21 lovely things to do in Lucca, Italy

If you fancy escaping to a walled Tuscan city, here are 21 of the best things to do in Lucca, Italy, which should give you a good flavour of the place. I spent two nights in Lucca as part of a wider Tuscany trip, and this wee selection of sights, eats and activities is more than enough to pack into a short stay.

Lucca is known for being the ‘city of a hundred churches’. I’m not sure whether that’s factually accurate, but there are a lot of them. You’ll enjoy visiting if that’s your thing. But if you’re doing a longer Italian trip and the thought of traipsing round yet another church makes your heart sink (we’ve all been there), fear not. There are plenty of other things to enjoy in Lucca, not least getting your 10,000 steps a day in walking the extensive medieval walls that encircle the city. There’s also a tower with trees growing on top and stunning views. Oh and a beautiful yellow piazza in a former Roman amphitheatre, where you can sit with a glass of wine and watch the world go by. 

If that sounds up your street, read on for some things to do in Lucca that I personally recommend…

Things to do in Lucca, Italy

1. Visit the Piazza dell’Anfiteatro

Piazza dell’Anfiteatro is the prettiest spot in Lucca. Yellow-painted, green-shuttered buildings surround the ovular piazza, creating a sort of terraced effect that opens up at four ‘gateways’ to enter through. It’s sort of a charming walled square within a walled city. If you like the huge square in Siena, you’ll probably like this mini yellow version.

This is a good place to head to at the end of your first day in Lucca for an aperitivo and a people watch. Of course, it attracts a lot of tourists but it’s actually got some nice places for a drink. I wouldn’t normally recommend drinking in a main square in Italy because they tend to be so much more expensive and they’re often where all the rubbish touristy cafés are, but Lucca doesn’t seem to suffer from this. I had an Aperol spritz at one of the bars and it was a 10/10. 

Unsurprisingly given its name, Piazza dell’Anfiteatro was once a Roman amphitheatre. Not much from its original structure remains, but you can still picture it hosting some gladiators’ duels because of its elliptical shape. If you want to spot some of the original walls, go to the outer perimeter and walk along the Via dell’Anfiteatro. You can see some in particular in front of Piazza Scalpellini.

2. Walk around the city walls

Lucca is known for its medieval city walls that still surround most of the old town. Most walled cities ended up with their walls being moved or knocked down as the centre grew and modernised, but Lucca has managed to keep its walls intact. Well done, Lucca.

The whole wall is about 4km. You walk on top of it, along a sort of tree-lined boulevard that makes for a good trek if you want to burn off some pasta. There are some nice views over the city and the Tuscan hills, and you’ll be among local cyclists, joggers and dog walkers going about their business. The walls also have 11 bastions sticking out at strategic intervals. Some of these have benches and cafés on, and most of them you can get off the walls at down some steps if you’re bored with the walk and need a gelato.

I walked the walls on my trip fully on one day, on top of other walking. I only realised I’d done 30,000 steps when I looked at my phone as it didn’t feel like it at all. Bonus.

3. See Lucca’s duomo

What visit to an Italian city would be complete without a bit of duomo action? Despite being a small city, Lucca of course has its own duomo, the Cattedrale di San Martino. Unlike Milan and Florence, it’s not got a big dome on it but it does have a great big bell tower, which is only half finished. This accounts for the exposed brick on the lower half of it, which I thought was just a style statement (who doesn’t want exposed brick in their house to this very day?).

You can also go in for a small fee. Climb up the bell tower for views of the city (although you probably want to save your tower-climbing for later…) or look at the various works of art in the main body of the building.

One of these artworks is the Volto Santo, an eight-foot-tall dark wooden carving of Jesus on a cross. This is a big deal in Lucca and is the reason behind one of its festivals, the Luminaria di Santa Croce. Every 13 September at dusk, the city’s streets are filled with thousands of candles to light the way. A procession follows the route the sculpture is said to have taken when it was first brought to the city. Representatives from international churches attend, and someone carries the sculpture itself. They end at the duomo later in the evening. I’m not religious one bit but this sounds like a really atmospheric thing to see; something to bear in mind if you’re planning a Tuscan trip in September.

Oh and finally, the cathedral is dedicated to St Martin of Tours. Apparently he’s the patron saint of beggars, wool-weavers and tailors, geese, vintners and innkeepers, and France. I think he just picked those to sound eclectic on the ‘interests and hobbies’ section of his online dating profiles.

4. Climb up the Guinigi Tower for views and oak trees

This was my favourite of all the things to do in Lucca that I’m recommending here. So make sure you do it!

