Barga is one of the most important and large towns of the Garfagnana area, in the province of Lucca. Set in a mountain background and completely surrounded by lush forests, it offers an interesting destination we highly recommend visiting, especially if you love nature and all the outdoor activities that you may organize in a place like this.
Without any doubt, due to its position in the Garfagnana, getting to Barga by car is the simplest solution but, if you don’t have either your own car or a rental vehicle and prefer to travel by public transports, you’ll find below some advice below for getting to town also by train and bus.
By Car
If you’re coming from South, take highway A1, then A11 and head in the direction of Capannori exit. Follow indications to SS 439 and head to Lucca, Borgo a Mozzano, Fornaci di Barga. Once there, follow indications to Barga on the SS 445.
If you’re coming from North, take highway A1, then follow indications to Genova-Livorno, Viareggio and finally Lucca (a11). Exit at Lucca est and follow indications to Lucca, Borgo a Mozzano, Fornaci di Barga and finally Barga on the SS 445.
If you are already in Lucca, take state road SS 12 and follow indications to Borgo a Mozzano first and then Barga. If you have time, I highly recommend stopping in Borgo a Mozzano first, where there’s is the legendary Devil’s Bridge, a particualarly-shaped bridge that keeps a very ancient legend on its construction.
By Train
There’s a rail station in Barga, named Barga - Gallicano, set on the Lucca - Aulla rail line. The only trains heading to Barga leave from Lucca or Pisa Centrale stations. There are obviously more and more frequent trains from Lucca: rides are direct and it takes you about 40-50 minutes and cost €4.30. A few solutions are available from Pisa Centrale but, in most cases you need to stop in Lucca for changing train, even if some go directly to Barga (about 5 trains per day during week days). Cost is €5.90 for both solutions, that will take you about 1 hour and 15 minutes (direct trains) and 1 hour and a half (or even less) in the other case.
For more information, costs and consulting the timetable, visit the trenitalia official website (English version on your top right hand).
By Bus
You may also decide to take a bus for getting to Barga. The bus company is called Vai Bus. There are daily runs to Barga leaving mostly from Lucca (or the recently opened trading center in Marlia); it takes you about an hour and there are more or less 8 runs per day, depending on week and weekend days (Bus Q05). We strongly recommend double checking the timetables, especially if you are planning to travel on weekends.
If you’re already in the Garfagnana area, you’ll have more solutions to reach Barga by bus: take bus Q59 from Pieve Fosciana, bus Q60 from Castelnuovo and bus Q77 from Castelvecchio.
Fore more detailed information on the full bus schedule, you may download the pdf file here. Rides to Barga start on page number 63.
