Should I spend 1, 2, or 3 days in Lucca?

Should you spend 1, 2, or 3 days in Lucca?

Many visitors spend one to two days in Lucca during their visit. If you're not sure how much time you might need here, we have the answers because there's so much to see and do. This city offers a number of attractions to explore, including the historic old town, the museums and landmarks, the restaurant scene, and the beautiful scenery.

Lucca is a beautiful walled city that makes a lovely base for exploring Tuscany. The city is filled with cobblestone streets and charming buildings. It's a wonderful place to explore for a day or two, or you could use it as a base for your trip to Tuscany.

Do you have one or two days to visit Lucca? Here's our comprehensive breakdown of how much time you might need for your trip along with some suggestions for things to do.


Is one day enough time in Lucca?

With only one day, you might feel a bit pressed for time when it comes to exploring the main attractions. After all, Lucca, a small city brimming with sights and attractions, holds immense popularity among tourists. To fully embrace Lucca, a longer visit is better. Most travelers tend to plan one to two days to experience the historic old town, the museums and landmarks, the restaurant scene, and the beautiful scenery. Nevertheless, if your schedule is limited, we can provide some suggestions to maximize your visit.

How to spend a day in Lucca

The charming atmosphere and history of the old town area is worth exploring, so spend the day learning about the history and culture of the area. The historic city is surrounded by city walls, which you can walk around. Within the walls there are cobblestone streets and a charming atmosphere.


A few tour suggestions include:

  • Flavours of Lucca, Art, History, Food for Small Groups or Private ($77)
  • Discover Lucca’s Secrets on a Guided Walking Tour ($16)
  • Half-Day Lucca Traditional Food Walking Tour with Lunch ($131)

You'll absolutely want to spend some time enjoying the food scene in this city, so make sure you spend time at one of the local restaurants where you can taste the delicious cuisine for a meal or two. There are many great Tuscan restaurants inside the city walls. Perhaps the most popular local dish is tordelli Lucchesi. Its a meat filled pasta that has a beef ragu sauce. There are also other Tuscan recipes that include steak, boar, or rabbit.


A few tour suggestions include:

  • Tuscan Wine Tour in Lucca by shuttle ($153)
  • Guided E-Bike Tour with Wine Tasting from Lucca ($120)
  • Lucca Bikes and Bites with food tastings for Small Groups or Private ($97)

Lucca is a very walkable city. With only a day in the city, you'll have no trouble exploring the local sights. Much of the city can be explored on foot.

Is a weekend (two to three days) enough time in Lucca?

A weekend in Lucca is often considered ideal, as many tourists spend approximately one to two days here. This amount of time is perfect to admire the historic sights, browse the museums, taste delicious cuisine, and admire the wonderful scenery. Further down, you'll find our recommendations to kick off your adventure.

Lucca, Italy Lucca, Italy

How to spend 2 days in Lucca

With a weekend (two to three days) in Lucca, you'll have a bit more time to enjoy everything that the city has to offer.

Plenty of amazing museums and famous landmarks make Lucca a special place to visit. Spend at least one full day visiting the sights that are appealing to you. There are many interesting historic sights and buildings around this charming town. You can climb to the top of the Guinigi Tower or visit the Roman Amphitheater. Many visitors enjoy walking or biking around the city walls as well. Also make sure you visit the cathedral.


A few tour suggestions include:

  • Lucca City Tour and Pisa Tower with WineTasting from Livorno Port ($175)

Lucca is known to be such a beautiful destination, so just exploring and taking it all in should be one of the top things to do on your list. It's a beautiful city that's surrounded by walls and filled with winding streets.


A few tour suggestions include:

  • Discover Lucca’s Secrets on a Guided Walking Tour ($16)
  • Half-Day Lucca Traditional Food Walking Tour with Lunch ($131)
  • 2 Hour Walking Tour at Lucca ($143)

More Info

If you're looking for more information about Lucca, we have even more advice to help you plan your journey.

Budget Your Trip is all about finding out how much everything costs so that you can travel cheaper and longer. Created by avid travelers Laurie and Bryan, our goal is to help you plan your next trip on the right budget. With average daily travel costs that are calculated from the budgets of real travelers, plus an analysis of hotel and tour prices, you can find out how much money you need to plan your next adventure. We also have plenty of travel advice, accommodation reviews, and activity suggestions.

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