Hello I could really use some Lucca tips. I am looking at spending a few weeks in October in Lucca. Doing some immersive Italian language class (not sure where--I speak some but not great); doing a little telework (is internet speed fast enough?) and would like to take a trip to meet some relatives in Calabria. So I guess a few questions if anyone has time to answer. Because I can telework and my husband cannot, I am traveling alone--hoping he can join for part but since he is indecisive, I want to make my plans . I think I found an apartment (I work for a nonprofit so I don't plan on doing this as a luxury trip)
1. Best city to fly into from NYC.?
2. Any language class suggestions?
3. Do I need to use a hotspot for Zoom meeting calls or is the internet generally fast enough?
4. Want to see art, ruins, and interesting sights. Figure I can day trip or overnight to Florence by train. Any other interesting day trips in the area by train (won't have a car)
5. Getting to Bovalino in Calabria at the end of my stay is problematic (I don't want to return to Lucca). Train down? Fly out of Catania back to NYC?

Of course, any good take-out places, tips, grocery stores but I can ask about that later.

thank you

I admit I'm not a big fan of Lucca... Why Lucca? If multiple excursions are in your plans, it doesn't have the greatest public transportation connections, although you could check whatever bus service there is. Excursions by train are possible but limited to whatever journey time is acceptable to you. My limit is one hour one way, but you may feel differently. Obviously, Pisa is close. Montecatini Terme and Pistoia aren't too far. There are a few somewhat interesting towns on the coast, but it will be off-season. Pietrasanta, slightly inland, would be worth a visit. You can check train timetables here...

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html [use Italian spellings... Firenze, etc.]

If you haven't already discovered, the train ride from Lucca to Bovalino is 11+ hours with at least 3 changes. That's quite a trek. Ryanair flies from Pisa to Lamezia Terme which is about 90 minutes from Bovalino, but you'd have to investigate how to get from the airport to Bovalino. You could probably fly from Lamezia Terme to NYC, connecting in Rome or elsewhere in Europe.

I agree with everything Jean said, although I rather like Lucca. But it is certainly not an ideal city for travel to various locations by public transportation. It also doesn't have a lot of art nor archaeological sites. My husband and I stayed in Lucca for three or four nights once; we had our own car, but even with a car, we didn't find it very convenient for visiting other places.

As far as airports, you could fly into Florence or Pisa, but I don't think there are direct flights to either one from NYC. Then you would have to take some other means of transportation to Lucca. I myself would probably fly into Rome and go by train from there, changing trains in Florence.

Internet speed in an apartment varies greatly from one place to another. There's no way of knowing in advance whether the speed is adequate for your purposes unless you find someone who has used the internet in that apartment. You could ask the owner for specific details about the WiFi connection. This article will give you an idea of what you should ask.
https:/https://fas.columbia.edu/home/contingency-planning/working-home-wifinetwork-considerations#:~:text=Zoom%20is%20very%20flexible %20when,meetings%20with%20HD%20video%20quality

Even so, there are many other factors that can affect the quality of the connection.
If you're planning to stay for an extended time in an apartment, and hope to use public transportation, you need to make sure the apartment is near the train station. Many Italian cities, including Lucca, have large territories, and an apartment "in Lucca" could be 5 miles from the train station.

Uh Oh... I have Italian friends who love Lucca. OK I am open to other destinations for sure. I love Rome but want to get away from hoards for some day to day life: take a class and I will be working just part time while there
Where would you recommend? I have time to choose. But not so much time to grab a decent deal on a small apartment.

But I have two kids in college so while not do this on the "cheap" but not luxury or expensive.
Convenient to travel. Friendly.
AND... I will be alone so I want to feel safe coming home from dinner alone (I live in NYC so my safety tolerance is somewhat high).
Yes the going to Bovalino is a bit of a drag but my aunts and uncles I found are not getting any younger and I should grab the chance to meet them this trip. So I can sit on the train and read and fly out of Catania or something.
I appreciate any insight. Thank you

Lots of people love Lucca, but that doesn't mean it's necessarily the best choice for your particular plan. And I understand the desire to escape the crowds, but small, charming villages are usually not the ideal places to stay for weeks if you're relying entirely on public transportation to get around. Lastly, Lucca might be quieter than some towns, but October is very, very popular almost everywhere.

But before you discard Lucca, do some fiddling around on the train and bus timetables to see what day trips you may want to make. It might work out just fine for you. I would definitely figure out the excursion logistics before committing to an apartment, and not the other way around.

You might also look at Spoleto and Perugia and the towns between that are on the train line... Trevi, Foligno, Spello, Assisi.

Lamezia Terme is closer to Bovalino than Catania, and the flight options seem to be similar... connect at FCO

If you haven't read this trip report, you might find some helpful insights into a few towns in Umbria.

Ultimate Umbria in 4 Weeks

Count me in as a big fan of Lucca (3 times) Stayed in a great apartment two years ago (May) about a 20 minute walk outside of the city walls in a great neighborhood-not a tourist to be found! And it is very easy to get to via rail from Pisa Airport (less than an hour). But we had a car and it was very easy to visit some near by towns (Pietrasanta...30 min by car-hour by rail) (Massa....30 min by car-;little over an hour by rail) (Pistoia...40 min by car...80 minutes by rail) (Borgo Mazzano to see the famous Ponte della Maddalena aka "The Devils Bridge"...35 min by car....less than an hour by bus/rail). But as much as I love Lucca, I have to agree with Jean. It does not make sense as a location to then further on to Calabria. I have never been to Calabria and it is on my wish list but in researching the area I do not think public transportation is the ideal mode of travel. And yes, agreeing with Jean again regarding Umbria-I think just as nice as Tuscany with fewer crowds. But Italy in October is great. Best month in my opinion to visit.