The city has several historical towers, but none are anything like the unique 45-metre-high Torre Guinigi. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and I’ve been up a lot of towers on European city breaks in my time.

This bad boy has its own rooftop forest. That’s right, it has trees growing on the top of the tower. Oak trees no less, which symbolise rebirth and have become icons of the city.

Built in the 14th century, this tower is in the Romanesque/Gothic style with arched windows and more exposed brickwork. You can look out of the windows as you climb up, so it’s not one of those towers that’s really closed in. It’s also not too bad a climb at all, and believe me I’d tell you if it was because of course I wasn’t wearing sensible shoes for it. 

It’s around 5€ to go up the tower. This is well worth it for the views of all the rooftops against the backdrop of hills, framed by the branches of the oak trees. Lovely stuff. 

5. Have a local wine and watch the world go by

Lucca is a small city, so I’m not recommending trying to cram every moment with action like you should do in Rome or Venice. Unless you’re on a really tight schedule, you should set aside an early evening to do very little. If the weather’s ok, sit outside in a piazza and watch the world go by, drink in hand.

Look out for bars serving organic local wines you can try. There are some really good ones.

6. See the San Michele in Foro

Another church in the centre of Lucca, the Basilica di San Michele in Foro has a facade you’ll remember. Arches and columns galore. They’ve really gone to town with the amount of detail when building this. Above each row of arches, you’ll see sculptures of various wild creatures. I thought this facade was actually more impressive than the main duomo’s.

You’ll spot that there’s a big angel statue on top of the many arches (as shown below). Apparently, its wings are flexible so they can move in the wind! I always try to see them moving but even on a gusty day I didn’t see even a twitch. But the internet reliably tells me that on special occasions, the church staff go up and give the wings a wiggle from behind so the people below can see them flapping away. 

You can go into the church for free, but to be honest it’s all about the outside details.

7. Go to the Puccini House Museum

Puccini, the famous opera composer, was born in Lucca. His home is now a small museum, set up as it would have been when he lived there. You can see his actual piano and personal letters, along with costumes and various opera-related memorabilia.

I won’t lie, this is the one thing on this list of things to do in Lucca that I have pretty much no interest in, and am purely adding it for your information.

But I always enjoy going to the homes of historical figures I’m interested in, so if Puccini is your man then you’ll probably want to add this to your plans.

8. Browse the shops and boutiques along Via Fillungo

Via Fillungo is Lucca’s main shopping street for clothes and accessories, located in the heart of the historic centre.

It’s cobbled, mostly pedestrianised and winding, with some bits opening into little squares, so it’s a lovely place to wander and browse. Like across most of Italy, they stay open into the evening on weekdays so it’s bustling until late. 

I bang on about this in every guide I write but I always want there to be affordable clothes shops that we don’t have in the UK, wherever I travel to. Lucca has a few nice little boutiques that are around the high street price point but the vast majority are more Max Mara than H&M in terms of price. Bear that in mind for the sake of your bank balance!

10. Visit the Orto Botanico di Lucca for greenery… and ghosts 

You can always rely on botanical gardens as a good thing to do on any city break. Lucca is no exception to this rule.

The gardens are only small, but make for a nice little detour if you’re exploring the city on a sunny day or if you’re walking the walls. It’s 5€ to enter (at the time of writing, but do check). You can mooch round for about 20 minutes easily, taking in the small greenhouses, trees and pond. There are some terrapins lurking in the water, too.

You might also like to know that Lucca’s local spooky legend is heavily linked to the gardens and their pond. I bloody love a ghost story, so here’s the lowdown…

Spooky side story: Lucida Mansi and the pond

Lucida Mansi was a rich noblewoman, born in Lucca in 1606 and renowned for being a hotty but also very vain. In the words of The Streets, she was ‘fit but my gosh don’t you know it?’. She loved herself so much that she had mirrors installed all over her house. If she was here in 2020, she’d probably take a lot of selfies. 

Anyway, she was checking herself out in the mirror one day and noticed a wrinkle. Join the club, love. But she wasn’t happy about this at all. She loved partying and wanted to always be the belle of the ball. So she had a good cry over it and was probably about to look up what the best botox clinic in Lucca was… when a man appeared in front of her out of nowhere!

Yeah, you guessed it. It was the Devil. He promised her 30 more years of youth and a wrinkle-free forehead, but he’d then be back for payment. The payment had to be her soul. Cue dramatic music. Deal or no deal, Lucida? You can probably guess. She accepted the deal, with no hesitation, and continued living the high life as a total babe.

