Puccini Opera Festival

Day 1                 London / Lucca

EasyJet      EZY8235
Depart:                                London Gatwick                                             12:25    
Arrive:                                  Pisa                                                                        15:40    
Duration: 2h 15

Upon arrival at the airport, you will be met by your local guide who will take you on a short transfer to the picturesque old town of Lucca.

Check in to the Hotel Ilaria, your base for the next four nights. In the early evening, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant in Lucca.

Day  2                       Lucca / Massaciuccoli Lake

After breakfast, meet your local guide for a discovery tour of Lucca, which includes a visit to Puccini’s birth home, where the memories of the composer are preserved, and you can see the piano on which he composed Turandot. You will also visit the stunning Cathedral San Martino and church of San Giovanni.

After a leisurely lunch in a typical trattoria, you will have time to explore Lucca independently.

Perhaps cycle or take a gentle walk around the town’s walls, or relax and watch the world go by in a café in the stunning Piazza dell’Anfiteatro.

In the early evening you will travel to Massaciuccoli Lake and take a scenic boat trip along its waterways, an area which inspired Puccini in his work and where he enjoyed his leisure time.

A buffet dinner will be served on-board and special guest Adrian Mourby will provide an introduction to the evening performance of Tosca.

Day 3                  Lucca / Torre del Lago

After breakfast, Adrian will provide further insights into the fascinating life of Puccini during an informal get together at the hotel.

The afternoon will be at leisure, giving you the opportunity to visit the Basilica San Frediano or one of the many churches and museums within Lucca’s old town.

Early evening you will travel to Torre del Lago and visit Villa Puccini. Here the composer lived and worked for almost 30 years.

Dinner will be served in a local restaurant and Adrian will introduce this evening’s performance of Turandot.

Day 4                     Celle dei Puccini

After a leisurely breakfast, meet your local guide for an excursion to Celle dei Puccini and the gardens of the Villa Reale.

You will see Puccini’s ancestral home, which is now a well maintained museum housing furniture, portraits, letters and the piano on which he composed part of Madama Butterfly’s score.

Lunch will be served in a local restaurant. On the return to Lucca, a stop will be made for a gentle walk around the stunning gardens of the Villa Reale di Marlia, once the summer residence of Napoleon’s sister and where the violinist Nicolò Paganini held his concerts.

Enjoy an evening concert in San Giovanni Church.

A farewell dinner will be served in a local trattoria in Lucca.

Day 5                   Lucca / London

After a leisurely breakfast, check out from the hotel and join the excursion to Viareggio, an art nouveau seaside city and former home of Giacomo Puccini. Here he composed his last opera Turandot.

There will also be a chance to visit his favourite cafe on the sea front of Viareggio, Gran Caffè Margherita and for those who want to shop before the airport, Viareggio has some of the most fashionable shops in this part of Tuscany.

Enjoy your final meal on the tour and free time to explore the seaside setting before transferring to Pisa for departure.

EasyJet       EZY8236
Depart: Pisa 16:10
Arrive: London Gatwick (North) 17:25
Duration: 2h 15