Lucca
If you have young children, Lucca is a great kid-friendly place. You can stroll the ancient wall and let your kids run off some steam, or rent bikes (for reasonable cost) and cruise around together. There are lots of big shade trees so it is quite pleasant even in the heat of summer. Climbing Guinigi Tower is a great way to get some exercise and there is no minimum age requirement (as compared to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, where kids have to be at least 8 to climb).

If you think the top of the wall is cool, wait til you see underneath it! The cavernous, brick-vaulted interior of the wall (yes, the wall is so massive that there are warehouse-sized spaces inside it) is not only a beautiful and peaceful space but also home to crazy works of art in paper. Every two years Lucca is home to the world's biggest festival of paper art, the Lucca Biennale.

Lucca also features beautiful shops (major fashion brands as well as boutiques brimming with artisan creations), really good gelato and excellent cuisine.

Our agenda in Lucca includes:

• a panoramic drive around the ancient walls
• the Romanesque church of San Frediano (monumental golden mosaic on the facade)
• Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, site of the former Roman amphitheater
• church of San Michele in Foro (intricately carved facade dating back to the 13th Century)
• Piazza Napoleone
• the cathedral of San Martino, featuring Jacopo della Quercia's sculpture of Ilaria del Carretto, deemed the most beautiful funerary monument in Italy and a work of art to compare with Michelangelo’s David, and the Volto Santo, a wooden crucifix dating back to the 8th century, the subject of much lore.

Pisa
On Pisa's “Campo dei Miracoli” you will find not only the world’s most famous bell tower but also the cathedral, baptistery and cemetery, which are all remarkable monuments.

Although our visit of Pisa is brief, there is time to climb the Leaning Tower; it only takes 15 minutes. We can pre-book tickets for you (see the bottom of the page for costs). You'll still have time to see how many creative shots you can get of your group "holding up" the Leaning Tower.

• The Tower climb is OPTIONAL for an additional fee and must be pre-booked. Children under 8 not permitted to climb.
• If you'd like to enter the baptistery (acoustics demonstration on the hour and half hour) or campo santo, tickets should be booked in advance.
• The Pisa cathedral does not open til 10am. We don't recommend going inside but if it's imperative you should let us know in advance. (Note that in some cases it might not be possible to modify the schedule to accommodate this.)

PISA OTHER COSTS


• Leaning Tower of Pisa (open daily), 35 Euro per person

Children under the age of 8 are not permitted to climb the Leaning Tower. The price of pre-booked tickets is subject to change (due to increases implemented by the issuing organization and not having to do with us).

CHURCH DRESS CODE
Proper attire is required to enter churches (bare shoulders must be covered and shorts/skirts must come down to your knees).