LUCCA - GUIDED WALKING TOURS WITH LOCAL GUIDES

CLASSICAL TOUR: Lucca has made a virtue of the necessity to stay in the political shadow of his three mighty competitors Pisa, Florence and Siena. Instead of striving for unlikely military success, the small town has always looked at economic success. Even today, it boasts a general wellbeing hardly matched by any other Tuscan town.
We start our guided tour where the residents of Lucca spend their free time: on the city wall topped by a line of shady trees. Our first stop is San Frediano church with its magnificent thirteenth-century mosaic representing Christ in Majesty. Next, we visit nearby Piazza del Anfiteatro, the most beautiful square of Lucca. Passing by the elegant shops of Via Filungo and through small, typically medieval streets we reach the Duomo which houses the famous Volto Santo and the splendid Ilaria del Caretto sarcophagus, a masterpiece of Jacopo della Quercia. Passing Piazza Napoleone we finally arrive at piazza San Michele, the central civic square of Lucca since Roman times.
Duration: 2 hrs.

Entrance fee: Ilaria del Carretto: 2.00 €, groups 1.50 €

FOOD TOUR LUCCA: Discover the tasty world of genuine Tuscan food on a guided walking tour in Lucca! Together with our food expert guide you will experience the best of Tuscan special products - a tour of sheer indulgence.

Main issues of our gourmet tour in Lucca are: the sweet chestnut beer, the famous zuppa di farro (farro soup), the spicy 'Bazzone' ham and potato bread from the Garfagnana valley but also enticing cakes like the 'castagnaccio' and the 'buccellato' (foto). On our food tour you visit a tempting gourmet food shop and you will participate in a guided tasting of wine and/or olive oil. At the end of our culinary tour we invite you to taste one of the famous sweets of Lucca, the 'torta coi becchi' served together with a masterly prepared cappuccino.

Duration: 2,5 - 3 hrs.

Tasting: not included, price on request

LUCCA BY BIKE: Our guided bike tour in Lucca starts with an easy ride on top of its impressive city wall, overshadowed by old trees. From this vantage position we enjoy beautiful views of the medieval center and its surrounding landscape. Then we head for the town's most famous church, the San Martino cathedral (inside visit) and the adjacent Piazza Napoleone. Passing Piazza San Michele - the antique town center of Lucca - we reach The Guinigi Tower and Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. Our guided bike tour in Lucca finishes at Piazza S. Frediano with its thirteenth-century mosaic.
Duration: 2 hrs.
Bike rental: 5,00 € p.p.

URBAN TREKKING: This is real fun! Our urban trekking tour in Lucca does not require any special physical preparation and offers a new and entertaining way to get to know the extraordinary beauties of this town known for its clean air. Climbing on two of the most famous towers of Lucca - the torre Guinigi and the torre dell'orologio - and walking through hidden streets and on the alleyd town wall which unexpectedly reveal unforgettable views of the surrounding landscape, you discover the history and art of this unique medieval town. We recommend good and comfortable shoes!
Duration: 2,5 hrs
Entrance fees: 5 € p.p. (Torre Guinigi and Torre delle Ore)

Guide National Museum of Villa guinigi Lucca

MUSEO NAZIONALE DI VILLA GUINIGI: Located in the magnificent villa comissioned in 1413 by Paolo Guinigi, the museum displays some interesting archaeological finds as well as a vast array of works of art from the twelfth to the eighteenth century. Our guided tour in the museum starts on the ground floor with a presentation of the archaeological section, dedicated to the roman and etruscan period. On the second floor we show you the works of the medieval masters of the painted Crosses and those of the most important sculptors active in Lucca as Jacopo della Quercia and Matteo Civitali. The visit of the museum is complemented by a presentation of significant paintings of Fra' Bartolomeo, Giorgio Vasari, Pietro Paolini and Pompeo Girolamo Batoni.

This program is an ideal completion of our classical tour.
Duration: 2 hrs.
Entrance fee: 4 € p.p.

PINACOTECA NAZIONALE DI PALAZZO MANSI: The museum, located in one of Lucca's most splendid palazzi, boasts an impressive collection of Tuscan paintings from the fifteenth and the sixteenth century.