Spoleto is a good suggestion, on a train line to Rome. In addition to the possibilities mentioned by Jean, it's also convenient to destinations in Le Marche, such as Fabriano and the Frasassi Caverns.

Another possibility is Arezzo, which is within reach of Florence, Assisi, Perugia, Cortona, Lake Trasimeno, and other interesting places, and there is a direct (slow) train to Spoleto. There is a famous fresco cycle by Piero della Francesca in Arezzo. There also is a monthly antiques market in Arezzo on the weekend of the first Sunday in the month.

You would probably want to fly into Florence.

You could fly to Lamezia Terme from Florence, changing in Rome. From Spoleto, it would be easier to leave from Rome, taking the train from Spoleto.

These are all great tips and believe me I wouldn't be jamming in the Calabria trip this time if my newfound relatives weren't in their late 80s.

I love Umbria... so ok I will look there but I do want to have a language school. I would like to do an intensive Italian in the mornings. A little bit of work on some days and definitely some travel and art (I am a painter). I am a tourist so I am not anti-tourist--it's just when the streets are jammed with busloads...I want a nice home base where local people aren't thinking omg another tourist. . And I don't drive a stick well so I won't be getting a car.

My husband threw in a new wrinkle: After I stay in Umbria/Lucca wherever... he wants to meet me in Naples for 5-7 days and from there I will go to Calabria and leave from there somehow and he will fly home from Naples/Rome.

Things were easier with a travel agent!! Will check out apartment rentals

Lucca is a good choice. Internet control is not great and you find a lack of capacity as the kids come home in the street nearby but if it is very vital you need to search very hard and I doubt we know. For my part I've found it gets better in the north and in larger cities but equally I've had terrible signal just by the Vatican in a flat. Perhaps buy a local dongle for when you must have data? Yes I'd think it is pretty safe inside the walls but a town is a town. It is on a good train system so Pisa and Florence are easy to hit plus some other nice towns in the valley there.

I like the husband wrinkle that has you breaking up your transfer from wherever to Bovalino with a stay in Naples.

Look into flights from Lamezia Terme to NYC connecting at FCO. Shorter journey overall, fewer transfers/connections than if you were to travel back to Naples, which would start with a 6.5 hour train ride with two changes + taxi to airport. Bovalino to LT Airport takes 2.5 hours with two changes and you end up AT the airport.

I don't think you'd have any trouble finding an Italian language course in Perugia or Spoleto, perhaps Foligno as well. Don't worry about locals thinking "omg another tourist." They need tourism revenue.

So far, Some really unattractive rentals available in Spoleto and Arezzo during the times I can go (and I am flexible although a doctor friend suggested I get out of Italy by early November as she expects a new wave then)... I don't need luxury but hate to come home to someplace depressing when I travel.

If your dates include the first weekend of October... As bvlenci noted upthread, Arezzo's huge antiques/flea market is held the first Sunday of the month and the preceding Saturday. Lodging in Arezzo for those weekends probably books up months in advance, so you should search dates starting after that weekend.

Which search engines are you using? And budget? Maybe I'm easy to please, but I found apartments on Booking.com that would work for me at attractive rates. Make note of distance between apartments and train station...

My budget is $100/night or less since I only need a studio or one bedroom and my dates are flexible but want to be out of Italy by last week of October. I guess I need to remove this dream I had: I have been taking Italian classes throughout the pandemic. I thought... "ah, I will go live in a small town for a few weeks--telework a bit , practice Italian (maybe with an immersion class in the mornings), live like a local, pop on a train to go into Florence, Assisi or other places to look at art." You know, you get this image of something in your head (including being 25 years younger-- yada yada yada) and forget about the nightmare 3 train transfer stuff. The arduous trek down to Bovalino... that is what it is. I have no desire to stay down there beyond a couple nights to meet the relatives. At this point, I could probably find a neighborhood in Rome... I love Rome. I just didn't picture myself there alone.

I searched booking.com for apartments in Spoleto Oct. 3-10 and found at least 8 under $550 for that week that are within a 20-minute walk from the train station and all with very-good-to-great reviews.

Ditto Perugia but with a little less availability that week and close to the train.

Don't give up.

Given your budget I can only suggest move south. The Sicilian accent is a bit "th" for me (I hope no Siciliani are offended) so perhaps look at Lecce in Puglia. Accom is far cheaper.

I found plenty of air BNBs and apartments for under $100 a night -- in fact quite a few in Siena... Perhaps after everyone's input on Lucca and my not feeling in love with Arezzo or Spoleto yet.... maybe Siena (although touristy) -- there is supposed to be a good language school there. OK I am even driving myself crazy with indecision. Last time I was in Siena it was not hard to get off the tourist path. That may have changed though. And I am going to improve my italian and telework

A dongle uses a cell phone network to connect to the internet, with a USB connection to your computer. In many places, especially in old buildings with stone walls, cell phone connections are very weak indoors. Anyway, dongles are now outdated, phones all have a "hot spot" function which creates a wifi access point using their cellular network.

A good wifi connection is much better than a cellular network. The kids in the street are all using their phones, and wouldn't affect your wifi connection. The main thing that slows down wifi service is all the people watching Netflix in the evenings.

OK I found a beautiful apartment in Siena and there is a recommended language school there. I have been scared off of Lucca and it's distance from Calabria and trains. I think I may go for that option.Two or three weeks telework and language there and then get down to Bovalino and meet an Aunt and two Uncles and fly out from Calabria to home..