In the square we enjoyed pizza & gelato. I purchased unique beautiful hair clips or barrettes…read more This busy square is great for people watching. There were lots of cafés, shops, thanks, florists and churchgoers.

After visiting Pisa, we came to visit Lucca. Quite an interesting town. Walked around and you…read morereally need a good map to navigate in this walled-up town.

Great cocktails, beer and the first place that adds onto to a Hugo. Bar and restaurant has a…read morefantastic view of the Chiesa di San Michele in Foro cathedral and plaza.

This is the heart of this incredibly beautiful old town. And right in this heart sits the amazing…read moreSan Michele in Foro. An impressive Roman Catholic Basilica first mentioned in the year 795 (!!) and rebuilt in 1070. You are looking at a history of well over 1000 years here. The facade is really detailed and so is the impressive tower. It's definitely one of the most beautiful Basilicas we've ever encountered. Around the piazza there are lots of shops, cafés, restaurants, gelaterias etc. We bought some good wine at Enoteca Marsili Lucca and had some decent Gelato at the Café Casali. Good times.

You can climb up the tower for a fee You will get a beautiful bird's eye view of the city below…read more Lots of stairs but worth it. There's some congestion getting up to the roof but that's a must. It's like a small roof garden with a handful of trees.

By the end of - actually before the end of - three weeks in Italy I'd had enough of climbing to the…read moretops of towers. So much so that I took one look at Pisa's Leaning Tower and shrugged: No need to go up there. In Lucca though, there's but one tower and if you've never seen trees growing atop something that sits up hundreds of stairs here lies that opportunity. Torre Guinigi is 230 mostly wide stairs topped by a lookout area featuring a number of mature trees. During my visit, rains made the lookout area quite puddle-filled and getting around to the each side of the lookout area was made difficult as one isn't supposed to actually get up into the dirt area of the trees. It required some gymnastics but I was able to make my way around the space to view Lucca from above in all directions. Come in dry weather and you should have no such difficulties. For about 6 euro (less for students) you'll see Lucca from above and see the trees which grow way up there. This isn't the tallest lookout tower from which I observed Italy, nor is it the best (that'd be Florence's Duomo and, in second place, the nearby Bell Tower) but it's a fun and sweet little part of your day and something worth doing while in Lucca, even if only to say you did it.