Getting to Lucca from Pisa and Florence

October 4, 2026 October 7, 2026

A CLAP bus at Piazzale Verdi, a bus stop in Lucca.

Pisa Airport and Florence Airport both give you a public-transport route to Lucca, with a final walk into the walled centre. Pisa’s E3 bus avoids a railway change, while regional trains let you join the journey at Pisa Centrale or Florence Santa Maria Novella. A taxi or private transfer reduces boarding steps, especially with bulky luggage or children. Piazza Napoleone is the common destination below.

Train, bus or airport transfer

Pisa Airport to Piazza Napoleone. Travel components exclude airport formalities, departure waiting and time changing vehicles.
Criterion	PisaMover + regional train	Autolinee Toscane E3	Taxi/private transfer
Travel components, including final walk	about three quarters of an hour	—	about 37 minutes
Vehicle changes	1, Pisa Centrale	0	0
One-way cost	—	—	Typically €70–€110 per vehicle; vehicle size and late travel affect price
Departures	Regional trains vary by time/day	—	Arranged/on demand
Last departure	22:08 from Pisa Centrale, Saturdays only	—	By arrangement

Choose E3 to stay aboard from the airport, or choose rail if you prefer the station interchange. For a budget trip, use public transport rather than paying for a whole vehicle. Tickets are per person, whereas sharing a vehicle can be more attractive for a family with bags. The road journey to Lucca’s station forecourt takes about 27 minutes, but you still walk to the square. For a late arrival after the onward services finish, arrange a transfer or stay overnight.

If you are choosing Pisa or Florence airport, weigh the available flights against the onward journey. Pisa has the shorter rail chain, but Florence also offers regional trains and the DD coach.

Pisa Airport and Pisa Centrale

Getting from Pisa Airport to Lucca by rail requires one change at Pisa Centrale. PisaMover, operated by Pisamover S.p.A., calls at the Via Aurelia and Via di Goletta park-and-ride stop before reaching the station. The airport-to-station leg takes about 10 minutes. Shuttle departures depend on passenger numbers rather than a fixed weekday or weekend interval.

PisaMover arrives beside platform 14, at the far end of Pisa Centrale, opposite the main entrance. Follow the station signs into the underground passage beneath the tracks, then use the stairs or lifts to reach your regional platform. Allow room in your connection for moving luggage between platforms.

Trenitalia Regionale trains on the Pisa–Lucca line run directly to Lucca, taking about 28 minutes. If you are already at Pisa Centrale, join here without using PisaMover. Departures vary by time and day.

For more on boarding and choosing between bus and rail, see Pisa Airport to Lucca transfers, which takes you to Piazza San Michele rather than Piazza Napoleone.

Florence Airport and Santa Maria Novella

Florence Airport to Piazza Napoleone. Rail and road totals include the final walk, not airport formalities, departure waiting or interchange time; the DD value covers only the coach leg.
Criterion	T2 + regional train	T2 + DD coach	Taxi/private transfer
Travel components	about 2 hours	1-hour coach leg; airport total —	about an hour
Vehicle changes	1, Santa Maria Novella	1, T2 Guidoni	0
One-way cost	T2 €2.00/person; train —	T2 €2.00 + DD €8.40/person	Typically €150–€220/vehicle; size and late travel affect price
Departures	T2: Mon–Fri 4–5 min, Sat 5–6 min (06:30–20:30); Sun/holidays 9–11 min (05:00–13:30), 7–9 min (13:30–20:30); less frequent outside these windows; train —	12 weekday departures in September summer timetable	Arranged/on demand
Last departure	T2: 23:58 Sun–Thu; 01:15 Fri–Sat; onward train —	DD: 19:30 Mon–Fri; 14:00 Sat; no Sunday service	By arrangement

GEST’s T2 reaches the Santa Maria Novella area in about 20 minutes. Use Alamanni–Stazione S.M.N. or Valfonda–Stazione S.M.N.; the tram ticket lasts 90 minutes. For the DD coach, leave T2 at Guidoni rather than continuing to the station.

Trenitalia’s direct regional train from Florence Santa Maria Novella takes about an hour and a quarter to Lucca. Travellers starting at the station have about an hour and a half of train travel and walking to Piazza Napoleone.

A road transfer takes about three quarters of an hour to Lucca’s station forecourt. With children or substantial luggage, fewer boarding steps may justify sharing the vehicle cost. Airport taxis also serve destinations beyond central Florence.

Buses from Pisa and Florence

Autolinee Toscane’s E3 connects Pisa Airport directly with Lucca. If you arrive at Pisa Centrale instead, board E3 at Pisa Sesta Porta, not at the railway station. From Sesta Porta, the bus runs via San Giuliano Terme and San Martino in Giudice to Lucca’s Piazzale Verdi, taking about 44–45 minutes.

The central-Pisa single ticket costs €5.10 per person, or €8.00 when bought from the driver. Buy before boarding to avoid the higher onboard price. These are the central-Pisa tickets, not an airport fare.

From Florence, Autolinee Toscane’s DD coach runs from T2 Guidoni via Osmannoro to Piazzale Verdi without a change, taking 1 hour. From the airport, use T2 to Guidoni: the tram ticket costs €2.00 per person and the DD ticket €8.40 per person.

In the September summer weekday timetable, DD departures are unevenly spaced from morning into evening, with more clustered departures in the late afternoon. Both E3 and DD leave you at Piazzale Verdi for the walk to Piazza Napoleone.

Tickets and late arrivals

Trenitalia paper regional tickets: validate at your starting station before departure. Complete the journey within four hours of validation, unless the regional fare has an exception.
Trenitalia Digital Regional Tickets: automatic validation occurs at the selected train’s scheduled departure. Use the validated train or trains. Validity lasts to scheduled arrival, or actual arrival if delayed. Show the ticket’s dynamic green bar on your device and valid ID if requested.
Autolinee Toscane buses: validate paper tickets or activate digital tickets when boarding. If a single-ticket validator fails, write the boarding date and time on the ticket and immediately notify the driver.
Florence T2 tram: validate paper tickets or activate digital tickets at first boarding. For validator failure, write the journey date and time and immediately inform the driver. Contactless payment validates automatically only when the green “OK” screen appears.

If you miss the final train or coach, arrange a road transfer or stay overnight in Pisa or Florence. With a late flight, decide which fallback suits your party before leaving the airport. Allow time to reach the onward departure point, even when the airport shuttle or tram is still running.

From the station or bus terminal to the centre

From Lucca railway station, or a road-transfer drop-off at its forecourt, enter the historic centre through Porta San Pietro to reach Piazza Napoleone. The station stands outside the walls. The walk is about 800 metres and takes about 11 minutes. The gate makes the change from station surroundings to the walled centre easy to recognise.

Porta San Pietro, a gateway through Lucca’s city walls. — Porta San Pietro is one of the entrances through Lucca’s historic walls.
*Ardfern · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Edited*

From Piazzale Verdi, where E3 and DD arrive, Piazza Napoleone is about 500 metres away, about 7 minutes on foot. With rolling luggage or children, leave extra time for the walk rather than treating the arrival at the terminal as the end of your journey.

Lucca station and the centre walk adds the station-access detail if you need help orientating yourself after the train.

Sources & fact-checking

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