After the 30 years of smooth skin has passed, Lucida was unsurprisingly bricking it. The Devil turned up and although she begged him to spare her, he wasn’t interested. He dragged her screaming around the city walls (for 4km, which you’ll know if you were paying attention earlier on in this blogpost) on his flaming chariot. When he completed his circuit, he sank her with the chariot INTO THE POND IN THE BOTANICAL GARDENS.

Legend has it that just before midnight every Halloween, you can hear the sound of hooves and even glimpse the burning chariot diving in the pond. And if you stick your head under the water, you’ll spot Lucida’s face in the murky depths. I am obviously not recommending you try this, for various reasons. But I hope you enjoy the story, and the gardens.

11. Have a local craft beer in De Cervesia Beershop

If you’re into craft beer, go to De Cervesia Beer & Shop. It’s mostly bottles but they have a couple on tap too from local microbreweries. Tuscany might be more known for wine, but there’s a growing craft beer scene. Although it’s described as a shop, there are a few tables at the back where you can sit and enjoy working your way through the selection. 

12. Walk round Piazza Napoleone

Not too far from Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, there’s another piazza worth seeing: Piazza Napoleone. Napoleon’s sister, Elisa Bonaparte Baciocchi, led the Principality of Lucca for 10 years in the 1800s. She took the opportunity to re-name the piazza and had it all done up, including planting the sycamores around its edge. 

Keep an eye out for glass blocks around the piazza. These were put in so visitors can see some of the foundations of the buildings demolished in the Napoleonic era.

The piazza is also home to the Lucca Summer Festival, usually in July. They get some big international names so if you’re planning a summer visit, bear this in mind as crowds and prices for hotels will both go up!

13. Admire the brilliant street art

Although there’s probably more frequent street art to spot in Florence, Lucca had its fair share.

There’s a local Florentine street artist known as Blub (Instagram link here), who paints icons of the past wearing diving masks against a blue square background. She or he has a few pieces around Lucca (sadly my two photos of them are rubbish!) but there are also pieces by other street artists that you can spot.

If anyone know who did the below one, let me know in the comments.

14. Try the local sweet treat, buccellato di Lucca

Buccellato is a sweet bread with raisins in, formed into a ring shape and eaten for breakfast or a snack. You can find it in most bakeries around the city, and definitely in Vecchi Sapori di Lucca.

Be warned though, it’s flavoured with a bit of aniseed. I am not a fan. But ‘they’ say that if you go to Lucca and don’t try buccellato, you didn’t really go to Lucca, so I forced a bit down. It’d be nice without the aniseed.

I googled buccellato from my hotel room in Lucca and found something that said the first reference to buccellato was in an 1485 document stating that a woman had killed her husband with a poisoned buccellato! Perhaps he just had a bad reaction to the horrors of aniseed…?

Anyway, it’s always fun to try the local pastry/bread/cake, so keep an eye out for buccellato and buy one to share. Or not to share, if you like aniseed. 

15. Have lunch at Soup in Town

If you’re in Italy and don’t eat meat or cheese, I feel your pain. It’s entirely possible to survive, and even thrive, in the land of pig and cow products, but it requires planning ahead.

One place I usually pop into in Lucca is Soup in Town, a great little spot for lunch. Although it advertises itself as being a soup café, it often has salads or Buddha bowls on the menu. These are much more interesting than the soups IMO. Last time I was there, I had a bowl of black rice, grilled vegetables and mustardy sauce. This was a welcome break from veggie pasta/pizza that I always end up living off in Tuscany.

16. See the facade on the Basilica of San Frediano

How’s that for a mosaic? The intricacies and colour on it are really striking.

Definitely worth hovering outside until the light catches all the gold detailing for a perfect shot, before going inside to see #16 on this list…

17. Meet the mummified body of the ‘Incorruptible’ St. Zita

After getting your fill of the beautiful facade, you can head inside the Basilica of San Frediano for a few euro (a very nominal fee). You may be all churched out if you’ve been in lots during your time in Italy, but this one has something a bit more unusual inside…

You’ll be able to see the naturally mummified body of a woman, who was deemed a saint, on display in a glass casket.

She’s St Zita, patron saint of Lucca, but also of servants/household staff and of lost keys. I wonder whether she knows where all the hotel key cards I’ve lost over the years are.

Here’s her backstory.

