VACATION VILLA IN TUSCANY (near Lucca Italy)
Want to organize a vacation in Tuscany Italy with your friends or family? Rent this exquisite Tuscan villa near Lucca as your base and day trip to the best of Tuscany...
- Sleeps groups of up to twelve (up to ten adults)
- Perfect location in Italy near the gorgeous medieval city of Lucca, Tuscany. Take easy day trips to visit Lucca, Florence, Pisa and the seaside villages of the Cinque Terre
- Affordable prices are for rental of the whole villa, pool and grounds for a week, and range from $3,200 to $6,800 (from $46 to $97 per guest/night) and the experience surpasses any hotel
- On a beautiful Italian hillside of olive groves and vineyards, with spectacular views
- Six bedrooms, four full bathrooms, two kitchens, gardens, terraces, vine-covered pergolas, and
- A private beautiful infinity swimming pool.
Villa Aquilea is an perfect base for exploring Tuscany Italy with your friends and family. For centuries a working farmhouse that produced Tuscan wine and olive oil in the hills near Lucca, the villa has a long and happy history. You feel it the moment you walk in the door. This continues today as guests soak up the sun, relax together and explore Italy's rich culture.
Villa Aquilea is family owned and managed. When you arrive, you will find the large villa sparkling with crisp linens and fresh flowers. The owners, who live nearby in Lucca, are fluent English speakers and, if you like, we are available with directions, to translate or help organize day trips. We want our clients to have a great holiday experience. Please browse the villa's website to learn more, and to read what our guests have written about their Tuscan vacations.
Joe and I spent a week in arguably one of the most beautiful places on earth, Tuscany, Italy. More specifically Villa Aquilea ... All I can say is the pictures on the website do NOT do it justice. We had a glorious week - a perfect vacation… Beth and Joe W.'s blog, upstate NY (guests at Villa Aquilea Lucca, Tuscany 2008)
A perfect week in Tuscany… Here is an itinerary for a great week in Tuscany which many of our guests have used over the years. You will see a lot, without feeling hurried, and with plenty of time to absord the culture and discover your own treasures… Saturday after 4pm– You'll just be arriving at the villa, a bit tired after your travels. Greet your friends, unpack, explore the villa, relax and soak up the views, have a Tuscan meal and a bottle of wine (or two or three) together on the terrace and by the pool. Sunday – Sleep in, then wake to a beautiful morning and the sound of birds. With a coffee or Italian espresso and pastries, hear an orientation with history of the villa and the area, plus directions and general advice on the week’s agenda. Lunch at the villa or at a great local family restaurant, then afterward hike to the ruins at the top of Aquilea hill and take in the surrounding views. Late afternoon, drive to Lucca (20 minutes) for a walking tour. On Sunday evenings Lucca is full of energy, with bars, restaurants and gelato shops open and everyone strolling in the piazzas. Join the fun, stroll the twisting medieval streets, or rent bikes and ride around the city on top of the enormous Lucca wall which surrounds the entire city (2.5 miles long). Stay for a late dinner at one of the many restaurants in Lucca. Monday – Take a morning trip to the leaning Tower of Pisa (45 minutes away), then spend the day as you like, exploring Aquilea and the Lucca countryside, go to a wine tasting, go to the local garden shop and fill up your empty jugs with fresh wine from the owner’s wine barrels. In the evening, take a fantastic multicourse cooking class (including making your own pasta) with dinner together afterward. Tuesday – A full day in Florence. Morning travel to Florence (1.25 hour), meet a tour guide for a private tour of the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Accademia museum (David statue), Uffizi museum, and Sante Croce church. After lunch, shopping and exploring, then back to the villa in the evening to celebrate together. Wednesday – Relax at villa and pool (you’ll be tired after a high energy in Florence), or if you are feeling ambitious, visit Siena or San Gimignano or Volterra or the quaries at Carrara or Barga or the Garfagnana or the Devil’s Bridge. In the late afternoon and evening, meet back together at the villa and have a make-your-own-pizza party in the villa’s enormous wood fired pizza oven. Thursday – Get up early for a full, high-energy day on the Mediterranean Sea at the breathtaking Cinque Terre (1hr20min). Swim in the crystal clear water, hike the spectacular cliffside paths between the five fishing villages, dine looking over the sea with cold local white wine and seafood, take the shuttle boat back for sunset views of the cliffs. Friday – Tour the grand villas of Lucca, buy olive oil at the local olive oil mill, visit a historic hidden blacksmith shop or buy some handmade shoes. In the evening, go to Lucca for 7-8pm opera performance of Puccini’s arias. Gather together at the villa for a last celebratory night on the villa’s terraces. Saturday – 10am departure for the next adventure... The year is also full of local village festivals, markets, concerts, and other events. This is a sample single week but Tuscany is so rich in culture and history and beauty that most of our guests wish they had two weeks to explore the area. (In 2009, we had a group that rented the villa for nine weeks and there was still lots to see...)
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Villa Aquilea
Vacation rental with pool
Lucca Tuscany Italy
I have built this vacation up in my mind for years and never imagined that the actual trip could surpass my dreams. This place is beautiful…Jennifer B., St. Louis (guest at Villa Aquilea Lucca, Tuscany 2005)
The villa was just outstanding, the view was unbelievable, and the company, was as always, superb... Paul and Leslie D., Nebraska USA (guests at Villa Aquilea Lucca, Tuscany 2007)
Florence was fun, but I think we were so spoiled from our amazing week at your beautiful villa that it paled in comparison. We truly had the most amazing vacation. The villa is so special...Lindsay and John P., New York (guests at Villa Aquilea Lucca, Tuscany 2007)
Forbes Magazine, in its September 2009 issue, featured an article listing "Europe's Most Idyllic Places to Live." Lucca was picked as the most idyllic city in all of Italy and the second in all of Europe!
NBC's "The Today Show" rented Villa Aquilea in 2006. The cast and film crew stayed in the villa, and they filmed the villa and an interview in the villa's kitchen for a story about life in the Tuscan countryside. The segment ran in 2006 to a viewship of 7,000,000.