It's that time of the year again: with the return of the sun, visitors come back to Lucca, and roam our streets from Porta Elisa to via Filungo, and from Piazza Santa Maria to Duomo San Martino.

Actually quite a lot of them do not "roam": they spend a lot of time bent forward, looking at their maps of the town. Trying to figure out where they are.

So here are a few tips to help you navigate through Lucca.

The first rule is that whatever you do, you can't get lost: no matter where you are in the center, the Walls are less than 5 minutes away. So if you keep walking more or less straight, you will get to the Walls.

Actually, walking straight is usually the best course of action:

• if you enter the town through Porta Santa Anna, the Western gate, and heads away from the Walls, you will either go trough via Vittorio Emmanuelle II to Piazza Napoleone, the biggest square in Lucca, just one block from Piazza San Michele, the heart of Lucca. or more likely through via San Paolino directly to San Michele.
• if you enter the town through Porta Elisa (East), then you will walk through the arch of Porta San Gervasio, then on via Santa Croce, see the signs for the Torre Guinigi on your right, and then get to... Piazza San Michele.
• you might also park on Piazza Santa Maria, along the North portion of the Walls, in which case you will walk for a block away from the wall, and turn left on via Filungo, which takes you past the Amphiteatro and to via Roma, close to San Michele,
• finally, if you come from the station, South of the center, you will head straight to the Walls, follow a small (but obvious) path accross the grass and take a hidden passageway through and up the Walls, from which you will see the Duomo, San Martino.

To get to Piazza Amphiteatro, one of the main point of interest, you need to take via Filungo, the busiest street of Lucca, off of via Roma, one block behind San Michele church.

That's about it! And if you get lost and end up by the wall, just climb on top of it. The circumference is about 4 km (2.5 miles), so it shouldn't take you long to see it all.

You can also get maps of Lucca at the Tourist Information booth, near Porta Elisa, Porta Santa Anna and Porta Santa Maria, or use our map of Lucca.

Finally, if you get lost, DO NOT PANIC, you won't go real far, and you are seeing the best part of Lucca, it's quiet, narrow streets, lined with old buildings and quirky stores. So look around you, and enjoy the walk.

posted by michel, 2005-05-24