EasyJet Holidays

Photo Friday: Loving Lucca

March 27th, 2009
Amie from Ciao Bambino

Lucca is one of my favorite cities in Italy—with and without kids.  The walled-city is perfectly preserved and despite it’s relatively small size, visiting the city is a unique cultural experience.  The architecture is extraordinary and there is sense of a tight-knit community that I haven’t experienced in other cities in Italy.

What I love most about Lucca for families is the wall surrounding the city where everyone walks, jogs, and rides bikes.  It provides a unique vantage point and quite simply is a special place to have a memorable Italian experience.   You can rent bikes from a number of rental shops in the city, including kids bikes and trailers.  On any given Sunday, everyone is out and about—it’s so fun!

The other point that makes the city work well for kids is that most of the streets within the walls have traffic limitations, so there are few cars and many open, spectacular piazzas.

Perhaps one reason Lucca is so near and dear to my heart is that it is the place where one Easter Sunday my husband was so immersed in enjoying a cappuccino in the sunshine, that he didn’t realize that I was missing (literally) for 30 minutes. I was accidentally locked in a restaurant bathroom and given the holiday, nobody was around to hear my calls for help.  When I was finally rescued, my husband was totally unphased and clearly didn’t even notice I was gone!  I guess he was really into the glorious setting …

Albergo Villa Marta is our favorite boutique hotel in that area and is just 10 minutes outside the city walls.  See more Photo Friday posts on Delicious Baby.

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8 Comments to Photo Friday: Loving Lucca:

  1. Lisa Overman wrote: March 27th, 2009 at 1:29 pm

    What wonderful memories, those are gorgeous. Italy is such a dreamy place.

  2. Peace Mitchell (Australia) wrote: March 27th, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    What a beautiful city! Your photos are gorgeous, thanks for sharing. I’d love to take my children there to explore this lovely place.

  3. wandermom wrote: March 27th, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    Having spent two weeks in and around the Lucca area this past summer, I too am a huge fan.
    I even spent a morning lounging in the main square with 8 kids ranging in age from just over a year to 12. Surprising as this may seem, all four sets of parents had fun, got to chat, and got plenty of photos of the kids playing.
    My hotel recommendation: La Luna Lucca. This family-run, 3* hotel is within the city walls between Piazza San Michele and the Antiteatro. The staff were excellent with my children – and the family room was spacious with a king bed and 2 pull-out over-sized armchairs.

  4. Lucia wrote: March 27th, 2009 at 5:53 pm

    Looks like a wonderful place….love the idea of renting bikes. I am adding this to our growing list of place to visit in Italy. Sorry to hear about your bathroom lock-in!

  5. Lorraine Akemann wrote: March 27th, 2009 at 9:42 pm

    The bicycle photo has me hooked. Lucca has just made it on our list of wonderful places to see!

  6. Dominique wrote: March 29th, 2009 at 8:05 am

    I was going to say the same thing about seeing the bicycle photo. I love finding places like this to ride…easy terrain, great atmosphere and not having to play dodge ‘em with cars.

  7. Tamara Rice wrote: April 2nd, 2009 at 11:35 am

    Wow. I am in love with that picture. I just want to dive in and be there now THIS Easter–even if I have to be locked in a bathroom for 30 minutes!

  8. Kerry wrote: May 19th, 2011 at 1:09 pm

    Was researching Lucca for our upcoming trip and found this blog post…do you know if they have bikes for kids still using training wheels, or attachments to the adult bikes? Thanks!

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