Lucca recommendations (and trip summary)

We have rented a villa northwest of Lucca (in the hills of Orbicciano) in early August. Our group will be four adults and four teenagers. Our plan is to make day trips to Lucca, area beaches, Florence, and possibly Cinque Terra during our 10 day stay.
Any recommendations for restaurants or specific sites/activities in the area are greatly appreciated.

We also rented a villa outside Lucca several years ago. Pretty much the same daily trips you list. When in Lucca make sure you go to Enoteca Vanni –http://www.enotecavanni.it/ Possibly the best wine store in Italy. (Go downstairs to the caves). I can’t remember any of the restaurants because they were all good. We did Cinque Terra one of the days - it was worth it. And the beaches we visited were Viareggio and
Camaiore. We visited Montecatini but didn’t “do” the baths. It was a nice place to visit.

I’m told Vanni now have some tables outside, so non-wine geeks can sit down and have a drink/nibbles whilst you raid the cellar.

Rent bikes in Lucca and ride on the ancient walls around town.

Spend a day at one of the beach clubs in Forte dei Marmi.

Antica Locanda di Sesto.

We spent a week in a rental outside of Lucca in June of 2017. A couple of recommendations/tips for Lucca, Florence, and Cinque Terre:

• Buca di Sant’Antonio is a restaurant in Lucca. The food was some of the best we had in the area. Excellent service. Our waiter was very good at pairing (inexpensive) wine with our food. Near the theater where they hold Puccini concerts every evening.
• Puccini concert: The aforementioned theater has a live opera recital every night. Reserve tickets earlier in the day, and make a reservation at Buca for 8pm for dinner. If you or your party aren’t opera fans, keep in mind that the concert is only an hour or so, the unamplified live performances should impress anyone, and the music is universally beautiful.
• Bike rentals around the city wall are a great, casual ride that nearly anyone can do. It’s only a short loop, maybe 30 minutes, so you can make lots of stops. It will be hot in August so do it in the morning.
• In Florence, we went twice to Osteria Vecchio Cancello. Family-run, this moderately-priced restaurant has a broad selection of Tuscan primi and secondi. Again, great wine suggestions from the staff that were always well matched with the food. You can book online.
• Fishing Lab is a hip seafood restaurant for dinner or lunch (down the street from the Museo Gallileo). The atmosphere is unique because it combines a modern restaurant with roman excavations (especially downstairs).
• In the Cinque Terre, as one of the main highlights is to walk the famous trails, make sure you ask someone which ones are open. When we went, we were surprised to find the main trail closed and had to hop the train to get us further down.
• General tip: Make everyone happy by getting gelato at least once a day. Look at online reviews to find the less generic spots, as the truly artisanal shops are well worth seeking out (e.g. Gelateri dei Neri in Florence). And don’t bypass the granita (Italian slushies), although the places with the neon colored product spinning in machines are not as good as the businesses that keep it in the cases.

Hope you have a great trip.

Denis

Excellent recommendations!
Denis, we will definitely Buca di Sant’Antonio. The Puccini concert sounds great. My wife and I love opera - what better time/place for the kids to be introduced to opera!

Some random thoughts and personal insights from having traveled throughout various parts of Italy, including staying in and around Lucca. Many trips included teenagers.

Gelato: My kids could have gelato anytime they wanted - they just needed to order in Italian. They are now fluent in flavors and can also ask for a taste of different kinds before selecting one. “Posso assaggiare il gelato [flavor].”
Here’s some additional help:

The visit to Pisa from Lucca was interesting. When we went, the Torre had just reopened to visitors after a long and major restoration project. There are some great documentaries on the project to stabilize the Tower. That piqued my interest and so, against my usual disdain for tourist attractions, I bought tickets for a visit.
We arrived in late morning and the city was overrun with tourists. Tour buses lined up on the roads surrounding the Piazza dei Miracoli. Hawkers selling trinkets from their carts. Big crowds, with many people taking photos staged to look as if they were holding up - or pushing over - the tower.
We walked through the Duomo and the Battistero (baptistrey) but quickly left to explore the city. We had tickets to climb the Torre in the evening. When we returned in late afternoon, the Piazza had emptied. Gone were the vendors hawking t-shits and alabaster. Gone were the crowds.
The buildings were lit and the twilight gave wonderful reflective color. It was magnificent and a beautiful evening. Without the crowds, we could feel that it was a special and spiritual place. We much enjoyed the climb up the tower and looking over the city at dusk.

