Assisi to Lucca

Jenny4352

New member
Arriving in Rome on 4 Sep 22 to start walking Via Francigena from Lucca to Rome 11 Sept 22. Will take train from Rome to Assisi for a day or two before making Lucca a home base for a few days before commencing the walk. Best transport from Assisi to Lucca? Seem to be very limited timetables for train/bus.
 
What a wonderful trip you have planned! One day I'd like to do something like this!!

I think the problem is that basically only regional trains stop in Assisi, so it's the making the connections work all the way to Lucca that will take time. I see most travel times are around 4.5 hours! By what time do you need to get to Lucca? I can help look in more detail. I found a Flixbus from Perugia to Florence, but the Flixbus stop is at Villa Costanza which is along the A1 highway so then you need to take tram to SMN train station and from there take the train to Lucca. So things like that make the travel time long, but it isn't super complicated. Another route takes you by train from Assisi to Florence SMN but since it makes 12 stops, the trip take 2.5hrs! But then you don't need to get into Florence as you arrive directly there, so you can then catch another train to Lucca.

So more than anything, decide by what time you need to get to Lucca at the latest and let's see if we can find a good route to take.
 
Thank you Lourdes for your informative reply. We have decided that as time is limited, we may just make Lucca our home base for 4 or so nights and explore the surrounding region during that time, and leave Assisi for another trip. We will not have any private transportation so will be relying upon train (regional) and bus travel. Besides the obvious Pisa & Florence can you recommend any other towns/cities/regions we could easily assess from Lucca for day trips etc? (We will be walking through to Rome along the Via Francigena and therefore will not need to explore this region from Lucca).
 
I understand, getting rid of unnecessary travel time always makes more sense. Assisi will have to wait! ;)

I would suggest to enjoy Lucca, renting bikes to do the wall circuit several times, it is very enjoyable and weather should be great in September for it. You can make a half day to Pisa for sure, to see the tower, but Florence will require a whole day. If you don't want to try to fit in too many things, I'd just suggest spending time nearby.

For example, another recommendation would be to take the bus that takes you into the hills nearby to see some of the villas that surround Lucca. We really love Marlia and it is easy to get to. Here is my review, with info on bus toward the end for getting there: https://www.discovertuscany.com/lucca/villa-reale-marlia-near-lucca.html (bus 59 from Piazzale Verdi, stop right in front of the villa entrance). You can easily spend a whole half day there, especially if you want to enjoy visiting the villas and gardens without a hurry.

This article lists a few more: https://www.discovertuscany.com/lucca/historical-villas-in-lucca.html

If you'd like to go to the beach a day, you could head to Viareggio, also easy to reach by train, and walk to the seafront. There are lots of bathing establishments where you can rent chairs and sun umbrella, as well as a "free" area of beach to the south where you can plant a towel on the sand and enjoy. Most people do carry along their own sun umbrellas, you'll be able to tell once you're in that area by the mish-mash of umbrellas that don't match anymore ;)

I am sure your walk down the Francigena will be lovely, I'd love to hear back how that goes after you do it!! I imagine you're doing it with a group, so would love feedback on the tour and how well it is organized, whether the pace is good and how the lodgings are set up. Aside from knowing more, it is something that I'd like to do as soon as my own kids are a little older (my youngest just turned 3).
 
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