Surroundings
Villa Gioma sits on top of a hill in Balbano, west of Lucca, in a spot that lets you choose every day between art cities, the sea and the mountains, and come back in the evening to somewhere quiet. Below are the places we recommend to our guests, with real distances from the villa. Everything listed is reachable by car; if you would rather not drive, you will find the contact of a private driver. A rental car from Pisa airport is the easiest way to get around.
Lucca and its walls
Six miles, twenty minutes.
Lucca and its walls
Six miles, twenty minutes. Lucca is a city you explore on foot or by bicycle, on top of the Renaissance walls that circle it for two and a half miles, among trees and lawns. Inside: the oval Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, the Guinigi tower with oak trees growing on its roof, the cathedral of San Martino, the shops of Via Fillungo. In July the Lucca Summer Festival brings big-name concerts to Piazza Napoleone; in September come the patron saint's festivities, fairs and characteristic local markets; at the end of October the city fills up for Lucca Comics. A few miles from Lucca, the Villa Reale di Marlia and the other historic villas of Lucca make a fine afternoon; in December there are Christmas markets and themed attractions.
Pisa
Fourteen miles, half an hour. The Piazza dei Miracoli, with the Leaning Tower, the cathedral, the baptistery and the monumental cemetery, is a quarter of an hour from the airport, which is 14 miles from the villa. It is worth going beyond the square: the riverfront along the Arno, Piazza dei Cavalieri, the Vettovaglie market.
The Versilia coast: Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi
The sea is 25 minutes away. Viareggio, 11 miles, has its Art Nouveau promenade, historic beach clubs and the Carnival in February. Forte dei Marmi, 19 miles, is the most elegant beach on the coast, with the Wednesday market and the evenings downtown. We book your umbrella and loungers at the beach clubs we know.
The Garfagnana and the Serchio valley
North of Lucca the Serchio valley climbs toward the Apuan Alps: villages like Barga and Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, the medieval Devil's Bridge at Borgo a Mozzano, the thermal baths of Bagni di Lucca, hiking trails and the marble quarries above Carrara. The Serchio river runs two and a half miles from the villa.
The Cinque Terre and Portovenere
La Spezia is 43 miles away, Portovenere 52. From La Spezia the train reaches all five villages of the Cinque Terre in half an hour: you leave the villa in the morning and are back for dinner. Alternatively, the boat from Portovenere, with Lerici and the Gulf of Poets.
Florence in a day
Fifty-four miles, a little over an hour. The Uffizi, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Croce, lunch in the Oltrarno. With a driver you go and come back without worrying about parking and the restricted traffic zone.
Close to home
Just over a mile away is the castle of Nozzano, with its train station; a quarter of an hour away, Lake Massaciuccoli and its nature reserve, where Puccini wrote his operas; twenty minutes, the Carthusian monastery of Farneta; four miles, the church of Santa Maria and the castle of Castiglioncello. For dinner without going far, the restaurant Il Borghetto del Castello is two miles away. In the surrounding villages you will find grocery stores, bakeries and a supermarket; the nearest shopping mall is under six miles.