Three day in Lucca. Ideas?
 

As a prelude to a week in June with a group of folks at a farmhouse rental in Chianti, my wife and I will have a few days on our own. (Arrive at noon on a Wednesday; join up our group Saturday afternoon.) We fly into Pisa, and I decided to use Lucca as our base. Lucca itself and Pisa are clearly on the agenda for exploring, but I figure we have one whole, and maybe part(s) of other days, to go farther afield. We'll have a rental car, so that opens things up. Head north into the hills? To the beach? A taste of the Cinque Terre?

I'd appreciate any suggestions. We don't mind (at all) doing some trail hiking to get to somewhere majestic.

Grrrr. A typo in the title, no less!

We took our car north from Lucca and visited Vagli di Sopra and Vagli di Sotto. Very very beautiful.

We covered a lot of ground that day in the Garfagnana. I would recommend it as completely different Chianti. If you like mountains, which I do, this is a good day out with many interesting places to visit.

I agree--a day as far as Castelnouva Garfagnana with a stop at the Devils Bridge and Barga is worth your time. I am also quite partial to Portovenere as your coastal destination.

Barga is a good bet. And even better is totally neglected Carrara, one of the nicest Italian provincial towns, and with one of Tuscany's best cathedrals (Romanesque with a Gothic finish) to boot.

There are some villas and/or villa gardens to visit in the area of Lucca. Here's a web site with info: http://www.knowital.com/html/lucca_-...d_gardens.html. I'd doublecheck the opening days and times.