Zita was a servant working for a rich family in Lucca. She was apparently known for her chirpy demeanour and for giving leftover bread to the poor. After years of hard work, the family eventually promoted her to head housekeeper. But much like Jenny from the Block, she didn’t forget where she came from. She continued sneaking bread out of the kitchen in order to feed the poor. One day, a fellow servant snitched on her for ‘stealing’ bread. How mean is that? So the family sent someone to search her, but when they pulled at her apron to release the stolen bread, flowers burst out instead. They couldn’t sack her based on that. Ha. So she carried on being lovely and charitable until the day she died. And on that day, legend has it that the church bells spontaneously began to ring…

Given all these antics, her fame spread after her death and in 1580, her body was exhumed. It was found to be ‘incorruptible’ (naturally mummified), so was put on display for you and me to see to this very day. It gives me the creeps, but if you like stuff like that then it’s worth seeing.

18. Climb up the Torre delle Ore

The Torre delle Ore is another tower that you can climb to the top of for views. It’s the white one in the below photo.

Why would you want to climb another bloody tower when you’ve already climbed a great one WITH TREES ON, I hear you cry (sort of)? Good question. Obviously the view is pretty much the same. But if you want to take a photo of Guingi Tower and its beautiful trees, you can do it from here.

Just be aware the bells are loud AF if they go off while you’re up there. Not good if you’ve had too much Tuscan wine the night before.

19. Do your research if you want some vegan (or international) food

Now, as much as I like Lucca in general, the food situation there is HARD WORK. If you don’t eat meat or cheese in Tuscany, you have to do even higher levels of planning than you do for eating in Italy overall, because Tuscany really is meat and cheese heavy. I always try to plan ahead with this in mind. But I have to say, Lucca is one of the hardest places to avoid meat and cheese in the whole of Italy. 

I decided to ask in a local Facebook group why it seems to always be a challenge in Lucca. The answer is apparently because in 2008, the city of Lucca banned international food being served within the city walls. This was in a bid to keep food more ‘local’ (i.e. based around meat and cheese). So many of the usual go-to veggie or fish options that Italy does well would fall under ‘international’ and might not be allowed.

Anyway, if you’re struggling, the Happy Cow website/app is always a saviour. It’s still possible to eat good vegan/veggie dishes in Lucca, if you put the research in. And actually looking on Happy Cow while writing this up, it looks like a few more options have opened up since I last went. Progress!

20. Wander the cobbled streets and get some pretty photographs

Unlike Rome, Venice or Florence, where there are specific sights you’d probably want to head to first, the whole of Lucca’s old city is like a living museum. Just walking around its narrow alleyways and cobbled streets (which are mostly pedestrianised) is an experience in itself, rather than it having one ‘big’ attraction after another. 

One of my favourite little spots was this square and gorgeous wisteria adorning a wall.

21. Visit the Palazzo Pfanner, a 17th-century villa with gardens

The Palazzo Pfanner is a small but pretty villa just inside the walls of Lucca, a bit of which is open to the public for 6€ to enter.

Inside, you’ll find a few rooms laid out as they would have been lived in, and a collection of gruesome-looking medical instruments because the original owner was a surgeon. The inside didn’t wow me, but I liked walking round the beautiful Baroque garden. It doesn’t take long as it’s only little, but it’s well looked after and has some nice fountains, fragrant lemon trees and lovely flowering borders.

Things to do in Lucca, Italy – useful information for your trip

Where to stay in Lucca

I massively recommend booking somewhere near the duomo so you can be right in the centre and enjoy the view. It’s unlikely you’ll be doing a long stint in Lucca (most people seem to visit as part of a longer Tuscany adventure) so splurging a little bit might be worth it.

Here are a few option; all prices are correct at the time of writing:

• Albergo San Martino & Depandance – Around 115€ a night, this is bang in the centre and gorgeous.
• Perle d’Ambra – For 150€, this B&B would be great if you’re arriving by train and looks really cosy.
• Stence Apartment – This is swankier and 220€ a night, but WOW – what a majestic apartment. If you’re travelling in a group, it sleeps up to six people.
• The Tuscanian Hotel – If you’d prefer a hotel over an apartment, 270€ a night will get you a beautiful room in this one.

How to get around Lucca

Everything is walkable. It’s a small city. However, people who aren’t as lazy as me might want to hire a bike as it’d be ideal for going around the city walls or popping to a winery just outside the city. You definitely don’t need a car – in fact, you can do quite a bit of Tuscany by train (Florence and Siena, for example).

When to go to Lucca

Spring is my favourite time of year for going anywhere in Italy. As long as you avoid the height of summer and the depths of winter (unless you’re well ‘ard), you’ll be fine. It’s nicer to visit when things are quieter, especially places like Lucca that are small enough to feel a bit overrun by tourists when it’s very busy.

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