Where to stay in Tuscany? Lucca or Siena?

The only negative to Lucca is that it is located so far west in Tuscany while Siena is more central.
When we went to Lucca we stayed inside the walls for four days and enjoyed it. But we have stayed in Siena or nearby four or five times, centrally located.

Suki, thanks for your comments! Did you have a rental car when you stayed in Siena? Was parking difficult? Our daughter stayed inside the walls of Lucca, too, and they parked their rental car in a public lot just outside the walls. So it was convenient. Just wondering what Siena will be like for parking, especially because it is hilly.

I have stayed in both and agree with Suki.

Old town Lucca is smaller, flat and less touristy than Siena. It is better connected with public transportation because it is in the flat valley so trains run in practically every direction. Siena is about 5x larger than old town Lucca, hilly and more dramatic and much more touristy.

Lucca is close to Pisa and the coast but further from famous Tuscan towns like San Gimignano and Volterra while Siena is also more in what people think of as "Tuscany" with the misty vistas and rolling hills.

I don't think you can go wrong with either but they are just different flavors of experience. If you are renting a car and are looking for the "Tuscany Tour" experience I think Siena is probably going to be more what you are looking for. I really like Lucca and I'm planning on staying there for several weeks later this year but I don't know if it can compete with having a sprtiz on Piazza del Campo at dusk and suddenly having a full flag display, drum and horn parade as one contrada has decided to remind everyone that they won the last Palio.

My $.02, hope that helps. Have a great trip either way,
=Tod

If you have a car, pick a town in the Val d’Orcia or Chianti. Lucca you wouldn’t want a car, Siena you can get permission to park in the ZTL, but getting in and out takes more time than in a smaller town or village.

I've been to both and agree with the others that Siena is a more central location and will likely offer more sightseeing opportunities. I found Siena to be very vibrant and interesting, especially in the evenings and there are some nice restaurants there. As I recall, some of the hotels in Siena have free parking, and you might get further information on that in the Rick Steves Italy guidebook.

As you'll have a rental car, I imagine you're aware that each driver will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You can easily obtain those at any AAA / CAA office for a small fee. You'll also have to be very careful to avoid ZTL (limited traffic) zones that exist in many towns in Italy. Each pass through one will result in hefty fines!

Thank you so much to everyone who replied! Your advice and comments are very helpful.

Tod, I appreciate your detailed comparison between Lucca and Siena. From what I have read, I got the impression that "they are just different flavors of experience" as you said. What makes decisions difficult is that we like and enjoy both experiences.

N_Kingdom, How do you get permission to park in the ZTL in Siena? I will research towns in the Val d'Orcia, too.

Ken, my husband does all the driving, and he always gets the IDP from our local AAA office. Thanks for the reminder. If we decide to stay in Siena, will definitely look for hotels with free parking.

I like that Siena is more centrally located, and it looks beautiful. I also think we would like Lucca, too, because it's smaller and less touristy. I can add an extra night to Tuscany so we could have 5 nights instead of 4. Would it make sense to divide up our Tuscany stay and spend 2 nights in Lucca and 3 nights in Siena?

Thanks,
Karen

As for Lucca being less touristy, that is subjective. Lucca was on the well trodden path when I first visited Italy, quite a while ago, and it has only gotten more popular. I liked being up in the mountains around Barga though--you could even stay there and visit Lucca on a day trip.
I have not been to Siena, but I find larger places offer more opportunities to get to back streets, etc., and can feel less "touristy" as a result.
You might look at it as choosing between mountain and typical Tuscan scenery--the day trips may offer more of a comparison than the two towns.

I've visited both; Lucca just recently.

The comments you've gotten are spot on. They are both awesome, just very different. Both are popular with tourists but Siena is next level. That popularity is well-earned with a really magical and, as you say, dramatic historical center. Lucca is a slow simmer that I appreciated a lot. I found it had more slices of daily Italian life mixed in with the tourism.

But if you haven't been to Siena, go there.

Siena.