Alexandra's Guidebook
Sightseeing, Food, Aperitivi,and Sport
Lucca is known for its Renaissance architecture and its fortified old walls. With its well-preserved, centuries-old buildings and churches, a visit to Lucca truly lets you step back in time. As you lose yourself in its cobblestone streets, you can’t help but admire its colourful buildings and its stunning architecture. Warm, bold colours such as yellows, oranges, rich turquoise and emerald dominate, making Lucca totally photogenic. You’ll spend more time taking photos than doing anything else!
A great thing to do in Lucca is to walk, run or bike along the top of its ancient city walls. These fortified walls are four kilometres long and surround the entire town. They were built to keep out invaders and they are now one of the few remaining, fully intact medieval walls in Italy and indeed in Europe. They re like the park of Lucca and are great for ambling along or training, whatever your sport. There are also some restaurants and bars such as https://ristorantesancolombanolucca.it/
http://lacasermettasansalvatore.thefork.rest/en_GB/
The first is great for cocktails and dinner whilst the second is more traditional.
Lucca is home to over 100 churches inside the walls…..Of course, you won’t want to visit them all, but it’s always nice to check out a few of them to appreciate their different architecture and artwork. I enjoyed our visit to the Duomo di San Martino, the Church of Saints Giovanni e Reparata, the church of San Michele, and the Basilica of San Frediano..l. If you stand on the south west corner of the square looking up at the archangel statue you can see the glinting diamond at night. Popular legend would have it that a diamond or an emerald was set in a ring or in the decoration on the drapery, which at a certain time of day would gleam blindingly when the sun shone on it. Many members of the old guard report to have seen the twinkling alchemy. The only real fact is that this marvellous statue has precious and semiprecious stones encrusted on it, including a sapphire-like agate for his eyes, brown chalcedony for the buttons, Porphyry and Serpentine together with lapis lazuli and pâtes de verre decorate the clothes and orange Cornelian fills the dragon’s eyes.
There is no escaping Lucca’s main shopping street, an invitingly sinuous street framed by tall houses. Begin in café-lined Piazza Anfiteatro and follow the curve of the amphitheatre to Via Fillungo, a pedestrianised paradise lined by quirky, one-off shops and traditional stores with Art Deco shopfronts. From historic cafes to hip boutiques, Lucca makes shopping a pleasure. After browsing, call into one of the many bars for a drink or wine-tasting over cold cuts and cheese boards, even during a passeggiata (evening stroll).
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Lucca
Lucca is known for its Renaissance architecture and its fortified old walls. With its well-preserved, centuries-old buildings and churches, a visit to Lucca truly lets you step back in time. As you lose yourself in its cobblestone streets, you can’t help but admire its colourful buildings and its stunning architecture. Warm, bold colours such as yellows, oranges, rich turquoise and emerald dominate, making Lucca totally photogenic. You’ll spend more time taking photos than doing anything else!
A great thing to do in Lucca is to walk, run or bike along the top of its ancient city walls. These fortified walls are four kilometres long and surround the entire town. They were built to keep out invaders and they are now one of the few remaining, fully intact medieval walls in Italy and indeed in Europe. They re like the park of Lucca and are great for ambling along or training, whatever your sport. There are also some restaurants and bars such as https://ristorantesancolombanolucca.it/
http://lacasermettasansalvatore.thefork.rest/en_GB/
The first is great for cocktails and dinner whilst the second is more traditional.
Lucca is home to over 100 churches inside the walls…..Of course, you won’t want to visit them all, but it’s always nice to check out a few of them to appreciate their different architecture and artwork. I enjoyed our visit to the Duomo di San Martino, the Church of Saints Giovanni e Reparata, the church of San Michele, and the Basilica of San Frediano..l. If you stand on the south west corner of the square looking up at the archangel statue you can see the glinting diamond at night. Popular legend would have it that a diamond or an emerald was set in a ring or in the decoration on the drapery, which at a certain time of day would gleam blindingly when the sun shone on it. Many members of the old guard report to have seen the twinkling alchemy. The only real fact is that this marvellous statue has precious and semiprecious stones encrusted on it, including a sapphire-like agate for his eyes, brown chalcedony for the buttons, Porphyry and Serpentine together with lapis lazuli and pâtes de verre decorate the clothes and orange Cornelian fills the dragon’s eyes.
