5 Day Trips from Lucca by Train, Bus and Car

By The Travel Fieldbook September 27, 2026 October 7, 2026

Pisa’s Piazza del Duomo brings the cathedral and Leaning Tower together in one view. (Petr Ganaj · Pexels License · Edited)

From Lucca, Pisa gives you a close-up of the Leaning Tower and cathedral; Viareggio swaps stone streets for a seafront walk. Florence needs a fuller day, while Barga and Collodi make better sense when you have a car. Choose by the time you want at the destination, not just the outward journey: a return trip takes another slice of your day.

Which day trip should you choose?

Outward journeys start in central Lucca and end at each featured place; times are not round trips. Admission is for the featured visit, not transport.
Criterion	Pisa	Viareggio	Florence	Barga	Collodi
Outward journey and distance	about 44 minutes; about 22 km	just over an hour; about 26 km	about an hour and a half; about 79 km	about three quarters of an hour; about 40 km	about 27 minutes; about 17 km
Practical mode	Train	Train	Train	Car	Car; limited E6 bus
Allow	Half-day	Half-day or full day	Full day	Half-day	Half-day or full day
Featured visit, adult	Tower €20; square free	Promenade free	Outdoor centre free	Old streets free	Park €26
Last useful rail return	—	23:30 daily	20:38 working days	—	—
Lucca–Florence train, adult single	—	—	€10.60 one way	—	—

Pisa is a compact monument-focused half-day, Viareggio suits a coast walk, and Florence deserves a whole day. Barga rewards the climb through an old hill town, while Collodi is the family choice for a story park. Regional trains to Pisa, Viareggio and Florence run every day, including Sundays and public holidays, but departures do not follow a single fixed interval. At some times Viareggio has multiple departures within an hour. The comparison takes you from Lucca’s centre to the attraction, not merely to its station.

Allow for the journey home as well as your time on site. A car makes Barga’s hillside and a flexible Collodi day simpler, but Collodi also has a limited bus option.

Pisa: Tower and cathedral square

Pisa’s Piazza del Duomo brings the Leaning Tower, cathedral and baptistery into one monumental square. You can enjoy the ensemble without climbing the Tower: the outdoor square is the simplest choice if you have less time or are travelling with young children. From Pisa’s station, continue on foot through the city towards the monuments. If your train day has slack, you can linger in the streets beyond the square rather than trying to fit in another paid attraction.

Pisa Cathedral and its bell tower, the Leaning Tower, beside the grass and paving of Piazza del Duomo. — Pisa Cathedral and the Leaning Tower stand together in Piazza del Duomo, also known as the Square of Miracles.
*Ray in Manila · CC BY 2.0 · Edited*

Allow roughly an hour for the Tower climb and its practicalities, or around one to two hours at the square if you want to take in the setting as well. The ascent has 251 steps and uneven, sometimes slippery flooring. It is not recommended for people with cardiovascular or muscular disorders. Children who will not have turned eight by the end of 2026 cannot enter. Under-18s must be accompanied by an adult, and proof of age may be requested.

If this excursion leaves you weighing a longer stay, Pisa or Lucca as a base is a separate choice: the monuments make a compact outing, while your base determines which further trips are easy to reach.

Viareggio: promenade and beach

Viareggio’s seafront promenade, the Passeggiata, leads past Liberty-style façades towards the sand. It works as a half-day walk, or a longer outing when the weather invites beach time. From Viareggio station, walk on towards the waterfront, because the train does not drop you at the beach. In rain, the open seafront loses much of its appeal.

The beach at Viareggio. — The beach at Viareggio on the Tuscan coast.
*Maurizio.pincherle · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited*

There is a useful distinction between the free shore and an equipped beach establishment: you need not pay for a private setup simply to spend time by the sea, but loungers and other facilities belong to the establishments. On free beach areas, keep the 5 m strip from the waterline clear for passage. Do not camp, stay overnight or leave beach equipment after sunset. Where there is no lifeguard, signs identify the unsupervised stretch, so take them seriously before swimming.

