Train Timetables for the Lucca area

Gustybrae

Member
My wife and I have booked a holiday in Barga near Lucca. We fly into Pisa and have hired a car but once established in our accomodation in Barga we intend to travel a lot by train if possible. To do that we obviously need to look at train times from Barga to where ever to enable us to plan ahead. Any help/advise would be most welcome not just on the train issue but any ideas for places to visit. Lucca sounds lovely.
 
train schedules from Barga-Gallicano

Ciao Gusty,

You can check all train timetables on Trenitalia - HomePage.
The train station you would take is called Barga-Gallicano.

Visit to Lucca for sure, we also recommend you driving around and visiting the various small towns near Barga in that Gafagnana valley - Bagni di Lucca, Castelnuovo Garfgnana, the Ponte del Diavolo ("devil's bridge" as you drive down Lucca or up to Barga. I'd also recommend a day at the beach in Versilia since you'll be so close....

You don't say how many days total you'll have to know how far you can go during your stay since I'd also recommend visiting Florence, Pisa and Siena, as well as San Gimignano if you'll have the time. So for now, these are just some ideas!!
 
Ciao Lourdes
Thank you so very much for your input. Our itinerary is as follows, I know its all a bit soon but thats me, I do like to do as much preparation as possible also I am very excited about our trip. My wife and myself arrive at Pisa airport on Saturday 1st September and depart Saturday 8th September. I have booked a hire car which we will obviously use to get around some of the time but we do intend to go to Florence and Pisa at least. I have noticed that a thread has been posted ref somebody showing people around Lucca so I will try contacting them to see if the offer still applies, it sounds a great idea and as she says you get to see places that you would not normally see. I look forward to any more ideas and information from the readers, its a really great site and I have already recommended it to other people. Once again thank you.
P.S. We are of the more mature age but very active and friendly.
 
a week in Tuscany is perfect!

A whole week is perfect for seeing various parts of Tuscany! With the train you'll be able to get to a lot of places but also the car will an added benefit to get you into the areas where the train doesn't, primarily in Chianti and the Val d'Orcia, the area south of Siena as well as inland between Pisa and Volterra.
I also recommend heading down the coast one day and roam around the area between Pisa and Livorno around Castagneto Carducci and Bolgheri, it is another wine area that has received a lot of praise for its wine over the last two decades.
I am sure if you have a list of places you want to go to but keep your schedule flexible you'll enjoy every day of your week! :D I assure you, you'll have more on your list than you can do but the important thing will be to enjoy all that you do end up doing - and everything else you don't get to see or do can be a perfect excuse to come back again!
 
Hi Gustybrae,
We went to Tuscany June last year, we felt apprehensive to organize everything ourselves so used a package tour to Tirrenia which was lovely and went to Gallicano and the surrounding areas on day trips as that is really where we wanted to be, now we are more knowledgeable we are going again in June this year and organizing the trip ourselves and staying in Gallicano, it takes under 2 hours to get from Lucca to Barga/Gallicano, you need to punch your ticket in a machine before you board the train, when using the bus you need to punch it in after boarding, the train station is next to Pisa Airport so it couldn't be easier, we will be using the train frequently.Everyone we spoke to was very helpful, people working in Lucca and Pisa train and bus stations were fluent in English and very nice, the train times are displayed at Barga/Gallicano station. Tuscany is a beautiful place, you're guaranteed to have a great time.
 
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Cat, I do appologise for the late acknowledgement of your post. Thank you very much for your input, I would be very interested to hear about your trip in June so please stay in contact. Take care and have a great time.
 
Hi Cat,

I would also like to thank you for your post, my wife and myself are visiting Viareggio in May, going by train from Pisa and it's put my mind at rest to know that people were helpful and spoke english both at the airport and station. We arrive late about 6pm, and as we are staying in a self services apartment I was wondering what time the supermarkets close around the Pisa area. Any information would be very helpfull.

Regards

Alan
 
supermarket closings

Ciao Alan,

Supermarkets generally close between 19.30 and 20.00 - is the apartment where you'll be staying in Pisa? I remember you saying you're staying up in Garfagnana so the best bet would be to head to the supermarket as soon as you pick up the car rental. The COOP supermarkets generally close at 9pm during the weekdays, and 8pm on Saturdays (you don't mention what day you arrive on). You can see the list of COOP supermarkets on here: http://www.coopfirenze.it/retevendita/negozi (the "come raggiungerci" link under each address has a map).

You can also ask at the car rental counter to have the closest supermarkets to the airport pointed out so that you can reach them easily before you head to your apartment.
 
Hi, Gallicano is 5 Km from Barga and 40 km away from Lucca, so less than 1 hour from the main city by regional train. You must look for the treni regionali on the Trenitalia website. In Gallicano you will find a big Leclerc-Conad hypermarket. It closes at 9 pm. There aren't any Coop supermarkets nearby, only in Lucca you will find one as well as a number of other good well-known supermarkets. Another good Conad is in Fornaci di Barga. In Barga there are many native English speakers, so don't worry about the language!
Greets,
Paola
 
Re: Train and Bus Times

Ciao Lourdes
Thank you so very much for your input. Our itinerary is as follows, I know its all a bit soon but thats me, I do like to do as much preparation as possible also I am very excited about our trip. My wife and myself arrive at Pisa airport on Saturday 1st September and depart Saturday 8th September. I have booked a hire car which we will obviously use to get around some of the time but we do intend to go to Florence and Pisa at least. I have noticed that a thread has been posted ref somebody showing people around Lucca so I will try contacting them to see if the offer still applies, it sounds a great idea and as she says you get to see places that you would not normally see. I look forward to any more ideas and information from the readers, its a really great site and I have already recommended it to other people. Once again thank you.
P.S. We are of the more mature age but very active and friendly.
PHP:

We are staying in Barga but are relying on Buses and trains to travel. We are staying in Lucca for one night and travelling to Barga on Saturday morning. I am very interested in your reference to being shown round the more unusual sights of Lucca. Joey
 
Staying in Barga in September and Interested in Bus and Train Times

We are staying in Barga at the beginning of September and travelling by bus and train. We are staying in Lucca on the 29th for one night and travelling to Barga by bus on the Saturday. I have yet to find out the times of buses and trains. We are staying in a small house with a pool but don't intend to spend all our time in Barga!
I am also interested in the tours of Lucca, which take people to more unusual places. Hope you enjoy your holiday.

Jo
 
If you search on Google Maps, with directions from Lucca to Barga, and click on the "public transportation" icon, you can get an idea of the time tables for bus and trains. The system is well integrated with the local bus and train sites and has correct times. Of course, the system thinks that for end of August the times might change and not give you any results.... so just search for the times for a Saturday in June.
Time tables, when they change, are generally between winter and summer schedules, not every month! so times for a Saturday in June are 99% going to likely be the same for the 30th of August - they are both summer months.

The thing is this: how far in the countryside is your house with a pool from the local train station in Barga? Walking distance from a bus stop? take those into consideration when deciding to depend solely on public transportation, as you might find it quite annoying having to plan your outings to be at a bus stop at precisely a certain hour so that you won't miss connections and are in other places on your day trips. Many areas in Tuscany are best visited with your own means of transport, and you might see places you might want to stop at while you're riding the bus between Lucca and Barga and find yourself not able to stop and get off! The "Ponte del Diavolo" near Borgo a Mozzano is one such place that comes to mind.
 
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