There is no escaping Lucca’s main shopping street, an invitingly sinuous street framed by tall houses. Begin in café-lined Piazza Anfiteatro and follow the curve of the amphitheatre to Via Fillungo, a pedestrianised paradise lined by quirky, one-off shops and traditional stores with Art Deco shopfronts. From historic cafes to hip boutiques, Lucca makes shopping a pleasure. After browsing, call into one of the many bars for a drink or wine-tasting over cold cuts and cheese boards, even during a passeggiata (evening stroll).
Sight Seeing, Shopping, Galleries, Restaurants and Bars
Forte dei Marmi, Italy has been attracting wealthy Italians and foreigners to its prime seaside location for more than a century. What began as the ‘it’ beach town for the Italian aristocracy is now the place to be seen for Italian and foreign soccer players, movie stars, wealthy businessmen (and women!) and more.
You can spend your day lounging at the beach, followed by some shopping at Gucci and Prada. Round out your day with aperitivo and a Michelin-starred dinner.
That doesn’t mean you have to be rich or famous to visit! There is something for everyone in Forte dei Marmi, from swimming in the Mediterranean to shopping at its famous market on Wednesday mornings, cycling the boardwalk to sampling the region’s delicious seafood.
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Forte dei Marmi
10 Via RomaForte dei Marmi, Italy has been attracting wealthy Italians and foreigners to its prime seaside location for more than a century. What began as the ‘it’ beach town for the Italian aristocracy is now the place to be seen for Italian and foreign soccer players, movie stars, wealthy businessmen (and women!) and more.
You can spend your day lounging at the beach, followed by some shopping at Gucci and Prada. Round out your day with aperitivo and a Michelin-starred dinner.
That doesn’t mean you have to be rich or famous to visit! There is something for everyone in Forte dei Marmi, from swimming in the Mediterranean to shopping at its famous market on Wednesday mornings, cycling the boardwalk to sampling the region’s delicious seafood.
Florence is one of Italy's most popular cities to visi-it.Not only is Florence the art capital of the world, it's a gorgeous city with streets to wander, towers to climb, great places to go shopping, and lots of gelato to eat. It’s always a little hotter than Lucca in the summer months but the galleries are cool!
There are so many wonderful things to do and places to visit in Florence. It’s always best to book the museums in advance to avoid the queues. You can get there by train from Lucca or drive in and park in the centre. Otherwise you could leave your car in Villa Costanza and take the tram to the Santa Maria station in the centre of Florence. It takes about 22 minutes. Florence is a busy city and the traffic can be quite heavy in the centre but there are lots of underground car parks. A popular one is Parcheggio San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale which is near the Duomo. It takes about 45 minutes by car from Lucca. It’s best to plan your day in advance to ensure you avoid queuing for museums and have reservations in good restaurants. It’s a stunning city which you can never get tired of.
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Florenz
Florence is one of Italy's most popular cities to visi-it.Not only is Florence the art capital of the world, it's a gorgeous city with streets to wander, towers to climb, great places to go shopping, and lots of gelato to eat. It’s always a little hotter than Lucca in the summer months but the galleries are cool!
There are so many wonderful things to do and places to visit in Florence. It’s always best to book the museums in advance to avoid the queues. You can get there by train from Lucca or drive in and park in the centre. Otherwise you could leave your car in Villa Costanza and take the tram to the Santa Maria station in the centre of Florence. It takes about 22 minutes. Florence is a busy city and the traffic can be quite heavy in the centre but there are lots of underground car parks. A popular one is Parcheggio San Lorenzo Mercato Centrale which is near the Duomo. It takes about 45 minutes by car from Lucca. It’s best to plan your day in advance to ensure you avoid queuing for museums and have reservations in good restaurants. It’s a stunning city which you can never get tired of.