If you ask me where to go in Tuscany for a family weekend with kids, the first place that comes to my mind is Lucca.
I find it to be a welcoming, family-friendly city, with its historic center surrounded by beautiful Renaissance-era walls. It’s easy to explore on foot, with all the main sights, restaurants, and gelato shops (which are essential for keeping little ones motivated!) within walking distance. There are very few cars—most of the historic center is a limited traffic zone (ZTL)—which makes it a safe and peaceful place, even late in the evening.
We chose Lucca for a weekend getaway with our three children (ages 5, 7, and 11). We didn’t make any specific plans; our goal was simply to enjoy a relaxing weekend and staying flexible to meet everyone’s needs.
For our stay, we picked Le Dimore del Borgo, a small residence just outside the city walls with private parking. We had stayed there a few years ago and loved it. The location is perfect for visiting Lucca—just a five-minute walk from the historic center. The apartments are spacious, beautifully furnished, and spotless. The owner was also very kind in allowing us to leave our car beyond the check-out time on the day of our departure, so that we could enjoy a few more hours enjoying breakfast. It’s a shame that breakfast is no longer included as part of your stay as I remember it being excellent, but it is now extra at €10 per person. Since we are a family of 5, a €50 breakfast seemed a bit steep.
On our first day, we settled in and then set off on a lovely walk, passing by the Basilica of San Frediano, with its stunning golden mosaics on the facade, and continued to Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, heading toward Torre Guinigi. The idea of climbing the tower immediately sparked the kids’ imagination, though when the youngest saw the stairs, they hesitated for a moment feeling a bit intimidated.
That soon vanished seeing their older sister ahead already on the second landing, it gave them the courage to follow, and in the end, were very proud of making it all the way to the top!
The Torre Guinigi offers a unique panoramic view over the town and is a must-see on any visit to Lucca. Under the shade of the holm oaks growing on its rooftop, you can admire the entire city from above and take some truly memorable photos.
For lunch, we chose La Bottega di Anna e Leo, a cozy, traditional osteria in a convenient location for us. One of their specialties is a dessert made with vegetables—an interesting idea, though even in sweet form, veggies didn’t win over the younger members of the family.
We then headed out for the real highlight of our stay that afternoon: a surrey ride on the city walls which turns out to be a hit with both kids and adults! It’s an incredibly fun experience that we had already done years ago, back when the family was smaller. Near the walls, there are several shops renting out bicycles and surreys of various sizes. We opted for the largest six-seater model, though with only three of us pedaling, the initial climb up on the walls was quite a challenge! Assisted-pedal versions are available, but since the walls are almost entirely flat, they’re not really necessary if you have a few strong legged people in your group.
The ride itself is wonderful—Lucca’s walls are a beautiful green park encircling the historic center, offering a peaceful way to admire the city while strolling or cycling in complete safety.
We talk about it in more detail here.
That weekend also happened to be the Lucca Medievale event ( https://luccamedievale.it/ ), with various themed stands. We walked back to the fair after our surrey ride to take a closer look at some of the attractions, especially those for kids, as well as the stands displaying weapons, armor, and even bagpipe playing. It would have been worth spending more time there, but dinner time was approaching.
For dinner, we chose La Pizzeria in Santa Maria, which had good online reviews. The pizzas were tasty and generously topped—not a huge selection of vegetarian options, but overall, a solid choice..
For the essential gelato stop, we went to Gelateria La Crema Matta. Sophie, our resident gelato expert, was so impressed that she enthusiastically declared it “better than the gelato in Florence”!
In the morning, after breakfast (again near our apartment, at Momus Café), we took our time, moving at a Sunday-appropriate pace, toward the Duomo. We took advantage of the family ticket, which for €20 grants access to the Cathedral, Bell Tower, Museum, and the Church of Santi Giovanni e Reparata with its Baptistery and archaeological area.
Since Sunday Mass is celebrated at the Duomo, it opens for visitors at 12 PM. While waiting, we first explored the archaeological area and then climbed the bell tower of the Church of Santi Giovanni e Reparata (after Torre Guinigi, our kids were determined to climb anything climbable!).
Inside the Cathedral, the Volto Santo—a beautiful wooden crucifix—was undergoing restoration but was still visible inside the on-site restoration lab, protected by glass.
We were also able to admire once again the funeral monument of Ilaria del Carretto, which even the youngest members of our group found strikingly beautiful.
For lunch, we were really happy to try In Pasta ( https://www.in-pasta.it/ ), an artisan pasta shop “with a kitchen”. Their daily menu featured a wide variety of pasta dishes, all vegetarian or vegan (at least on that day), and we loved the relaxed, informal atmosphere. For example, you fill your own water jug from the tap, and all the plates, tables, and chairs (we ate outside) are all mismatched and given a second life from past homes — a touch we really appreciated. But most importantly, the homemade pasta was absolutely delicious!
Of course, we couldn’t leave Lucca without trying another gelato spot. This time, we chose Paniko, partly because it was just around the corner from the pasta shop and partly because of its excellent reviews—which turned out to be well-deserved. We enjoyed more fantastic gelato!
We still had a few more ideas for our Lucca trip, including the “Giants of Prehistory” exhibition, which would have surely fascinated the little ones, and the Torture Museum—though that one seemed a bit too intense for their age. Most of all, we would have loved to take a trip to Villa Reale di Marlia, about 15 minutes by car from Lucca, a beautiful park that we’ll talk about here.
However, the troops were starting to show signs of exhaustion, and we didn’t want to push our luck—so we set course for home.
Traveling with kids, even just for a weekend, can be a bit challenging: keeping them engaged, managing little crises of sleepiness, boredom, hunger, bathroom breaks, and so on. But at the same time, it’s wonderful to see the world through their eyes — you notice things you wouldn’t have otherwise, and small details take on a whole new light.
We’ll definitely go back to Lucca soon!
About Stefano Romeo
Stefano is a native from Florence but with a quarter of Sienese blood in his DNA and many years living in Pisa is a true Tuscan. He is still learning that his homeland has many corners and hidden gems he has to discover, ones he particularly enjoys seeing from the saddle of his bike.
