Private car transfer from Florence to Lucca

Pisa is only a short distance southwest from Lucca, so lean into Italian culture with a pit stop in the old city center to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Have lunch on one of its many restaurant patios and stretch your legs with a walk through its cobbled alleyways.

Having a Daytrip driver behind the wheel means having a local expert to ask questions and learn about the ordinary life of Italians. You’ll have the freedom and flexibility you won’t find in a bus schedule, all while making memories that last a lifetime. Welcome to Lucca!

Luca is laid out in a typical medieval style with narrow, cobbled streets and small plazas, but with some surprising features. The main square, Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, is less of a square and more of an oval! The square was built on the ruins of an ancient Roman amphitheater and follows the original elliptical shape.

Another unique feature is Lucca’s Renaissance-era city walls. Built between the 16th and 17th centuries, they have remained relatively unchanged despite centuries of use. The walls encircle the historic city center and are used as an elevated promenade for walking and biking around the city. Large trees grow out of the tops of the walls to shade the 3.1 miles (5 km) of pathways.

For any Italian opera fans, Lucca is home to a familiar face. Opera composer Giacomo Puccini was born in Lucca. His most famous works are the operas La Bohème and Madama Butterfly, which have left their mark on the musical world. Puccini’s childhood home in Lucca is now a museum.

Download offline maps of your scheduled stops

You can save your phone’s battery life and lessen your mobile data usage by downloading offline maps of the cities you’ll visit in Italy. Offline maps can’t do everything (for example, give real-time public transportation updates), but they are very helpful for areas with low data speeds, like Tuscany. Follow these instructions for your preferred maps to get started:

• Instructions for Google Maps
• Instructions for Apple Maps

Download an offline Italian dictionary

Daytrip drivers for this route speak English, as well as Italian, but you may come across shop owners and waiters with limited English in smaller cities like Lucca.

Google Translate is far from perfect, but it is great for getting the point across when you need to communicate. Download an offline version of Italian just in case your mobile data speeds are bad in rural areas, or you need to conserve your phone’s battery.

Driving from Florence to Lucca

Your limited vacation time is not when you should be negotiating with rental car agencies and taking a crash course on Italian driving customs. Hire a local driver from Daytrip to make your transfer from Florence to Lucca as easy and relaxing as possible.

The drive takes 70 minutes door-to-door and can be booked weeks, or even months, ahead of time. Thanks to our easy online ordering system, you can add hand-selected stops to other points of interest along the way, like Prato.

Transfers for this route start at just $61 (€56) per seat, so book your ride today!

Bus from Florence to Lucca

The bus company Autolinee Toscane—Linee Regionali offers direct buses between Florence’s main bus station and Lucca once per hour from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. The trip takes 55 minutes, but it is subject to delays and costs from $4 to $6 (€3.60-€5.50). When calculating the cost and time needed for this trip, account for any taxi rides or city bus tickets from your accommodation to the bus station (and back home!).

Train from Florence to Lucca

There are no direct trains from Florence to Lucca. Any train travel would require a transfer in Pisa’s Central train station. Trains leave from both Florence and Pisa frequently every day, and tickets are between $13 and $16 (€12-€14.60). The train journeys take 1 hour and 20 minutes, but you will need to calculate transport to and from the train stations into the cost if you are taking a taxi or public transit.

Have a stroll on the city walls

500-year-old city walls where you can walk and bike? That’s correct! While most Renaissance-era city walls are brittle tourist attractions, in Lucca, they’re made for sport, leisure, and getting around town.

Lucca’s city walls, or le mura di Lucca, act as a raised promenade encircling the historical city center. They are wide, shaded by trees, and stand several feet above the ground. Walking or biking on these paths will help you get your bearings with a bird’s eye view of Lucca’s medieval city center. Rent a bike or walk the 3.1 mile (5 km) perimeter as soon as you arrive!

Refresh with a coffee on Piazza dell'Anfiteatro

After walking or biking the perimeter, stop for a coffee at one of the cafes in this oval-shaped plaza. Amphitheater Plaza sits on the ruins of an old Roman amphitheater and still retains the classic shape of amphitheaters of the time.

The plaza was designed in 1830 and the buildings encircling the plaza are all touching, paying homage to the walls of the ancient amphitheater that have been lost to time. It can only be reached by entering one of its four gateways in the north, south, east, and west. As you sit in the center of modern cultural life in Lucca, take a moment to imagine its Roman past.

Get even higher at Torre Guinigi

If the views from the raised city walls weren’t enough, head to the top of Torre Guinigi. At 148 feet (45 meters), you can see every nook and cranny for miles around. Torre Guinigi is a relic from the 14th century when wealthy families in the region built towers to display their wealth and gain a visible advantage over approaching enemies.

Similar to the city walls of Lucca, the tower has trees growing out of the top. These trees are a unique addition to the tower and provide shade for Tuscany’s long summer days. The entrance fee is $6 and requires walking up many stairs, so leave the flip-flops at home!

In July and August, the crowds come from far and wide and may detract from your ideal vacation. The sun is also much stronger in the summer and may be uncomfortable if you are not used to spending all day outside.

If you are visiting from outside of Italy, the airport fares also tend to be lower during these shoulder seasons than in the middle of summer.