Lucca
A city and its walls, a mountain and its river…
canoeing, paragliding, sky-diving,
trekking and mountain biking!
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This city is probably a bit more sleepy and less busy than Florence.
The walls surrounding the city centre are the main feature of the town and the leisurely bike rides remind us that life is not all about rushing and that time can also run at a slow and enjoyable pace allowing us to take advantage of the good things in life.
If you think too much relaxation might result in boredom, you can be sure that in the Lucca province this is not an option.
The incredible richness of the natural wonders of this area provide an all-year-round source of activities and entertainment.
Activities: Kayaking and Canyoning
The mountains behind Lucca are called Garfagnana, where the Apennines meets the Apuane ridge; the landscape is more drastic than the rest of Tuscany and creates spectacular gorges, rivers, and peaks.
The east north side blends eventually with the Pistoiese mountains; the landscape is magic, cursed bridges, forests and wildwater downhills that are perfect for kayaking and rafting.
Tuscanynwild, with the support of a group of canoists among the most experienced and respected in Italy offer itineraries in the vivid surroundings of these crispy mountain streams good for kayaking, rafting, canyoning, trekking and mountainbiking.
We’ll be providing of course all the equipment, from the rafts to the helmets…
The activities are just as seasonal, depending on the weather conditions and the levels of the rivers.
Extra: Winter sports
On the mountains of Lucca and Pistoia, we also offer support for most winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding, and luging.
However, in the last few years, these activities have become harder to manage due to a more irregular quantity of snowfall in the Apennines (probably due to global warming).
Therefore, these activities are only offered when the meteorological conditions are right, rather than in the season that they usually undertaken.
Anyway the landscape is amazing. The main topic of conversations here include the quality and quantity of wild mushrooms and truffles and all sorts of other seasonal delicacies.
Eating in Lucca
The dishes of Lucca distinguish themselves from the rest of Italy due to the almost inexistence of animal fats. The base for all the sauces is extra virgin olive oil, produced in the countryside of Lucca. The most famous dishes here are: risotto al piccione (risotto in wild pigeon sauce), rosticciana di maiale (pork ribs Lucca’s stile), agnello con olive (lamb with olives), porcini wild mushrooms sautéed or grilled and the intriguing folaghe alla Puccini (roasted coots with Parma ham, sage, rosemary sauce). For the sweet dishes buccellato is surely the most famous cake of the province. This lemon flavour cake is thought to be born around 1450 and was the treat of the nobility of Tuscany for more than 500 years.