Piana di Lucca: 5 senses + 1

This multi-sensory tour starts in the city of Lucca, where you can discover the lives, the works, and the places which artists of great calibre have marked with their presence. Musical excerpts of the artists’ most significant and known compositions will accompany you on your walk. In addition to getting to know the history and the beauties of Lucca, become acquainted with the musicians, hear anecdotes about their lives and the places connected to them. Among these places, the Puccini Museum – Casa Natale, the museum which retraces paths of the great composer, its personality, its passions, and its genius.

The day ends with a dinner based on Maestro Giacomo Puccini’s favourite dishes.

Explore the town of Altopascio. Particularly known in the Middle Ages for its strategic position as a converging point of many roads, an historical crosspoint for pilgrims travelling along the Via Francigena. Through a guided tour, discover its tradition of assistance carried out under the auspices of the Order of the Knights of the Tau.

Altopascio is also renowned as the city of bread, due to a particular baking process that sees the use of “sconcia”, the local mother dough, that the town has maintained over the centuries. After that, discover the traditional bread-production process through a workshop with a local artisan: you can make and taste your own bread. After the workshop, a traditional lunch awaits you. In the afternoon, we suggest you explore the Sibolla Lake, a small 60-hectare treasure chest of biodiversity which preserves the most interesting wildlife and flora.

Free evening.

The third day focuses on enticing your taste buds and discovering the majestic medieval town of Montecarlo, renowned for its production of excellent D.O.C. wines and the highly-prized D.O.P. extra virgin olive oil. Start your day with a bike tour in the countryside, where you can take a glance at the amazing landscape, characterized by hills and vineyards. Visit the olive oil mill and discover the ancient extra virgin olive oil-making art, where you can also taste two different types of EVO oil.

Through a guided tour, walk on the town’s alleys and head to the outstanding city walls that surround the historical centre. Visit the majestic Cerruglio Fortress, built between the 14th and 16th centuries on the highest point of Montecarlo’s hill.

This tasty tour of Montecarlo ends with a visit to a winery and a tasting of a selection of its excellent wines of own production, accompanied by a lovely atmosphere and exquisite local delicacies.

Free evening.

Discover Piana di Lucca’s enchanting smells and flavours. Your tour starts in Lucca with a guided tour where you can abandon yourself to the fragrant scent of freshly-baked specialties and other local desserts of the area. Entice your taste buds with a high-quality tasting of the best local products and the harmonic wines of the hills of Lucca. Visit the small traditional shops of the city: bakeries, pastry shops, delicatessens, and wine shops.

After this tasty tour, visit Lucca’s botanical garden, a true natural treasure housed in the heart of the city. This wonderful garden, of an area of 2 hectares, preserves more than one thousand plant species from all over the world gathered throughout the centuries, and you can come and find out their sweet scents. To top the morning off, climb up the breath-taking Giunigi Tower, built in the 14th century by the Giunigi family, unique for its small holm oak grove on its top. At a height of 45 metres, admire an incredible panorama overlooking the Lucca’s historical centre and its surrounding hills. Here, you will smell a total sense of freedom.

Lunch can be chosen at will.

In the afternoon, head towards the town of Porcari, renowned for being a famous paper eco-district. Visit a paper mill and discover the several steps in the production process of this high-quality product. Alternatively, visit Lucca’s Manifattura Sigaro Toscano with a guide, and unveil the production process of this Tuscan excellence.

Free evening.

After a good night’s sleep, explore the town of Villa Basilica and fill your eyes with beauty. Start your day with a natural tour on the Pizzorne Plateau. Its average altitude is between 850-900m a.s.l., with its highest point being 1020 m a.s.l. Characterized by unspoiled nature and marvellous landscapes, this mountainous area will gift you breath-taking panoramas and views. Take part in a yoga class immersed in the great beauty of this territory. Visit the Fortress of Villa Basilica, build on a high point and used for defence: a majestic view of the valley awaits you. Enjoy the panorama and a tasty picnic.

In the afternoon, visit the historical centre and admire the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, built in the 12th century. The church preserves a 14th-century Cross realized by Bonaventura Berlingheri, the most famous painter of the Lucchesia.

The day ends with a dinner at a restaurant with a panoramic view, where you can enjoy local foods at sunset.

The last day focuses on the visit ofone of the most majestic historical villas built between the 15th and 19th century by Lucca’s noble families, and its wonderful garden. This way, you can end your tour in the Piana di Lucca with a real feeling of wonder.