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Stemma di Lucca

Tuscany · Lucca

Lucca

The provincial capital ringed by four kilometers of intact sixteenth-century walls, birthplace of Puccini and the only fully walled Italian city of its scale.

Known for

  • THE WALLS

    Four kilometers of intact sixteenth-century Renaissance city walls, the only complete walls of their scale left in Italy, now a tree-lined promenade.

  • PUCCINI

    Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca in 1858; his birthplace is a museum and the Puccini Festival runs each summer at nearby Torre del Lago.

  • LUCCA COMICS & GAMES

    Annual comics, games and pop-culture festival running each October-November, the largest of its kind in Europe with around 300,000 attendees.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J11°
  • F14°
  • M16°
  • A18°
  • M23°
  • J27°
  • J31°
  • A31°
  • S26°
  • O21°
  • N16°
  • D12°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Paolino di Lucca, 12 July

Why come

Lucca sits on the Serchio plain, a Roman colony from 180 BC laid out in a grid still visible in the centro storico. The current walls run four kilometers around the city, twelve meters high and thirty meters wide, built between 1513 and 1645 and never breached. They are now a tree-lined elevated promenade circling the old city, and one of the only complete Renaissance city walls left in Italy.

The Piazza dell'Anfiteatro preserves the elliptical footprint of a second-century Roman amphitheater that once held ten thousand spectators; the ring of houses follows the arena's exact shape. The Cattedrale di San Martino holds the Volto Santo crucifix and Jacopo della Quercia's tomb of Ilaria del Carretto. Giacomo Puccini was born here in 1858. The town gets the Lucca Comics & Games festival every October-November, the largest comics convention in Europe at 300,000 attendees.

We've been

Feature from our free newsletter

Lucca | The City You Cannot Photograph

We came in through Porta Santa Maria on a Tuesday afternoon in February, with the sun low and the wind off the Apuane sharp enough to flatten Sophia's coat against her, and there was nobody there. A man in a green trench was walking a dog. Two old women were having a conversation on a bench inside the wall, slowly, in dialect, with long pauses.

From the Lucca letter, May 2026

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

How to get there

From Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 49 minutes by car.

Bologna (BLQ) is about 1h 49m away.

By car from the centre of Pisa 34 minutes or Florence 1h 8m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Pisa, Florence or Bologna?

Coming by train into Livorno Centrale? Lucca is about 43 minutes away by road.

Every town within reach of Florence / Pisa airport.

Lucca — photo 1
Lucca — photo 2

What to see

  • Mura di Lucca

    Four kilometers of intact sixteenth-century walls, 12 meters high and 30 meters wide, built 1513-1645, now an elevated tree-lined promenade.

  • Piazza dell'Anfiteatro

    Elliptical square preserving the footprint of a second-century Roman amphitheater that once seated ten thousand.

  • Cattedrale di San Martino

    Eleventh-century cathedral with a Romanesque-Gothic façade, the Volto Santo crucifix and Jacopo della Quercia's tomb of Ilaria del Carretto from 1406.

  • San Michele in Foro

    Romanesque church built on the site of the Roman forum, with a four-tier marble façade and a Filippino Lippi panel inside.

  • Torre Guinigi

    Fourteenth-century brick tower with seven holm oaks growing from its rooftop terrace, 45 meters above the centro storico.

  • Casa Natale di Puccini

    Giacomo Puccini's birthplace on Corte San Lorenzo, now a museum with the Steinway he used to compose Turandot.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Lucca fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

We’ve tried

What we got up to

Restaurants, walks, swims — the things we actually did in and around Lucca, each with the piece we wrote about it.

We recommend

Where to eat and stay

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • L'ImbutoRistorante

    L'Imbuto has two Gambero Rosso forks (89/100), a place in L'Espresso's Top 300 and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Antica Locanda di SestoRistorante

    Antica Locanda di Sesto carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand, plus a place on Italy's historic-locali register.

  • Buca di Sant'AntonioRistorante

    Buca di Sant'Antonio has a place on Italy's historic-locali register and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • GiglioRistorante

    Giglio has two Gambero Rosso forks (87/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Il MecenateRistorante

    Il Mecenate carries a Slow Food snail, plus a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • All'OlivoRistorante

    All'Olivo carries a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Da Giulio in PelleriaTrattoria

    Da Giulio in Pelleria carries a Gambero Rosso listing.

  • La DrittaTrattoria

    A Gambero Rosso listing, at La Dritta.

  • MecenateTrattoria

    Mecenate has two Gambero Rosso prawns to its name.

  • NidaRistorante

    Nida holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

  • Ristoro della Fattoria SardiRistorante

    Ristoro della Fattoria Sardi carries one Gambero Rosso fork (79/100).

  • Hotel Albergo Villa MartaHotel

    A place in the Michelin hotel guide, at Hotel Albergo Villa Marta.

Signature dish

Tordelli lucchesiPasta

Meat-filled pasta in a slow ragù, served at feast days alongside buccellato, the town's ring-shaped anise bread.

See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 88,798
  • A local hubi
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 49 min drive
  • Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 8 min drive

Common questions

What is Lucca known for?
Lucca is the provincial capital ringed by four kilometers of intact sixteenth-century walls, birthplace of Puccini and the only fully walled Italian city of its scale.
Where is Lucca?
Lucca is a comune in the province of Lucca, in Tuscany, at 19 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Lucca?
Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 49 minutes by car.
Can you get to Lucca without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Pisa to Lucca?
About 34 minutes by car.
When is the best time to visit Lucca?
Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 16 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Lucca?
Yes. Rievocando Lucca and Festa di Santa Croce a Lucca. May is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Lucca?
Pontedera, Trento and Ascoli Piceno.
How many people live in Lucca?
88,798 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

  • Elevation: 19 m
  • Population: 88,798
  • Surface area: 185.79 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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