Vacation rental Villa Aquilea is located just north of the medieval city of Lucca, Tuscany, Italy. Things to do on vacation in Lucca are descibed here, and things to do nearby to Lucca are described on the next page... 

Lucca’s central location makes it an ideal vacation home base from which to explore Tuscany.  Lucca is situated in the northwest of Tuscany, between Florence and the Mediterranean Sea. By autostrada, Florence is 38 highway miles (61km) to the east, Pisa is 22 miles (35km) southwest, and the famous seaside villages of the Cinque Terre are 60 miles (96km) northwest. Day trips require a minimum of driving.

Here’s what a very nice guidebook, Fodor’s Escape to Tuscany, has to say about Lucca:

"Lucca is an utterly charming town you’ll want to linger in. As medievally correct as the next guy, with its handful of memorable churches, museums, villas, and palaces (like Palazzo Pfanner, seen in Jane Campion’s Portrait of a Lady), it is also bursting with life. Bicycles careen along the narrow streets or circle the town on a path through a tree-shaded park high atop a 2.5-mile ring of ramparts. After sampling Lucca’s good shops and trattorie, head for the hills to explore villas built over the centuries by silk merchants, bankers, and other influential families."

Lucca is the only sizeable Tuscan town to completely retain its surrounding walls. Because the city inside was completely developed by the 17th century, the walls had the effect of preserving intact the entire medieval city. Historical buildings, towers, gardens, shops with local wares, churches and charming restaurants — all retain their original character. Lucca is bursting with life, and all on a very human scale. Most of the city is closed to automobile traffic.

Instead, locals ride bikes or stroll through the narrow streets, buying fresh bread, gathering at street-side cafes, browsing at the outdoor market, lingering in the broad piazzas.

On summer evenings, families take their "passeggiata", or evening stroll, around the park on top of the walls, taking in the view of the city and the surrounding countryside.

Monuments worth visiting are the San Martino cathedral (with the beautiful tomb made for Ilaria Del Carretto by her young husband), Basilica San Frediano, and the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (built on the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre). Many of the large palaces in town have lovely gardens and private towers which can be toured. One famous tower even has oak trees growing on top.

Life in Lucca features a series of traditional and cultural events, from the Santa Croce light festival to archery competitions, from the antique market every third weekend in the month to gastronomic festivals.

Music is also very important in the city where both Giacomo Puccini and Luigi Boccherini were born. Every kind of music from popular to classical and opera can be heard out in the piazzas, in the city’s theater or in the many churches. Lucca hosts a very good summer popular music festival, and nearby an open-air starlight Puccini opera festival.

The local gastronomic delights are many; wheat and bean soup and buccellato are local specialities in addition to all the delicious varieties of pasta, pizza and, of course, lots of gelato. Very good red and white wines are produced in the hills around Lucca, and olive oil from the area is world famous.

The weather and climate in Lucca is warm and pleasant in the spring, summer and early fall, with lots of sun. Because it is only 15 miles (24km) from the sea, there are sweet summer breezes perfect for al fresco dining. Here are Lucca’s average monthly temperatures:

The countryside around Lucca offers some wonderful scenery. Lucca lies next to the Serchio River in a fertile valley, and the city is nestled in gentle hills, covered with olive groves, vineyards, parish churches with bell towers, and dotted by 16th century villas and farmhouses. Through all of this winds the famous "Strada del Vino," a lovely country road passing many wineries producing Lucca’s famous Colline Lucchese and Montecarlo D.O.C. wines. In the very far northern distance you can see the tips of the Alpi Apuane mountaintops.