lovely Lucca, and went to Pisa one afternoon. As I remember, late afternoon was the best light for seeing and photographing the Tower and nearby structures. If you travel from Lucca to Pisa, do not do what I did, which was somehow get on the right train but in the wrong direction. After 30 minutes going the wrong way, I was able get off and quickly catch a train back toward Lucca then Pisa. So, a 30 minute train ride took 90. Fortunately, no train staff checked my ticket while I was “off course”.