Tuscany, Lucca, Bagni di Lucca

Description

Bagni di Lucca is an historic old spa town with long-standing international connections. It is also one of the largest mountain communities in Italy covering over 16,000 hectares with over 75% of the area covered with deciduous trees.

The town has three main centres, La Villa where are most of the shops and hotels, Fornoli, the more modern and most highly-populated area, and also the location of the railway station and between these, Ponte a Serraglio at the site of an early bridge across the River Lima.

Bagni di Lucca has been very popular with English visitors in the past; you will find that one of the main streets is called Via Whipple, while the Old Chemist Shop is a major feature of Bagni, not to mention the Circolo dei Forestieri, another institution of town. Another major landmark is the English Church, a somewhat decayed mock-gothic building of the 1830's which now hosts the local tourist information office and local lending and reference libraries. Piazza Bagni alla Villa contains many large and elegant houses whose previous guests include notable people who came to take the waters; wall plaques commemorate the visits of Lord Byron, the English poet, and Michel de Montaigne, the 16th century French diarist, among others.

Why Bagni di Lucca:

• A retreat to cool off in hot Italian summers, but close enough to Lucca
  
• A small town with lots of character and a very romantic atmosphere

To do in bagni di Lucca:

• Rest your tired body and mind at the Spas Terme Jean Varraud in the hills about La Villa.
• Most people find great amusement from the River Lima itself as it is excellent for paddling, canoeing, trout spotting or even, for the more adventurous, swimming. The easiest way to find a good place is to drive upstream from Bagni di Lucca - Villa until you reach a point where the river is not in a deep gorge and then look for parked cars or roadside parking places as these generally indicate places where the river can easily be accessed.  
• Walking and hiking. There are some wonderful trails to do in the nearby hills. Go to the local tourist information office for maps and directions
• Local trattorias and restaurants are renowned for wonderful food. Explore the numerous hill villages and country roads to discover antique communities with family run trattorias