Holiday apartment in Lucca: culture, towers and green city walls

Lucca combines an impressive urban history with green paths, gardens and excursions into the countryside.

A holiday apartment in Lucca between the cathedral and the city walls

The Cattedrale di San Martino was founded by San Frediano in the 6th century. In the 8th century, it had replaced the ancient church of SS. Giovanni e Reparata as Lucca’s cathedral. The history of this building therefore reaches deep into the development of the city. The city walls of Lucca also form a green ring more than four kilometres long around the historic city. For orientation, this brings together the image of a city steeped in history with a clearly recognisable open space.

Several towers form part of the distinctive city skyline. The Campanile di San Martino is 60 metres high and a bell tower dating from the 12th century. The Torre delle Ore is 50 metres high. The Torre Guinigi reaches 45 metres and is crowned by a hanging garden with holm oaks. The different heights and the unusual combination of tower and garden give Lucca a particularly vivid architectural profile.

Puccini, Villa Guinigi and art in Lucca

Giacomo Puccini was born on 22 December 1858 in the house now used by the Puccini Museum – Casa natale. Puccini lived there during his childhood and early youth before moving to Milan in 1880 to continue his studies. Those interested in music history can therefore find a tangible connection in Lucca to a formative phase in the composer’s life.

The Museo Nazionale Villa Guinigi is housed in a late Gothic villa built for Paolo Guinigi from 1413 onwards. It is the museum of the city of Lucca and its surrounding area and preserves art collections with works by local and visiting artists who worked in Lucca on ecclesiastical and secular commissions. Together with the towers and the cathedral, this place shows how closely architecture, art and urban history are interconnected.

Green spaces, paths and a botanical garden

The Orto Botanico di Lucca covers two hectares at the south-eastern corner of the historic centre. Since 2022, it has been recognised as a museum of regional importance. One special area is La Montagnola: it is laid out with large rocks and traversed by a spiral path.

The Lucca itineraries include walks through the historic lanes, cycling tours along the park on the city walls and excursions into the countryside surrounding the city. This allows you to set the focus of your stay according to your interests: on culture and architectural history, on exercise in green surroundings or on varied days between city and countryside.

Market and Via Francigena

The Mercato contadino di Lucca at the Foro Boario takes place every Saturday and, during the summer months, additionally every Wednesday.

For centuries, Lucca was a strategic hub on the Via Francigena. Travellers and pilgrims found accommodation and hospitality there, as well as markets, hospitals and places of worship. This historical role explains another important characteristic of the city: Lucca was shaped not only by buildings and art, but also by the coming and going of people along a significant route.

More destinations besides Lucca

If you would like to plan your trip beyond Lucca, you can find more destinations here: Pieve Di Brancoli, Aquilea, Arsina, Balbano, Cerasomma, Chiatri, Ciciana, Mastiano, Monsagrati, Montuolo, Nozzano Castello, Piazzano, San Concordio Di Moriano, San Lorenzo A Vaccoli, San Macario In Monte, Santa Maria Del Giudice, Monte San Quirico, Piaggione, San Pietro A Vico and Farneta.

To the higher-level travel overview: Lucca.