Lucca is 74km from Florence and around 1 hour 30 minutes by regional train. It is one of the best-preserved walled cities in Italy and works well as either a day trip or a one-night break from Florence. After two or three days in one of the most intense art cities in the world, Lucca provides a complete change of pace.

Why This Combination Works

Florence is dense with masterpieces and demands serious attention. Lucca is unhurried, compact, and genuinely lovely without requiring a museum strategy to enjoy it. The contrast is the point: one city asks a lot of you, the other lets you slow down.

Three to four days in Florence, then one day or one night in Lucca. A day trip covers the walls, the main piazzas, and a proper lunch comfortably. An overnight adds the pleasure of being there when the coach tours have gone and the streets belong to residents again.

Getting Between the Cities

Regional trains run from Florence Santa Maria Novella to Lucca several times per hour. Journey time is approximately 1 hour 20 to 1 hour 35 minutes depending on the service. Tickets cost around €8 to €10 each way and do not need advance booking. Trains arrive at Lucca station, which is just outside the city walls. Everything inside the walls is walkable from there.

Which City to Visit First

Do Florence first. Spend your main days there and treat Lucca as a late-trip addition. Arriving in Lucca after Florence makes the calm feel earned.

What Each City Adds to the Trip

Florence

The Uffizi, the Accademia, the Duomo, the Pitti Palace, the Oltrarno neighbourhood: Florence asks you to make choices because you cannot do everything. Pre-book the major museums; queues without a reservation can run to two hours. The city also has excellent food, particularly at the Mercato Centrale, and the streets south of the Arno are less touristy and worth exploring.

Lucca

The city's 4km Renaissance wall is completely intact and wide enough to cycle along the top. Bike rental is easy and cheap, around €3 to €4 per hour, and cycling the walls is one of the better things you can do in Tuscany. Inside the walls, the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro is built on the oval footprint of a Roman amphitheatre and is now ringed with cafés. The Torre Guinigi, a medieval tower with oak trees growing from its roof, offers a good view for a small fee. San Michele in Foro and the Cathedral of San Martino are both worth brief visits. Lucca is also a strong food town: the olive oil from the surrounding hills is excellent, and the trattorias inside the walls are significantly cheaper than their Florence equivalents.