I’ve booked a home outside Luca and now the planning begins. Suggestions for travel from Pisa to home. And would love to hear suggestions on not to miss day trips.
Architecture, wine coffee and food are all the things we love. Two couples, one second time visiting and one 1st trip to Italy.
Thank you
Are you not intending to have a car? How far outside of Lucca will you be?
Pisa to Lucca is a snap by train, but I would really want a car for the area unless staying IN Lucca and visiting only towns on train or bus line.
How many days? Will you have a car? All below are day trips some by train, some by car. Overlooking the obvious choices.
Montecatini Terme
Rocchetta Mattei
Castello Malaspina di Massa
I hope you have a great journey.
Please confirm that you are renting a car for Tuscany! Volterra is an interesting day trip from Lucca.
We will be eight miles from Luca, so open to renting a car, thinking that will be our best option for sight seeing, would love to visit a vineyard, so many choices and we have only been to Italy once on a tour, Italy stole our hearts. Wanting a slower more intimate trip this time. We will be staying here a week and then adding an additional week to our time in Italy, very open to suggestions.
Then I would definitely rent a car. It will be vital if staying outside the town and wanting to explore. Searching by the names of the specific "mini-regions" will help your research: Garfagnana (mountains--I loved Barga), Versilia (coast), Lunigiana (coast), and Lucchesia (sounds like vineyards in this area of villas and gardens).
For example: https://www.visittuscany.com/en/itineraries/journey-through-the-legends-of-the-lucchese-apennines/
https://www.discovertuscany.com/versilia/
https://www.itstuscany.com/en/lucchesia/
PS There is a comics festival in Lucca at the end of October. https://www.luccacomicsandgames.com/it/
If you were on a tour, you have probably already been to Florence. Although Lucca is "on Rick's list", it's a bit west of the towns most often discussed on this board. Google Maps suggests that Greve in Chianti (picked randomly) is two hours away by car.
We visited Lucca as a train daytrip, I think from Florence. It is certainly worth sleeping there, but it's a different trip than (a later trip we made, for hill towns ... ) sleeping outside Sinalunga and driving an hour or less to a dozen popular towns. You have to hope for a reply from a specialist in western towns.
Other posters are absolutely right that you need a car to make the best of this visit. However, I am sure that driving in Pisa is no pleasure. I found parking for Siena to be no pleasure! You need to use the search box top center to learn about IDL, ZTL, and insurance in Italy. I am not a lover of "having a car" (neither of my parents ever owned a car in their entire lives), but I would not visit Tuscany without one. Do not treat the car posts as a distraction from your planning; they are a crucial part of it.
Remember that the better wineries require reservations. We chose to go to ones that had high-end restaurants associated with them for (prepaid) lunch, and had only bar-snacks at our hotel for dinner, after a dip in the pool to cool off. (Check October climate online before taking a home without air conditioning.)
Would love to hear about some of the wineries with good restaurants:-)
Thanks. This is all so helpful and encouraging.
Becky, I mention the three that we went to in this thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/val-d-orcia-wineries
Of course there are more. These three were selected by our upscale hotel Concierge, and booked for us. All had to be paid for in advance. I didn't do any of my own research.
hey hey peggy
you need to rent a car and explore the tuscany countryside. get your IDP (international driving permit) from AAA/CAA for about $25 and 2 passport size photos. (internationaldrivingpermit.org)
every driver will need one, usually get it same day, good for a year. many car rentals may ask and if stopped by the police, don't have means a big fine and return car to rental agency.
take a ride to collodi, home to pinocchio, garzoni gardens, and the butterfly house.
tripsavvy.com/ pinocchio remembered - collodi and vernante italy
visittuscany.com/ hesperidarium garden of citrus
botanical garden of over 200 varieties of citrus in pescia. take a tour
bellaitaliatour.com
half day tour private tour from lucca to barga and garfagnana
airbnb.com/ lucca experiences
look at whay's available, you do not have to stay in an airbnb.
eatwith.com/ pisa
lunch/dinner in a residents home
fattoriaaldotto.it
family owned farm/vineyard right outside lucca with the mountain views. go enjoy wine tasting and food
fattoriadelteso.it
family farm and winery in montecarlo, near lucca
valledelsole.eu
family own winery north of lucca
many small family owned wineries around this area that also make olive oil amongst the trees and mountains to just relax out of the hustle and bustle
tenutaadamo.it
another winery close by lucca
extravirginlucca.com
in lucca, take a cooking class and market tour
la bottega del gelato via santa croce 87 lucca
"best gelateria" in lucca. check the days/times opened
cucina-italiana.com
chef paolo monti in lucca has many half day cooking classes for you to attend. he also has accomodations in the cooking school
viareggio:
take a train from lucca. stroll the sidewalk, stop for lunch somewhere and window shop.
take train to the 5 towns of cinque terre, maybe a boat ride
stop at nessun dorma and take a pesto making class experience and love the sea cliff views with a glass of wine
when you say for your flight from pisa, where are you flying to USA?
have a great vacation cruising and roaming around the area, enjoy
aloha
Thank you, that's amazing, Princess Popule, so helpful. My husband and I are traveling from Minneapolis, MN and our daughter and son in law from Los Angeles. All of your suggestions sound exciting and really helpful for our planning. We will definitely take your advise on the driving permit. And I will check out all of your suggestions, thanks for the confidence boost.
hey hey peggy
you're welcome. don't know where you plan on going after this area of tuscany in italy. it's harvest and festival season, many towns/villages will have them. either ask your host/hostess or TI kiosk in piazza when and where.
we've been to a few and so much fun, eat drink and be merry
turismo.pisa.it
pisa food and wine festival oct 14-17, 2022 city center (piazza vittorio emanuele II)
kept you on this side with so much to see and do. we did 2 private tours from florence to "tuscany" with drivers. stopped at a small family owned winery in poggibonsi, was nice. after that it was to siena and san gimignano. parking was so so crazy, 6 to 7 busloads at same time, cafes was butt to butt crowded, walking thru san g was like commute traffic, hard to get into shops or even sit somewhere, time limit at areas then back on bus/van, i'm a wanderer/window shopper, relax with a glass of wine. don't like to be herded like cattle. many many people all mention these places and i say go for it, i won't be there.
go to less mentioned places and enjoy, italy has so much to offer with places you love and others you'll never see.
had 3 great friends and a 32 year old daughter of one, went to venice and did a private tour to the beautiful prosecco hills with a fabulous driver/guide and enjoyed it along with having lunch at a cozy restaurant overlooking the homes/wineries. tasting so much local vineyards prosecco, bought few bottles for night time happy hour next day along canal and in gondola that he sang to us and we celebrated with a bottle. we just had some crazy/enjoyable times together. then off to paris for another champagne private tour in reims.
aloha
Thanks I am checking that website now. We are thinking if we add time to our trip it will before we arrive at the home outside of Lucca. We haven't booked our flights yet, so once we look at pricing maybe that will steer us in one direction or another.
