Is Lucca Worth Visiting & 1-Day Itinerary for a Day Trip from Florence

You won't be blown away with tons of things to do in Lucca, but that's the point—a (half) day trip to Lucca is perfect if you want to take a break from the touristy, not find more of it. Then again, if you’re on a tight Tuscany itinerary, it makes sense you’re wondering “is Lucca worth visiting?”. Is it that special kind of calm—or is it just too mellow to matter?

I visited Lucca when I was touring Tuscany a few months ago. Italy is my favorite country in Europe and since I travel there so often, I’m able to spend time outside the main tourist cities—this time, Lucca was one of those places. 

So, what did I think? Well, if you’ve already gallery-hopped yourself to death in Florence and are done with the crowds trying to hold up the Leaning Tower in Pisa, Lucca is definitely worth visiting. I wouldn’t skip one of these two heavyweights for it though, and I personally wouldn’t go for more than half a day. 

In this article, I’ll help you decide if you're Team Lucca or not, so you can plan your own Tuscany trip to suit you perfectly. 

Read more from my Italy travel blog.

 

Florence for David, Pisa for the lean... and then the perfect escape to Lucca

 

 

What you’ll find in this article

First, I’ll review the overall vibe and give my quick rankings of what Lucca does well—and what it doesn’t. I’ll also give you my honest take on who Lucca is actually right for and who should skip it altogether. 

Then, I’ll cover the best things to see in Lucca on a half-day trip—from the must-see spots like Torre Guinigi and Piazza dell’Anfiteatro to the lesser-known corners that make the visit memorable. 

 

 

Ready? Here are my rankings:
 

Quick rankings from my Lucca Italy visit

• Value for money: 8/10 

• History and architecture: 8/10

• Things to do in a day: 5/10 (a half-day trip is enough)

• Infrastructure and parking: 7.5/10

• Food and café scene: 6/10

• Overall experience: 75 %

 

Map of Lucca’s top things to see

 

Quick list: What to see on a day trip in Lucca

I’ll get into the details below, but if you’re impatient, here’s a teaser trailer for you of the top places to visit in Lucca on a day trip from Florence: 

• Torre Guinigi—14th-century tower with oak trees on top 
• Duomo di San Martino—Lucca’s main cathedral with a renowned Renaissance tomb
• Piazza dell’Anfiteatro—Oval-shaped piazza built on the ruins of a Roman amphitheater
• Chiesa di San Michele in Foro—Ornate church with a richly decorated marble façade
• Torre delle Ore—Lucca’s tallest tower
• Via Fillungo—Main shopping street
• Mura di Lucca—Fully intact Renaissance walls forming a 4.2 km walking loop
• Basilica di San Frediano—Church known for its golden mosaic
• Piazza Napoleone—Lucca’s largest square
• Puccini Museum—Small museum in the composer’s birthplace

 

Who will actually enjoy a day trip to Lucca?

For me, one of the things that made Lucca worth visiting is that it still belongs to the locals more than the tourists. 

You’ll enjoy Lucca if:

• You love compact, walkable cities that have a nice atmosphere even if you’re not really doing anything.
• You’re into history, but not the kind that needs a 2-hour guided tour to appreciate.
• You want a break from the noise, lines, and chaos of Italy’s A-list destinations.
• You’re road-tripping through Tuscany and want a low-stress stop that still has substance.

Hotel tip: If you decide you want to stay the night, here’s a hotel in Lucca’s historic center I got a personal recommendation for from my travel buddy: Palazzo Dipinto (it has private parking!)
 

 

Lucca’s Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, the round square

 

Who should probably skip Lucca?

Lucca isn’t for everyone. This is a city that shines in a short window—4–6 hours is more than enough to cover the highlights and appreciate the vibe. 

Skip Lucca if:

• You’re the type who needs constant stimulation.

• You’re looking for a place to stay for more than a day, not just a Lucca day trip from Florence or Pisa.

