We returned to Lucca for a week in the summer of 2021 on our way back to France. We stayed in a lovely little apartment just inside the city walls in a quiet corner of town.

This time Lucca was very busy — crowds filled Via Fillungo and the popular tourist spots. This was during the pandemic with no international visitors, only Europeans. It’s easy to imagine how packed the city becomes when tourism returns to full strength.

We revisited our favourite spots: eating at Barilla, enjoying spritz in the piazza, and walking along the historic walls. Overall, we found Lucca more expensive than the towns and villages in Abruzzo, and the fresh produce wasn’t quite the same quality.

Lucca remains a beautiful town and highly recommended, but for us it will be the last visit for a while.