If you’re thinking about living in Lucca, this small Tuscan city delivers a big daily-life dividend. Its intact Renaissance walls form a leafy ring for walking or cycling, the lanes inside are calm and flat, and cafés cluster around Piazza dell’Anfiteatro and San Michele in Foro. Lucca sits between Pisa and Florence, so day trips and commutes are easy by train.
If you like a slower rhythm without giving up good connections, Lucca is a great city to live in, and arguably one of the best places to call home in Tuscany. The historic centre is walkable, bike-friendly and safe, and the town beyond the walls gives you bigger homes and easier parking. Summer is sunny and social, spring and autumn are glorious for the walls and the Serchio riverside, and winter is mild by northern European standards.