• You want nightlife, cool restaurants, or modern art galleries.

• You expect every Tuscan town to be as grand as Florence or as dramatic as Siena.

In short, it's best appreciated as a day trip from Florence or Pisa and there’s not a ton of things to see in Lucca.

 

This picture from Torre Guinigni perfectly depicts the reality of Lucca, calm, warm and old–doesn’t really strike you as the hub of Tuscan nightlife

 

Let’s move on to my review of Lucca that will help you figure out if Lucca is worth visiting:

 

1. What is Lucca Italy known for? Walls, churches, and atmosphere

In short, Lucca is known for:

• Its 16^th-century Renaissance walls that you can walk on
• Torre Guinigi’s treetop rooftop with the best views (my number 1 thing to see in the city!)
• Being the "city of 100 churches"—a nickname that’s only mildly exaggerated
• Narrow alleys, red rooftops, and a still-intact Roman grid layout
• Being the birthplace of composer Giacomo Puccini
• A chill vibe and a well-preserved medieval charm

 

2. Lucca is worth visiting for the vibe alone

Every day trip to Lucca Italy follows a predictable pattern: walk the walls, climb a tower, see a church, have lunch, see another church, wander the alleys, visit a (round) square, have coffee, leave. 

Lucca’s streets have just enough life for them to be a welcome relief—locals biking past you, small cafés buzzing, Italians italianing (read: speaking with their hands), a piazza with garbage trucks roaring (read on, I’ll explain). It’s not sleepy, it’s just... steady. 

Lucca knows how to do rooftops and backdrops right

 

3. Lucca is easy to visit on a day trip from Florence and Pisa

I found that one of the best things about Lucca is how easy it is to reach—and how little time you actually need there. It’s perfectly placed between two of Italy’s most popular cities: Pisa and Florence. Here’s how to get to Lucca:

• From Pisa to Lucca, the train takes just 30 to 40 minutes.

• From Florence to Lucca, the train ride is about 1 hour and 20 minutes, making it very doable as a day trip.

• If you’re driving, it’s roughly 30 minutes from Pisa and just over an hour from Florence, depending on traffic.

You can leave in the morning, explore Lucca at your own pace, and be back in time for dinner wherever you’re staying. You won’t get overwhelmed with things to do in Lucca either—which is exactly why it works so well as a day trip from Florence or Pisa.

Right off the train and straight into history—thanks, Porta San Pietro

 

4. Getting around Lucca is a piece of cake

Lucca has about 90,000 residents in total, but inside the Renaissance walls there are only around 10,000 people, so I felt like I was visiting a village. The rest of Lucca is basically residential villas, and you won’t be going there at all. 

So, within Lucca, walking is the way to go:

• The wall circuit is 4.2 km (2.6 miles)—you can walk on it, but don’t need to do the whole thing.

• The main sights—all the towers, piazzas, churches—are all within a 750 m diameter circle (that’s about 0.5 miles) in the middle of the walled city center.

• If you're arriving by train, the train station is a 5-minute walk from the south gate. 

 

5. Lucca isn’t foodie heaven, but you won’t go hungry either

Traditional Italian foods have their charms–but honestly, if you’re traveling for food, aim for places like Bologna

 

I didn’t come to Lucca for the food, and I didn’t leave talking about it. I can’t say it was bad, it’s just… fine. Prices are average for Tuscany. 

The restaurants in Lucca are a mix of osterias, trattorias, and small bottegas—basically all the same thing for a tourist visiting Lucca for a day. They’re all places serving classic Italian food in traditional settings. Think exposed wooden beams, tiled floors, old chairs, and grandma’s recipes (ok, there are some more modern options, too). 

Pro tip: This is probably obvious, but here’s your warning that Lucca has no nightlife. The city goes dead quiet after dinner.