With kids, we learned to take afternoon breaks by the pool at our villa/apartment. Breakfast was eaten in our apartment/villa. Lunch was eaten out - or sometimes back at the villa. Lunch was often bread, cheese and fruit picked up at the local market. Dinner was at a restaurant. Reservations were generally required for the places we wanted to eat.
The afternoon break allowed the kids to relax, particularly after driving/walking/biking/visiting churches/etc. Driving takes longer than the distance shown on a map. You have winding roads, and often vehicles in front in areas where you are unable to pass.

Try to find a Sagra (festival). These festivals are held in different areas and are usually named for a particular food. They are fun communal events. You can meet locals, watch grandma make the pasta by hand, share some local wine and just have fun. The Sagre are often held in fields adjacent to the church or school in the towns.

Hope you have a great time.

Ted,
Thanks for the advice. I’ll try to visit Enoteca Vanni early in the trip to stock up our villa. Any advice on the Cinque Terra visit (where to park, where to hike, which towns, etc.).

Thanks for the travel tips. I have no doubt that we’ll frequent many gelato shops during the visit. Your advice on Pisa is great. Perhaps we’ll make a late afternoon visit to Pisa, visit the Tower and have dinner.

In Lucca eat at Ristorante Giglio
out of town you can try Pesce Briaco.
Beaches: you can go for a day and rent a cabana in one of the beach clubs in Forte dei Marmi, a few of them have good restaurants and wine list like Gilda. For dinner the best ones by the beach are Lorenzo in Forte die Marmi and Romano in Viareggio

We parked way up the hill from the first town and hiked down, walked around then walked over to town two. I walked to town three but wife took the choo-choo.

That is as far as we got on our one day there. Interesting day — there is probably a ton of what to do and where on the interwebs. It can get very busy there.

Park and start your hike at the first southernmost town of Riomaggiore and end at Monterosso. Take the Blue Trail coastal cliffs, which is the most scenic hiking trail, but likely more difficult than the other inland-trail. 6 kilometer of 2-person abreast, non-paved, mostly rocky, up-and-down, hiking trail. 5 to 6 hours, depending on speed and your penchant to stop at every turn to marvel at the views.
You can also stop along the way to catch a train (look for signs) if needed to continue on or go back.

You can take a 50-minute ferry (or train) on the way back to Riomaggiore.

I’m not a hiking guy but this is the most enjoyable that I’ve done.

Just to add, make sure that you’ve eaten enough before the hike.

Absolutely loving your approach / attitude

Perfect! Thanks.

Any winery recommendations within an hour of Lucca?

Tenuta Valgiano, just 15-20 minutes drive north of the city into the Lucchesi Hills. Excellent views from the winery’s vantage point (you can see Lucca from their perch), nice villa, relaxed tour and tasting, good bio-dynamic wines (a little modern), and very welcoming.

Excellent! Thanks

Wanted to add that we had a great experience touring Capezzana (Capezzana | Vino dal 804 D.C. | Agriturismo toscana | Eventi Toscana | Matrimoni), a winery midway between Lucca and Florence (about an hour drive either direction). Charming hillside property that was once the wine production for the local monastery (over 600 years ago). We arranged over email to get a tour and they fed us a modest, but delicious lunch on the terrace (with a view of the Duomo in the distance), while sampling wines that matched. Really enjoyable grounds and facilities.

Lucca is magical after dark. We rented an apartment right in Lucca and loved wondering around before and after dinner. A very soulful place.