My wife and I will be in Lucca for 4 nights, arriving on a Saturday in late June, after spending a week with a group of family and friends in rural Chianti. We'll have a rental car for that first week, and we can keep it or not for our stay in Lucca. We're figuring on a day-trip to Pisa by train - Florence too, if we didn't see it the previous week - so the main reason we would hang onto the car is for a day-trip to Cinque Terre, and for some off-the-beaten-track exploring. Here are some questions:

First the Cinque Terre. It seems, from reading other posts, that driving to either Levanto or La Spezia, and then hopping on the train, might be the best way to do things when visiting the CT from Lucca. Which would you choose for a jump-off point... or would some other town be better? Secondly, what would be a good stretch (or stretches) of the CT trails if we only wanted a taste; no more than, say, a cumulative two hours of hiking? Lastly, is there significant difference in the over-crowding situation in the CT on a Sunday as opposed to a Monday or Tuesday?

My other question is: what are some good places to explore on a day-trip that are within a reasonable driving distance from Lucca? The beach, the mountains, scenic villages... that sort of thing.

Thanks!

Barga is up in the mountains--I liked it much more than Lucca, especially the restaurants. I also liked the Lerici area, south of CT.
For CT, I'd shoot for the week day, and I hope you won't be as dismayed by the crowds as I was. I would honestly research something else to do, but maybe if you go super early morning or early evening it may be okay.
You may have to get 2 different guidebooks because of the overlapping regions (Tuscany, Liguria/Riviera) but there are many many options.

Montecatini Terme is one of Italy's most significant if not the most thermal resorts - the water establishments dot a verdant park-like setting and the town is full of swank shops and restos - very un-Italian (no mopeds either it seems) but a joy to walk around in even if not taking the waters - taste them at least - s few-minute train ride from Lucca.

Collodi, in the hills above Lucca, is the home of Pinnochio and the village trades on this relationship - full of Pinnochios and things about him.

Note the Pisa S Leandro (sp?) secondary train station is a very short walk from the Leaning Tower - much close than Pisa Centrale, the town's main station - direct trains from Lucca to Pisa-S.Leandro.

I think you may mean the San Rossore station, not Leandro.

Yes indeedy, Bob - S Rossore - thanks for correcting my brain fahrt!

What would be your recommendation for a day-trip to a nice beach from Lucca? We could travel by either car, train, or bus. The quality of the sand and water - and lack of a mob-scene - are more important to us than tourist amenities... though the proximity of a pleasant place to eat lunch would be good.

ttt

Good question - must be some along the nearby coast?

We stayed in Lucca and one of our day trips (by car)was to Pisa and then to a beach by Viareggio. It was super easy to get to, and there are miles of beach in that area. Sand was good, only got in the water to our ankles as there was a red flag warning, but my kids enjoyed it. We spent the whole afternoon there. It was one of our favorite days.

Can't speak to crowds as we went in Sept, so there was just my family and a precious little boy with his grandparents.

Consider a trip to Carrara if you are interested in the marble quarries and sculpture. We met a guide and toured the area for several hours and followed it up with a lunch in Colonnata. Very rewarding.

Carrara is not just for quarry buffs - above all, it has a great Romanesque cathedral, and I'll never understand why this gem is so little-known. Another rewarding daytrip from Lucca is to late Mannerist-earliest Baroque Villa Torrigiani, just a few kilometers outside Lucca. The coast in the area is as ugly as coasts can be; the only rewarding destination there (near, not on the coast) is Torre del Lago, for opera and art déco lovers: Puccini's villa is an art déco beauty.