My Lucca restaurant tips: 

• Osteria da Pasquale for wines and seasonal dishes
• Ciacco for ham, ham, and more ham (with a view)

 

6. Parking in Lucca is easier than in most places in Tuscany

Forget about parking inside the walled part of the city if you’re visiting in the summer—those cute, narrow alleys barely fit two-way human foot traffic, let alone your rental car! 

Kidding aside, I was actually surprised by the number of parking lots within Lucca’s historical center, but they are tightand fit 10–20 (miniature) cars max. I recommend parking at one of the lots outside of the walls if you’re not comfortable squeezing your car into places it has no right fitting into. 

Pro tip: Parcheggio Mazzini (underground parking lot inside the walls) and Parcheggio Carducci (large parking lot right outside the walls) are good options. 

You can pay at the machine, but I prefer to use the EasyPark app. Better than trying to understand a machine that doesn’t speak English, and you can easily extend your parking time right from your phone. 

 

 

Best things to do in Lucca (on a half-day trip)

I am guessing that since you’re reading my travel blog, you’re after a bit more adventure than just wandering Lucca’s picturesque streets and people-watching over an espresso. 

That’s not to say Lucca has very many exciting things to do, but here is my hand-picked list of 10 worthwhile places to see in Lucca—just enough to fill half a day (or a full day in Lucca if you bolster it with lots of eating and wandering). 

 

Torre Guinigi—my favorite attraction in Lucca Italy

Yes, those are trees. On top of a medieval tower. Lucca, you're weird—in the best way @ Torre Guinigni

 

If you're looking for one of the most iconic things to do in Lucca, this is it. Torre Guinigi is a 14th-century tower topped with a little forest! It’s honestly incredible how strange it feels to see full-grown trees growing out of stone, 44 m (144 ft) above the street.

To get to the top of the tower, we climbed 230 steps. Unlike most towers, the stairs in Torre Guinigi are comfortable, changing from medieval stone to metal about halfway up. Totally worth the EUR 8 ticket price.

 

Duomo di San Martino—just look at that facade!

Not Pisa-famous, but way more peaceful @ Lucca’s Duomo  

 

Lucca has been called the “city of 100 churches,” and while that number is more legend than literal at this point, you’ll notice right away that the city is packed with chapels, basilicas, and bell towers.

Duomo di San Martino in Lucca is one church that easily deserves a spot on your list of things to see in Lucca. It’s built in the same Romanesque-Gothic style as Pisa’s Duomo. Inside, it’s much quieter and less decorated, but the height of the ceilings still gives it some serious presence.

Pro tip: Don’t miss the sarcophagus of Ilaria del Carretto—it’s a little morbid, but I find it beautiful. 

Entry is EUR 3, and yes, it’s easily worth it.

Fun fact: When we visited, Christmas decorations were going up, so yes, all my photos include a truck or a crane. Real life travel obviously gives zero f*cks about my blog photos, haha.

 

Piazza dell’Anfiteatro—Lucca’s amphitheater-shaped square

When your Roman history lesson gets interrupted by noisy garbage trucks @ Piazza dell’Anfiteatro

 

The idea here is cooler than the experience, to be honest. The Piazza dell’Anfiteatro follows the shape of an old Roman amphitheater that once stood here. But once you're inside, it’s mostly tourist restaurants and not much else. 

We walked in during trash collection, and it’s one of my strongest auditory memories of my day in Lucca. Unexpected! 

Note: You’ll probably get lost trying to find the entrance like we did, but that’s half the fun. Keep going, you’ll get there eventually. 

 

Chiesa di San Michele in Foro—Lucca’s most striking church façade

Like someone dared the architect to fit one more arch—and he took it personally @ San Michele in Foro

 

This place to see in Lucca is hard to miss: San Michele in Foro stands in the middle of a proper large-ish square—which makes taking photos easy peasy, finally. It has an incredible façade made of white marble, so many arches and colorful columns, and random animal statues. I spotted bears, lions, centaurs, sirens, etc. 

