Currently our “home town”, this sweet walled city is located in Tuscany, central Italy. A perfect location for visiting other sites in this area. Lucca is well known for its intact Renaissance era city walls. Since the times of Julius Caesar, Lucca has been an important hub of activity.

The inner city of Lucca is almost traffic free, with about 10,000 people living within the walls. It is the perfect place to stroll, sit with an espresso and watch people or take off to visit nearby sites such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Arrival
Entering a walled city can be a challenge. The inter city is enclosed in a big circular wall and finding the right port to enter can be a little stressful. You want to be close to parking while making sure you have not entered into a pedestrian only area! It was a good feeling to locate the correct gate and park the car. I am not kidding, this is an “ah ha”, orgasmic moment when you have arrived in the right place without a scratch on car or body. Now, how to find our accommodations.

 

Accommodations

We found this lovely, two bedroom, two bath apartment on VRBO. Well priced and located, it was almost perfect; almost, except for the 46 very steep stairs to the fourth floor unit. Yes, that is our window at the top!

 

Still we enjoyed the great view of Piazza Anfiteatro from our kitchen window and the comfort and convenience an apartment offers.

The City

Lucca is not filled with exceptional historical monuments but there is plenty to see. Among the sites are the Duomo di SanMartino, the Guinigi Tower and the birthplace of Puccini.

 

 

Lucca is full of  charm at every turn.

 

A stroll along the small avenues and alleys is an endless source of uniqueness; high fashion shops, art galleries, fab shoe and purses boutiques and the proverbial tourist joints.

Lucca Cuisine
There are lots of options for eating and drinking in Lucca. We are enjoying espresso and a baguette each morning in our apartment while listening to the sounds of the businesses in the Piazza Anfiteatro prepare to open for the new day.

There are many small bakeries, butchers and groceries where we can purchase local foods to snack on in our cozy apartment.

Lucca has a multitude of restaurant options but we opted for eating in the Piazza where we could get the best view for watching people, enjoy the street performers and get acquainted with a local establishment where the staff treated us exceptionally well. There was probably better food but not a better overall Lucca experience for us. These warm, friendly servers treated us very well allowing us to set at their front row spot on the Piazza Anfiteatro.

Another Favorite

This wine bar has a great selection of local wines and foods. Motto bene!

Market Day
The city is filled with small shops and larger grocery stores but the “Market Day” is still an interesting experience. Trucks filled with everything you could ever want or need. This is the place the locals shop; often with great frenzied excitement!

Lucca has been a fabulous place for us this week. We felt so at home we decided to do the laundry here. Small town charm with everything a for a traveler to enjoy.

We are still exploring central Italy for a few more days but for now I leave you with a toast from Bill, enjoying Vin Santo and biscotti.

Cheers!