Where to eat in Lucca: tordelli, farro and olive oil within the walls
Lucca has its own cuisine within Tuscany, tied to extra-virgin olive oil and Garfagnana farro: where to find it inside the Renaissance walls.
H005, Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Lucca has a food tradition recognisable even within Tuscan cuisine as a whole. Tordelli lucchesi — fresh pasta parcels filled with meat, stale bread, chard, egg and nutmeg, dressed with ragù or tomato sauce — are the city's most distinctive dish, originally made for Fat Thursday but now cooked year-round. Lucca's extra-virgin olive oil, among the finest in Tuscany, accompanies most dishes.
Another product worth seeking out is Farro della Garfagnana IGP, grown without chemical fertilisers in the mountains north of the city and used above all in hearty soups. Trattorias within the Renaissance walls, particularly on the smaller streets away from Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, offer the most authentic setting for tasting these dishes without the prices of the more touristy areas.
Practical info
When should you go to Lucca?
The best months are April, May, June, September and October, when there are fewer people.
Are there a lot of people in Lucca?
Lucca is not very crowded compared to the more touristic destinations.
Where exactly is Lucca located?
Lucca sits in Tuscany.
Part of the complete guide
How to get there
- 🚆 Nearest station: Lucca ~1 km as the crow flies
- ✈️ Nearest airport: Aeroporto internazionale Galileo Galilei PSA ~20 km as the crow flies
Nearest points as the crow flies (source OpenStreetMap): actual times depend on the roads, often mountain ones.
