Florence to Lucca by Train: Tickets and Arrival

By The Travel Fieldbook October 1, 2026 October 7, 2026

Porta San Pietro, Lucca. (Ardfern · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited)

A through regional train is the simplest choice from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Lucca if you want to avoid changing vehicles. You arrive just outside Lucca’s walls, then walk through Porta San Pietro to Piazza San Michele, the central endpoint of your journey.

The alternative is Autolinee Toscane’s DD bus, but it leaves from Guidoni rather than the railway station. That means taking the T2 tram first, then walking into the old town from the bus arrival at Piazzale Verdi. Your choice depends on the departure that suits you and how much luggage you want to move between services.

Train or bus?

Rail operator and service: Trenitalia Regionale (regional trains)

Buying the standard regional ticket ahead does not reduce its fare. Advance purchase can still save you a ticket-buying stop at the station. A Digital Regional Ticket can be bought up to five minutes before the selected train’s scheduled departure, but leave yourself enough time to reach the platform rather than treating that deadline as a boarding margin.

Taking the train rather than the DD bus

Pros

A through train leaves from Santa Maria Novella, where you already are, and avoids the tram-to-bus transfer at Guidoni. That is particularly useful with children or heavy bags.

Cons

Travelling via Pisa Centrale rather than on a through train adds a change of trains. The travel legs from Santa Maria Novella via Pisa to Lucca, then on foot to Piazza San Michele, total about an hour and a half; allow additional time for boarding, waiting and the interchange. This is not the route taken by a train labelled Pisa via Lucca.
The DD bus offers an alternative when its departure suits you: the T2 approach from Santa Maria Novella to Guidoni takes about 23 minutes, followed by a scheduled bus ride of about 60 minutes to Lucca Piazzale Verdi. Boarding, waiting and the transfer between them are additional, as is the final walk to Piazza San Michele.
For Firenze T2 Guidoni to Lucca Piazzale Verdi, the ordinary adult one-way bus ticket costs €8.10, or €10.00 from the driver. The separate Florence urban ticket for the tram costs €2.00 and is valid for 90 minutes on urban buses and trams.

The DD service boards at Firenze T2 Guidoni, not Santa Maria Novella. Take the T2 tram to Guidoni and change there for Autolinee Toscane’s bus. Its Lucca arrival, Piazzale Verdi, is on the western side of the old town. Continue into the centre towards Piazza San Michele. Neither mode delivers you straight to the square, so consider the arrival walk as well as the ride when choosing.

Tickets and boarding at Santa Maria Novella

At Firenze Santa Maria Novella, abbreviated Firenze S.M.Novella on tickets, buy your regional ticket through Trenitalia or at the station. Match the departure station and service printed on it to your chosen journey. Use the train number on the departure display to find the platform, rather than relying on the destination name alone.

A Digital Regional Ticket activates automatically at the selected train’s scheduled departure: no manual check-in is needed. It is personal and non-transferable, so carry valid identification. An Electronic Regional Ticket is a different ticket type and also needs no validation.

Digital Regional Ticket: change the date and/or time as often as needed until 23:59 on the day before travel. On the travel day, change the departure time as often as needed up to the booked train’s scheduled departure. Changes stop after automatic validation.
Electronic Regional Ticket: change the date and/or time once, by 23:59 on the day before travel.
For a journey involving several regional services, you cannot change the date or departure time of an individual service separately.

Regional tickets do not reserve a seat. You may use any available seat, so if sitting together matters, reach the platform with time to board together and find a suitable group of seats. Keep your ticket ready while boarding. Buying ahead does not assign you a particular carriage or place.

Platform 5 at Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station. — Platform 5 at Firenze Santa Maria Novella station in Florence.
*Tubantia · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited*

Direct trains and changes at Pisa Centrale

From Santa Maria Novella, Trenitalia runs direct regional trains to Lucca on the route continuing to Viareggio. Direct means you stay on the same train, not that it runs non-stop. Select a journey showing no changes if avoiding a transfer is your priority, and compare its displayed departure and arrival times with your plans.

A service labelled Pisa via Lucca reaches Lucca before Pisa Centrale, so it does not require a change at Pisa. Trenitalia does not offer a Florence–Lucca regional itinerary changing at Pisa Centrale. Get off at Lucca rather than continuing to Pisa and trying to retrace the journey.

If you travel via Pisa on separate services, the Santa Maria Novella–Pisa Centrale leg takes about an hour and the Pisa Centrale–Lucca leg about 30 minutes, with time between trains additional. At Pisa Centrale, use the departure display to identify an onward train calling at Lucca and its platform. For the through journey from Florence, match the train number to your ticket and confirm Lucca among its stops, because the onward destination alone is not enough to identify your journey.

From the station through Porta San Pietro

On arrival, Lucca railway station is just outside the historic walls, immediately south of the old town. Walk through Porta San Pietro to reach Piazza San Michele, the square around the church of San Michele in Foro. The gate is a usable pedestrian entrance through the walls, so you can continue directly into the historic centre.

From the station to Porta San Pietro, walk about 450 metres, taking about 6 minutes. From the gate to Piazza San Michele, continue about 550 metres, taking about 7 minutes. The station-to-square walk totals about 950 metres and takes about 13 minutes. With luggage, allow yourself extra time. Once at Piazza San Michele, you can pause in the square.

Sources & fact-checking

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