How to Make New Friends in Lucca as a Woman
Lucca is a city that makes you want to share it. The streets are walkable, the walls are right there for a morning stroll, and there is always a café with a free table in the sun. And yet many women, whether they grew up here, moved from another part of Italy or came from abroad, say the same thing: I would love to meet more women who enjoy the same things I do.
If that sounds familiar, you are not alone. Here is what I have learned about meeting other women in and around Lucca.
Why making new friends can feel hard
Life gets full. Work, family and routines take up most of the week, and the friends we already have often live in other towns or are busy with their own lives. Friendships from school or an old job don't always grow with us.
Moving makes it even harder, whether you came from Florence, Milan or Amsterdam. And if your life has just changed in another way, with children leaving home, a new job or retirement, you may suddenly have time for new people without knowing where to find them.
5 ways to meet other women in Lucca
1. Walk the walls, and say hello
The walls of Lucca are the city's living room. People walk, run, cycle and chat there every day. Going at the same time each week is an easy way to start recognising faces, and to be recognised.
2. Become a regular somewhere
Pick one café, one market stall or one bakery and keep going back. Being a familiar face matters, and conversations with the owner often lead to introductions to other customers.
3. Take a class
A cooking class, a language course or a yoga group gives you something to talk about from the first minute. You see the same people every week, which makes the step from small talk to coffee afterwards much smaller.
4. Look beyond your own town
Some of the best connections happen when you are willing to drive twenty minutes. Pisa, Pistoia, Viareggio and the Garfagnana are all close by, and women from those areas are often looking for company just as much as you are.
5. Join a community made for meeting
Online groups are useful for practical questions, but they rarely turn into real friendships. What helps most is showing up in person, with a small group, for something you would enjoy anyway.
Walk the walls of Lucca with Ladies of Tuscany
That is exactly why I started Ladies of Tuscany: a community for all women in Tuscany who enjoy doing things together, meeting up and making new connections. We organise small, relaxed events across Tuscany, and our events are made for women who come on their own.
Our next event in Lucca is Walk the Walls of Lucca on 8 November 2026 at 10:30. We walk together on the walls and take our time. It is a gentle way to meet new people without any pressure.
Creating a profile is free, and you only pay for the events you choose.
Joyce Verdijk, founder of Ladies of Tuscany, moved to Tuscany from the Netherlands and organises small events for women across the region.
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