We will be in Florence the end of Sept. and would like to take a day trip to Lucca and Pisa. Does anyone know how we can do this on our own without booking a tour?

Sure, you can do it by train. Go to :

www.trenitalia.it

and input Firenze and Lucca or Firenze and Pisa. You can go first to Pisa and then from Pisa to Lucca and then back to Firenze. Pisa is about 20-30 minutes by train from Lucca.

Enjoy! Last year I spent 2 weeks in Lucca and I loved it!

I've done it, but only because my daughter had the tower listed as her "must see" in Italy. We took a bus (Lazzi) from Florence to Lucca because the bus drops you a bit closer (and had AC) than the train although both take about the same amount of time (70 minutes). You catch the bus across the street from the Florence train station. Right-hand side if you are facing the station.

We wandered Lucca a bit, ate and then caught a train to Pisa. The train station is a short walk and not hard to find. Lucca shuts down in the afternoon, so it would be best to visit in the morning. The train ride from Lucca to Pisa was about 20 minutes. We got off at Pisa S. Rossore station, since it's the closest to the tower( a few short blocks). When we were ready to leave we caught the bus (about 1 E) from the tower to Pisa Centrale station and caught the next train back to Florence which took a little over an hour.

The bus was about 5E and the train was also. It's been 4 years so I'm sure it's more now.

Here you csn find info what to see in Lucca & Pisa:

http://www.tuscanweb.com/news/?ID=115

http://www.tuscanweb.com/news/?ID=189

Hope it helps.

Easy trip by train. we stayed in Pisa last year and found the Art Gallery there fascinating. The Duomo and Torre are best seen by moonlight when all the crowds have departed.We moved on to Lucca which is enchanting. I don't understand the comment that Lucca 'closes down in the afternoon'. we cycled the walls, visited San Michaele and San Frediano, climbed the Torre and sat in cafes enjoying the passing crowds.

As mentioned by others....

i also did this also year....extremely easy and wonderful day trip. we took the train from florence to pisa first, took the bus to the field of miracles for couple hours, then we got back on the train and headed over to lucca on the way back to florence. to our pleasant surprise, lucca was one of the more pleasant small towns we visited in italy.

it is a very easy train ride, little over an hour to pisa, then about 30 minutes to lucca, then back to florence.

enjoy your florence stay. its my favorite european city. Please go to Sienna, you will not be disappointed!!

Thank you everyone. This was a HUGE help and much appreciated. We will be on a small (10-16 people) group tour because we don't want the hassle of dealing with luggage and to rent a car that my husband (6"1&quot is comfy in is not cost effective. We have several free days and since we prefer to travel independently most of the time it will be nice to wander on our own.
Any suggestions for lunch? Lucca or Pisa? Thanks.

Last time I was in Pisa I had an excellent meal at Pisa: Antica Trattoria il Campano
(Via Domenica Calvaca if you want to look it up on mappy). It is about 10 minutes walk from the tower, in the middle of Pisa itself near the market. A general rule for Pisa is that anywhere near the tower is likely to be poor.

My favourite restaurant in Lucca is Locanda Buatino, but it about half a mile north of the city walls on the "wrong" side of town from the railway station.

There is a very good list of restaurants in tuscany on the Slow Travel site -(http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/restau...p?r=Tuscany%25) use the "find in this page" to look for Pisa and Lucca - there are many suggestions for each town.

I'd sure want to stay overnight in Lucca, which I did, instead of rushing back the same day. Yes, the trains are the way to go and someone gave you the link for that.

The old center of Lucca is fairly small though and you won't need more than a day for that. The wall around Lucca is a draw also, as the top of it is a park, which you can walk or bicycle. I have photoreports on both at pbase.com/andrys/lucca_wall and pbase.com/andrys/lucca1

- Andrys