Lucca and surroundings - tips for hidden gems!

Ciao!

We are going to San Romano, Lucca, for a birthday party. We’ll arrive at Pisa Airport on Thursday morning 5th September and head up to San Romano on Friday. Stay there for two nights and then then have two nights somewhere else before we leave Tuesday night.
We’ve seen the Pisa, but not Lucca. We enjoy good life and do not want to stress around. Good life for us is a combination of beautiful nature/serene places to be discovered by foot/bike, cosy villages/town squares with nice restaurants, high quality food and excellent wine. A visit/ stay at a winery or close by. A dip in the sea is never wrong.

We’d like to have suggestions for what to see and where to stay the night before the birthday weekend and the two nights after. We live in Norway so it’s easy to get back to Tuscany. Meaning we don’t want to do it all this time.

Looking forward to Tuscany and some hidden gems suggestions

Best Regards
Stefan & Kjersti
 
First, I'd suggest renting a car - you didn't explicitly say whether you're moving around with train or car, but the car will make it easier to find those hidden gems out in the countryside - and to stay outside of the city -- since San Romano is not in the city I will assume it was already part of the plan ;-).

I would suggest San Giuliano Terme or Vicopisano closer to Pisa for your first night. You can walk around and explore the small towns in the area. We also highly recommend staying anywhere near the Certosa di Calci di Pisa, where you can also spend Friday exploring the monastery turned into museum - read more here https://www.discovertuscany.com/pisa/certosa-di-calci.html

Then for after the party, I'd suggest staying in the area -- the Garfagnana has a lot to offer in terms of walking/hiking, natural trails and such. Visit Barga, the Bridge of the Devil (Ponte del Diavolo) near Borgo a Mozzano (you'll pass it on the way to San Romano along the river on the right side), Gallicano (small town but it is crossways to head to the Wind Caves over Fornovalasco).

You can do hot springs at either San Giuliano Terme or in Bagni di Lucca, close to San Romano.

You can find links to the Wind Caves and hiking over Fornovalasco in the Garfagnana section of the site, as well as other things in the area.
I think you'll find it hard to decide on what to see/do in those 2 extra days considering you'll have several options.
 
Hidden Gems

Buongiorno -

if you are really looking for something special around Lucca, then you might want to read this article about the fabulous villas and their gardens:

https://www.discovertuscany.com/lucca/historical-villas-in-lucca.html

Especially rewarding was the visit I took to the Villa Reale Marila, I was totally unprepared for the beautiful gardens.

Another thing I was totally unprepared to enjoy as much as I did was the Strada del Vino in the Lucca area! Everyone talks about Chianti, Brunello and Vino Nobile - but Lucca has you covered with many delicious opportunities.

Buon Viaggio,

Donna Denise
 
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