During our guided tour we show you different schools of painters as those of Jacopo Pontormo, Bronzino, Guido Reni and Tintoretto presenting their works in their historic, social and religious context. The visit of the museum continues with a presentation of the private rooms of this famous palazzo decorated with amazing frescos, tapestries and old furnitures.

Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs
Entrance fee: 4 € p.p.

LITERARY LUCCA: A guided tour tracing famous poets and writers! Following the poetic impressions and literary descriptions of Dante Alighieri, Heinrich Heine, Ludwig Tieck, Theodor W. Adorno and others we discover one of the most graceful Tuscan towns in a definitely new and pleasurable way. On our literary walking tour in Lucca you will also meet Lucca's prettiest woman, very much adored by Salvatore Quasimodo and Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Duration: 2 - 3 hrs.

MUSICAL LUCCA: A tour of the native town of famous composer Giacomo Puccini and other well-known musicians. Long before Puccini, important personalities of Italian music had lived in Lucca. The most eminent builder of organs in the Renaissance, Domenico di Lorenzo, worked here in the romanic churches of the town. Niccolò Paganini beguiled with his violin virtuosity the people of Lucca. Lucca is also native town of Luigi Boccherini and of Alfredo Catalani, one of Puccini's contemporary. Discover with us the musical part of this charming Tuscan town!
We recommend complementing this musical walking tour by a visit of Puccini's native home or by a tour of his beautiful Villa in Torre del Lago, where Puccini composed Madame Butterfly, Turandot and other important operas. Every year in July and August, Torre del Lago houses a Puccini festival during which the master's famous works are presented at an open air theater.
Duration: 2 - 3 hrs (5-6 hrs. for a tour including the Puccini-Villa at Torre del Lago)
Entrance fee: Puccini's native home: 2 € p.p. (for groups); Puccini-Villa: 3 € p.p for groups of minimum 15 persons).

LUCCA FOR CHILDREN: This guided walking tour in Lucca takes you to the wonderful world of animal sculptures on the facade of Lucca's Cathedral and in other churches of its medieval centre. What was their purpose - just an ornamental element between biblical figures and saints? It's not easy to find them all and maybe you can help our tourist guide to detect a few he or she doesn't know about? In any case, it will be exciting to learn about their origins and how they reflect some of the hopes and cares of past times.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

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A FEW STEPS FROM LUCCA

VILLAS & PARKS AROUND LUCCA: The numerous villas and parks built on commission of rich nobile families in the hilly countryside around Lucca are a unique architectural and botanical treasure. Our guided tour encompasses a detailed presentation of two villas and their parks: villa Torrigiani (foto) and villa Reale di Marlia. Of course, if you wish, we will guide you also in any other villa and its garden. Choose among from villa Grabau, villa Oliva, villa Mansi o villa Bernardini.

Duration: 2- 3 hrs (5-6 hrs for 3 villas)
Entrance fee: on request.

Note: the visit of a Luchesian villa is a part of one of our garden tours on which we present some of the most famous parks, botanical gardens and villas in Tuscany. Further information about our garden tours you find here: visit villas garden Lucca

Culinary tours Lucca, guided olive oil tasting Lucca

OLIVE OIL: Olive oil is the protagonist of a famous form of nutrition known as the Mediterranean Diet. Yet it is more than just a healthy and tasty ingredient in Italian cooking! Throughout the centuries, cultivation of olive trees has created the vibrant civilization of the Mediterranean area crossing political and linguistic borders. Our guided tour takes you from a Tuscan olive grove to various parts of the production process in a traditional olive oil mill. We immerse ourselves into the history of a hard and persistent rural labor. The tour will be followed up with a guided tasting of 3-4 types of olive oil during which your food guide will explain you the professional tasting tecniques.
Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

Tasting: price on request

WINE: Some time ago, Tuscan wine was just a pleasant every-day beverage, not a competitive product on international markets. A virtual revolution in cultivating and producing techniques has created Tuscan wines that offer outstanding quality and unbelievable variety. Our guided tour takes you from the vineyard to the final bottled product. This journey at the estate of a selected Tuscan wine-producer is an ideal way to get a short, enjoyable and profound introduction to the fascinating world of our wines. The tour will be complemented by a guided tasting of 3 types of Tuscan wine in the estate's winery or in the garden.

Duration: 1,5 - 2 hrs.

Tasting: price on request