Inside, the designers obviously ran out of steam, because it’s a lot simpler. But I thought the contrast was kind of nice. You only need 10 minutes to appreciate it and move on. 

No entry fee when I went, which helps.

 

Torre delle Ore—Lucca’s tallest tower that chimes every 15 minutes

No trees this time @ Torre delle Ore

 

Torre delle Ore is your second chance to test your legs. It’s the tallest tower in Lucca and also has a working clock at the top. You’ll hear it ring every 15 minutes—there’s literally no ignoring this Lucca attraction. Especially if you’re up in the tower when it chimes!

The climb feels longer than it is because the stairs are narrower and steeper than Guinigi’s. Still, the views are great, especially if you want to get a photo of Torre Guinigi, not just from it. 

Pro tip: If you’re only doing one of Lucca’s towers, pick the one with trees. 

 

Via Fillungo—Lucca’s main tourist street

Old and new meet at Lucca’s shopping street: Via Fillungo

 

This is Lucca’s main pedestrian shopping street. It’s... nice. But nothing extra. If you prefer your medieval alleys without Foot Lockers and Sephoras, there are plenty of similar ones you can explore in Lucca without the branded window displays. 

 

Mura di Lucca (city walls)—walking the city’s renaissance walls

Part of Lucca’s city walls: Once built for war, now perfect for a walk

 

Walking the walls (or biking, if you prefer a set of wheels) is one of the most unique things to do in Lucca, and one of the things Lucca is most known for. We’re talking a full, intact 4-kilometer (2.5 mile) loop of Renaissance-era fortifications shaded by old trees. 

I just walked part of the loop and stopped at a few of the bastions for the views. You get a good look over both the city and the surrounding hills. Peaceful, completely free—definitely one of the best parts of visiting Lucca.

 

Basilica di San Frediano—a golden mosaic and quiet beauty

Basilica di San Frediano

 

Basilica di San Frediano’s worth a stop mostly for the exterior. The big golden mosaic on the facade catches the sunlight like it’s trying to outshine everything else around it. 

Like many other churches in Lucca, the interior is less exciting, so this stop on your Lucca day trip is mainly just for a quick look. 

 

Piazza Napoleone—Lucca’s largest square

Luccas´s largest square, Piazza Napoleone

 

This is the largest square in Lucca aka a mandatory thing to see in Lucca, but it doesn’t have a ton going on unless there’s an event happening. It’s open, flat, and surrounded by official-looking buildings. You’ll probably pass through it more than once just walking around.

Not a highlight, but not a waste of time either if you’re nearby.

 

Puccini Museum—learn about Lucca’s most famous local

A quick peek into Puccini’s past @ Puccini Museum

 

If you’re a fan of opera or just like exploring old houses (or if you visit in the winter like I did and need to warm up a bit), the Puccini Museum is a quick stop. It’s the birthplace of composer Giacomo Puccini, and they’ve kept it full of period furniture, personal items, and the usual display cases.

I didn’t spend long here, but it does give you some context about a famous local—I felt I owed it to Lucca to care for half an hour. Hey, you never know when you’ll need to pull a nugget of random trivia out of your sleeve! 

 

Final verdict: is Lucca worth a day trip?

 Lucca’s not loud—but it lingers. One quiet, charming day in Lucca is just right

 

Yes, Lucca is worth visiting—especially as a half-day or one-day trip from Florence or Pisa. It’s not a destination on its own, but in combination with the other more famous cities nearby, it’s a solid add-on. 

Everything in Lucca is within walking distance, the history is deep without being overwhelming, and the whole city feels like it’s running at a more human pace.

Just don’t stretch it out too long. One day is more than enough to hit all the best places in Lucca—move on before it feels repetitive. If you decide to stretch it out a bit and need a hotel, try Palazzo Dipinto. 

 

 

 

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