80 minutes by train, under €8, no reservation needed. Lucca is the city tourists skip — intact Renaissance walls you bike on top of, Puccini's birthplace, and no bus tours in sight.
Firenze SMN → Lucca roughly every hour. No reservation needed. Lucca station is 5 min walk from Porta San Pietro.
A11 Florence → Lucca. Parking: Parcheggio Palatucci (free) or Piazzale Verdi garage (€1.50/h). Don't drive inside the walls.
Train. Cheap, frequent, drops you at the city gate. Bring a book for the ride.