The Carnevale di Viareggio takes place on Fat Tuesday, as well as the four Sundays preceding it. The final parade is followed by a huge fireworks show. Though admission is charged to view the parade, there are festivals, cultural events, concerts and masked balls for free throughout the season.

The symbol of Viareggio’s Carnival is Burlamacco (see the mask in white, black and red below), which was created in 1930 by Umberto Bonetti.

Carnevale

In Viareggio (Lucca), home of the Tuscan carnival, the ever-present maschera is Burlamacco. It is represented as a clown dressed in a red and white checkered suit, a red hat, and a black cape.

A fun-filled mix of excitement, culture and tradition in a wide ranging entertainment program for both children and adults. The Tuscan city of Viareggio is also known as the Pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea for its long sandy beaches, its pinewood groves and beautiful promenade.

With over 63,000 people it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city in the Province of Lucca. Viareggio is famous for the “Passeggiata”, a promenade, and for the oldest Carnival in Europe, the “Carnevale di Viareggio”.

Once one of the most glamorous seaside resorts in Italy, Viareggio is still very popular and retains a good deal of the Art Nouveau architecture for which it is well known. It is situated north of Pisa and west of Lucca in northern Tuscany on the Versilia Coast.

Viareggio (Italian pronunciation: [vjaˈreddʒo; vi. aˈreddʒo]) is a city and comune in northern Tuscany, Italy, on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The symbol of the carnival of Viareggio and its official mask is Burlamacco, designed and invented by Uberto Bonetti in 1930.

The free beach is just at the end of the passejatta or at the end of the pay beaches….all on the same strip. You’ll love it; enjoy!

14 miles

Ligurian Sea

around 50 miles

51 km

Viareggio. In the province of Lucca, Viareggio is the most easily reachable beach from Florence (just an hour by train or car). There are a lot of well-equipped bathing establishments but little free beach. The sea is not beautiful like in other areas of Tuscany, but the beach is very close to the train station.

21 km.

Lucca is one of the cities most loved all of Tuscany, a stop that can not really miss in a classic itinerary to the discovery of the region. The city can be visited in a day, but if you want to appreciate the best stop for a few days or choose it as a base to explore central or north Tuscany.

It takes an average of 25m to travel from Viareggio to Lucca by train, over a distance of around 13 miles (21 km). There are normally 15 trains per day travelling from Viareggio to Lucca and tickets for this journey start from €3.60 when you book in advance.

The distance between Pisa and Lucca is 17 km. The road distance is 22.9 km.

Yes, Pisa is worth visiting, even if you just discover the iconic masterpieces on the Piazza dei Miracoli. However, as you can see, Pisa has much more to offer travellers and the city deserves to be discovered. The locals are friendly, the Italian food is great and the city is full of history and things to do.

Two full days in Lucca were enough for us, but you would need one more day if you are planning to visit Pisa.

The quickest way to get from Pisa Airport (PSA) to Lucca is to taxi which costs €70 – €85 and takes 27 min.

The fastest way to get from Pisa Airport (PSA) to Viareggio is to taxi which takes 25 min and costs 60€ – 75€.

There are hourly trains from Lucca to Firenze Santa Maria Novella station. These trains also stop at Firenze Rifredi station as well, located on Via dello Steccuto in the north of the city, if that’s more convenient for you. The trip, which is on a Regionale train, takes an hour and 15 minutes and costs about $9.

If you arrive at Pisa airport you can catch the PisaMover shuttle bus to the main Pisa train station. It leaves every 10 minutes from the airport and the trip takes 8 minutes. Trains leave approximately two times per hour from the Centrale station to Siena.

130 kilometers

85 kilometers

The easiest way to get to Sienna is by train and it can be easily reached from Florence or any other Italian city. The train station is 2 km northeast from town and you can take a local bus into the old city. There are also regular buses into Sienna from various Italian cities.

The 10 Most Beautiful Towns in Tuscany

• San Gimignano. Historical Landmark. Add.
• Lucca. Natural Feature. Add.
• Cortona. Architectural Landmark. Add.
• Montepulciano. Architectural Landmark. Add.
• Suvereto. Architectural Landmark. Add.
• Fosdinovo. Architectural Landmark. Add.
• Barga. Architectural Landmark. Add.
• Pitigliano. Architectural Landmark.

Traditional Sienese dishes include:

• crostini neri, toasted bread with liver;
• pappardelle con lepre, ribbon-shaped pasta with a sauce made with hare,
• pici, long, extra-thick spaghetti with a rich sauce;
• ribollita, a slow-cooked dense, soup-like mixture of bread, beans and vegetables,

The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation’s most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008. Siena is famous for its cuisine, art, museums, medieval cityscape and the Palio, a horse race held twice a year.