My fiance and I are spending our honeymoon traveling around Europe, and Cinque Terre is on our agenda. We are flying in to Pisa and are considering spending a day or two in Tuscany before heading to Cinque Terre. Does anyone have recommendations on must-see visits and nice places to stay? I hear Lucca is beautiful, anyone traveled there?

Thanks!

I've been many times in Tuscany I've been in Grosseto, Pisa, Florence and Porto St.Stefano. It's a beautiful region the most beautiful for me!
in Tuscany there are culture, history, seaside, mountain and nature...all!
Pisa it's ok but Florence too: if you want you can visit churchs and museums and the city is very beautiful!
In Pisa you can go to Miracoli's square and Cavallieri's square are beautiful both, or you can visit bothanic garden, and there are many pub where have rest!
Doctor Jazz e Border Line are in Pisa and are two local with music.
If you need advices, ask me! I'm here!

Katrina: There is so much to see in Tuscany that it's hard to figure out what to do with 1-2 days. Many of the small to mid-sized hill towns (Montepulciano, Montalcino, Volterra, Pienza) will reward a full day of exploration, so you could stay in one of those (I didn't include San Gimignano because of the crowds, although it's also worth a visit).

If you're leaning toward two days, one of the bigger towns might occupy you nicely, and Lucca would be a good choice. It has several church facades that are marvelous, particularly San Michele, Puccini's home, the Torre dell Ore to climb, and the city bastions to explore..all those for starters. However, the quintessential Tuscan medieval town is probably Siena, with a wealth of sights, the charms of the various contradas, and an ancient downtown area that is big enough not to be too swamped with tourists, unless you are there on the day of the Palio, July 2. It's great to explore the twisting back streets and easy to imagine you've stepped back in time.

Are you driving?
If not, spend your time in Pisa and Lucca.

If you are flying into Pisa airport pretty much directly after your wedding, I would head straight to Lucca. See if there is a direct bus from the airport. Once you're there, if you feel like taking a daytrip into Pisa to see the sites, up to you, but I think you'll find Lucca a great place to decompress.

Just be sure you stay inside the city walls if you book in Lucca.

Pisa doesn't have great accommodations. If for some reason, Lucca drops off your list, look instead at Florence (Firenze), which has fantastic art treasures.

What time of year is this? It is likely to be very hot in that part of Tuscany in summer. If that's when we're talking about, you might want to head straight for Cinque Terre.

Oooops! Just noticed your headline says "July."

If you have trouble tolerating heat, head straight to Cinque Terre. If you're up for Lucca (or Firenze), make sure you have air conditioning. It's incredibly muggy in that part of Tuscany.