Staying in San Francesco, Lucca: Torre Guinigi, the canal street and the quiet east side

Who should stay in San Francesco?

People who want to sleep inside the walls without the crowds, and people who are staying long enough to cook: this is the part of the centre guides recommend for peaceful stays and self-catering. It suits families, longer visits and, above all, drivers, because the Mazzini car park is inside the walls on this side.

It suits less well those who want everything outside the front door. The properties here sit between 300 m and 1 km from Piazza San Michele, typically about 600 m, so the main squares are eight to ten minutes away rather than two. There are just two hotels.

What kind of accommodation is there in San Francesco?

Apartments and houses, for the most part. Of the 118 properties, about 90 are apartments, ten are holiday homes, the highest number inside the walls, nine are B&Bs and six are guest houses. The two hotels, Hotel Ilaria and The Tuscanian Hotel, both declare four stars. Well-known B&Bs include La Gemma Di Elena and Corte Meraviglia - Relais.

Parking is easier than elsewhere in the centre, though still not the rule: about six in ten properties state that they have none, against three quarters in the San Michele and Anfiteatro areas, and eight list free parking. Around a third accept pets. No property lists a pool.

How do you get there, and where do you park?

The Mazzini car park, in Via dei Bacchettoni on the east side, is inside the walls, open 24 hours, monitored by cameras and has about 300 spaces. Sources from 2025 and 2026 disagree on the tariff: €1 to €1.50 for the first hour and €1.50 to €2 for each hour after that. The listings give no daily maximum for Mazzini, unlike the €8 or so of the car parks outside the walls; for longer stays the tourist office lists Macelli, outside the walls to the east, as a free car park.

The streets around are still a limited traffic zone. In January 2026 the city switched on new cameras at Via Elisa and Via del Fosso, among others, while the gates between Via della Quarquonia, Via dei Bacchettoni and Via Santa Chiara were left off until the works at Villa Bottini were finished. Do not rely on that: ask your accommodation which route to take and whether it will register your number plate, and wait for its answer before you enter.

On foot from the station, the Orto Botanico corner is about ten minutes away and Piazza San Francesco about 15 to 18 minutes, through Porta San Pietro and then east.

What is there to see on foot?

Torre Guinigi, at Via Sant'Andrea 41, is a 45 m brick tower with holm oaks growing on its roof, reached by 230 steps, with no lift. In 2026 the ticket costs €8 (€6.50 reduced), and a combined ticket with the Torre delle Ore and the Orto Botanico costs €19. Entry is in timed slots, with reservation recommended on weekdays and compulsory at weekends and on public holidays. In October the tower is open from about 9:30 to 17:30, with longer hours in summer.

The Orto Botanico, at Via del Giardino Botanico 14, is a two-hectare garden beside the San Regolo bastion; its ticket also admits you to the underground passages of the bastion. Hours change with the season: in early October 2026 it was open from 10:30 to 17:00.

Between the two runs Via del Fosso, with its canal and the medieval gate of Santi Gervasio e Protasio. To the north-east are the San Francesco complex and the national museum of Villa Guinigi, which in 2026 shared a €10 combined ticket with Palazzo Mansi. Piazza dell'Anfiteatro is about 600 m from the Mazzini car park, some nine minutes on foot, and Piazza San Michele eight to ten minutes from Piazza San Francesco.

Is San Francesco quiet at night?

Yes. Guides describe the east side as quieter and more residential than the west and north of the centre. The trade-off is choice: for a wide range of restaurants and bars you walk towards Via Fillungo or Piazza San Michele and back.

When is San Francesco busiest?

In the last days of October. During Lucca Comics & Games, from 28 October to 1 November in 2026, the east side is busy too: in the 2025 edition the Giardino degli Osservanti, next to San Francesco, was the cosplay headquarters, Palazzo Guinigi and the San Francesco auditorium hosted exhibitions and events, and one of the welcome desks stood on the San Regolo bastion. That year Porta Elisa and Porta San Jacopo were the two gates open to authorised vehicles.

Early September brings Murabilia, the garden show held on the walls between the San Regolo and La Libertà bastions and in the Orto Botanico, from 4 to 6 September in 2026, with about 200 exhibitors.