Coach & Minibus Hire in Italy

Lucca, Its Walls and the Tuscan Countryside

Lucca is a joy for a small group: a complete ring of walls with a tree-lined path on top, quiet squares and church fronts, and the hills full of villas just outside. The town has a clear system for buses, and once it is sorted the day runs gently.

Buy the bus ticket before you arrive

Every tourist bus entering Lucca needs a ticket bought online in advance, before it enters the green zone around the walls. The ticket sits on the front of the vehicle for the whole stay and stays valid until 10:00 on the day after arrival. School parties, groups sleeping in Lucca hotels and those with a meal reserved can ask for a reduced ticket, no later than three days ahead of arrival.

Inside the green zone, buses may use only the signed routes, and they never enter the walled city itself.

Minibus rear seating and luggage space
Minibus rear seating and luggage space

Gates for stepping down, a park for waiting

Your group is set down and collected at one of four points: Porta Santa Maria, Piazzale Boccherini, Porta Elisa or Porta San Pietro. While you explore, the vehicle waits on Via delle Tagliate di S. Anna, in the Palatucci coach park. Choose the gate closest to your first stop and agree the return one before you go in.

From there it is all on foot: the oval Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, the cathedral of San Martino with the Volto Santo, San Michele in Foro and the Puccini museum nearby, and the oaks growing on top of the Torre Guinigi. The walls themselves run about 4 km round, a fine walk or bike ride.

Flying in to Lucca

Stops worth making in Lucca

  • Villas of the Lucca hills — Historic villas and gardens north and east of the city
  • Torre Guinigi — Medieval tower with oak trees on top
  • San Michele in Foro and Puccini's birthplace — Church on the former Roman forum, and the Puccini Museum nearby
  • Cattedrale di San Martino — Cathedral with the Volto Santo and the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto
  • Piazza dell'Anfiteatro — Oval square built on the outline of the Roman amphitheatre
  • The city walls (Mura di Lucca) — Complete 16th- and 17th-century walls, about 4 km round, with a tree-lined promenade on top

Easy pickup points

  • Versilia coast (Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi)
  • The Lucca hills (villas and country hotels)
  • Outside the walls near the station and Porta Elisa
  • Inside the walls (centro storico)

When Comics & Games comes to town

Over five days, 28 October to 1 November 2026, Lucca hosts Comics & Games. The crowds are very large inside and around the walls, traffic measures change and hotels fill. If your dates overlap, plan the vehicle's movements and every pick-up well ahead and look at the event's mobility plan.

Half-days and full days out

Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli and Collodi, with the Pinocchio park and Villa Garzoni, are each about 35 minutes away. The Ponte della Maddalena at Borgo a Mozzano takes about 40, Viareggio and the Versilia beaches about the same, and Pietrasanta about 45. Further out, Vinci and Barga in the Garfagnana sit around an hour away, and San Gimignano close to two.

What travellers ask us

Which airport is handiest for Lucca?

Pisa: some 35 km from Piazza San Michele, around 40 minutes by road. Florence's is about 71 km, a bit over an hour.

Can a group arriving by train be met at the station?

Lucca station is on Piazza Ricasoli, a few steps south of the walls, and trains link it with Florence, Pisa and Viareggio. It makes a handy meeting point for the minibus.

Is the Cinque Terre possible from Lucca?

Yes. La Spezia is about 1 h 15 min away, and from there the trains and boats reach the villages.

More trips we arrange

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