Grand Universe Lucca

Top choice in Lucca

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Luxury accommodation arrives in Lucca with the opening of this on-trend hotel, part of the Marriott Group's Autograph Collection, in a 16th-century palazzo that once was home to the historic Hotel Universo (1857). Tech-smart rooms (think iPad room directory, video on demand, Netflix and so on) enjoy soft colour schemes typical to earthy Tuscany – rust, gold, terracotta and peach – and beautiful fabrics.

The hotel wine bar and bistro promises to be a fashionable place to lounge over drinks in style.

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • The last of the three major buildings on the piazza to be built, construction of the bell tower began in 1173 and took place in three stages over the course of 177 years, with the bell-chamber only added in 1372. Five years after construction began, when the building had reached the third floor level, the weak subsoil and poor foundation led to the building sinking on its south side 1264707656

    Leaning Tower

    9.74 MILES

    One of Italy's signature sights, the Torre Pendente truly lives up to its name, leaning a startling 3.9 degrees off the vertical. The 58m-high tower,…

  • Leaning tower of Pisa, Italy Piazza del Duomo ; Shutterstock ID 456166966; your: Bridget Brown; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI Image Update

    Duomo

    9.74 MILES

    Pisa's magnificent duomo was begun in 1064 and consecrated in 1118. Its striking tiered exterior, with green-and-cream marble cladding, gives onto a…

  • Cattedrale di San Martino

    Cattedrale di San Martino

    0.13 MILES

    Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…

  • battistero duomo & leaning tower of pisa tuscany italy

    Battistero

    9.79 MILES

    Pisa's unusual round baptistry has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and topped by a gilt bronze John the Baptist…

  • City Wall

    City Wall

    0.38 MILES

    Lucca’s monumental mura (wall) was built around the old city in the 16th and 17th centuries and remains in almost perfect condition. It superseded two…

  • Antico Palazzo dei Vescovi

    Antico Palazzo dei Vescovi

    21.65 MILES

    The bishops' palace, wedged next to the cathedral, provides a fascinating tour of Pistoia's urban history, ranging from touchable scale models of…

  • Palazzo Pfanner

    Palazzo Pfanner

    0.31 MILES

    Fire the romantic in you with a stroll around this beautiful 17th-century palace where parts of Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John…

  • Santuario della Madonna di Montenero

    Santuario della Madonna di Montenero

    25.23 MILES

    The story goes like this: in 1345, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd, who led her to monte nero (black mountain), a haven of brigands. Needless to…

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Nearby Lucca attractions

2. Cattedrale di San Martino

0.13 MILES

Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…

3. Museo della Cattedrale

0.13 MILES

The cathedral museum safeguards elaborate gold and silver decorations made for the cathedral's Volto Santo, including a 17th-century crown and a 19th…

4. Chiesa di San Michele in Foro

0.14 MILES

One of Lucca's many architecturally significant churches, this glittering Romanesque edifice marks the spot where the city's Roman forum was. The present…

5. Puccini Museum

0.17 MILES

The great Giacomo Puccini, who came from a long line of Lucchesi musicians, was born in Lucca and grew up in an apartment at Corte San Lorenzo 9, today a…

6. Torre del'Ore

0.19 MILES

Legend has it that Lucca's 13th-century clock tower – at 50m tall, the highest of the city's 130 medieval towers – is inhabited by the ghost of Lucida…

7. Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi

0.25 MILES

This 16th-century mansion built for a wealthy Luccan merchant is a wonderful piece of rococo excess. The private apartments are draped head to toe in…

8. Torre Guinigi

0.27 MILES

The bird's-eye view from the top of this medieval, 45m-tall red-brick tower adjoining 14th-century Palazzo Guinigi is predictably magnificent. But what…