If you bring a dog during the summer season, from 15 April to 15 October, keep it on a lead no longer than 1.5 m, carry a muzzle for use if required or there is a risk, and clean up after it. Dog swimming is permitted 06:00–09:00 and 19:00–21:00. A promenade visit needs no beach setup at all, which makes this a straightforward choice outside swimming weather.

Florence: historic centre on foot

Florence’s cathedral façade and neighbouring Baptistery give you a strong first stop without committing to a museum queue. A daytime regional train runs directly from Lucca to Firenze Santa Maria Novella via Pistoia. Walk from the station into the historic centre. Spend this day outdoors rather than trying to collect every museum: take time at the cathedral square, then follow the streets towards Piazza della Signoria and the Arno.

Florence Cathedral and the Baptistery beneath a cloudy sky. — Florence Cathedral and the Baptistery in the city’s historic centre.
*Ramaz Bluashvili · Pexels License · Edited*

Piazza della Signoria brings civic Florence into view around the Palazzo Vecchio, while by the Arno, the bridges give a different perspective on the city. This is a fuller day than Pisa, with a long outward journey and another journey home. You can pause for lunch between the square and the river rather than turning the visit into a race between entrances. If a particular museum matters more to you, make that the centre of the day and reduce the open-air circuit.

Allow time to walk back to Santa Maria Novella from wherever you finish by the Arno. Make the station your final stop with an earlier train in mind if you are travelling on a Sunday or public holiday.

Barga: old streets and valley views

Barga gives you something quite different from Lucca’s flat centre: narrow medieval streets climb to a cathedral overlooking the Serchio valley. The old town is the reason to come, not a checklist of admissions. Choose Barga if you want the walk uphill to be part of the visit, with time to pause at the top and look across the valley.

You can park beside the old town and enter the historic centre on foot. Visitor parking sits below the centre, so expect an uphill approach before you even begin exploring its lanes. Wear shoes suited to slopes and old paving. If steep walking is difficult, one of the flatter rail outings is a better choice. The cathedral makes a natural turning point for a half-day, after which you can descend through the streets at your own pace.

With a car, you can give this a longer Garfagnana day rather than rush back as soon as you reach the hilltop. Leave the wider valley as a flexible extension, though: the town itself rewards the time you spend on its slopes and at its viewpoints, without needing an onward connection.

Collodi: Pinocchio Park for families

Pinocchio Park in Collodi turns the story into an outdoor family visit, with spaces and activities for children rather than a single monument to look at. The adult ticket also covers Garzoni Garden and the Butterfly House, so allow a fuller day if you want all three, rather than treating the park as a quick stop. The outdoor paths mean you will spend much of the visit walking; bring a plan for sun or rain.

Name: Pinocchio Park
Location: Collodi, Pescia Maps
Site: pinocchio.it
Hours: Mon Closed; Tue–Fri 10:00–17:00; Sat–Sun 10:00–18:00
Typical visit: 2 hours 30 minutes
Essential fact: An outdoor park based on the story of Pinocchio.
Price: €26 · adults

Google Street View, 2025-06.

The adventure trails cost an extra €5 per child and are for ages 5–14 up to 150 cm tall. Other children’s activities are included. Individual visitors can buy entry on the day at the ticket office or online, including shortly before arrival, and advance booking is not required. The park’s published season runs daily from 1 March through 1 November 2026, including Sundays and public holidays. School groups have a separate advance-booking process.

Driving gives you the simplest way to fit the park, garden and Butterfly House into one outing. The E6 bus from Lucca’s Piazzale Verdi towards Collodi is an alternative on eligible weekdays, but its school-term, school-holiday and limited-period runs make it less flexible than a car. The weekday runs shown exclude Saturday. If you use the bus, build the visit around a usable return, not just the outward service. The park alone suits a half-day, while lingering over its activities and adding the garden makes better use of a full day.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: fares and charges, services, and closures.