Spending a week in villa in lucca italy. Want to know if there are any hidden jems to visit, and local jems to eat.

Where are you staying? What time of year will you be there?

Sorry will be there may 31 thru june 8, 2013. Going on one trip to portofino with o
A day at cinque terre. We are stayin in a villa just outside lucca

Great restaurant. Ask if Mama is in the kitchen:

http://www.anticalocandadellangelo.com/Home.html

Thanks will check it out!

We were seeking a place for dessert, having left another place early after a very poor dinner, and
noticed that zuccotto, one of our favorites, was listed on the menu posted outside. So we went in and asked if just dolce was OK and the fellow in charge said yes. Turns out it was excellent, and chatting with him over coffee, he explained that his family had been running the place for years and that "Mama is in the kitchen." We felt that to be an ideal situation, and made a reservation for the following evening. The dinner was excellent, and asking to see Mama, she came out of the kitchen to receive our thanks.

Thanks will definitely look it up.

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You may get a lot of suggestions if you use the search box on this page, searching for "Lucca Restaurants".

Go biking! You can rent bikes and bike around the city on the ramparts. So beautiful and fun.

http://www.lkjh.biz/bike/tuscany/north/lucca/index.html

Da Leo was our favorite restaurant in Lucca - we ate there twice!

Definitely rent the bikes - loads of fun.

I suggest a day trip to nearby Barga. I went by train and walked up the mountain which I don't recommend. Presumably you'll have a car. The old town sits on a peak with streets and stairways falling precipitously away from the church at the top. The new town at the foot of the old is a friendly place with seemingly less visitor fatigue than some places in the area. I enjoyed it very much.