La Barchina

Northwestern Tuscany


Join locals standing in line at this small white boat, moored at the harbour, which cooks up the morning's catch for lunch. The hot item to order is fritto misto, a mix of squid, prawns and octopus battered, deep-fried and served with a huge friendly smile in plastic punnets. Friday cooks up baccalà (battered, salted cod) and veggie lovers are catered for with punnets of fried mushrooms.

To find the barchina (boat), walk to the harbour end of seafront promenade Viale Regina Margherita and duck under the white iron footbridge crossing the canal.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Northwestern Tuscany attractions

1. Bagno Martinelli

0.38 MILES

An eye-catching sea of bright orange-and-white parasols and deckchairs polka-dot the vast stretch of sand at this vintage beach, as popular as it was when…

2. Bagno Raffaello

0.45 MILES

Behind the clock tower on the seafront, this family-friendly bathing establishment rents out slide-equipped pedalos and canoes to beach-goers and has a…

3. La Citadella di Carnevale

2.01 MILES

A couple of kilometres from the seafront is 'Carnival City', aka 16 gargantuan hangars that serve as workshops and garage space for the fantastic floats,…

4. Museo Villa Puccini

3.84 MILES

In 1880 Puccini left Lucca to study at Milan's music conservatory, returning to Tuscany after his studies to rent a lakeside house in Torre del Lago, 15km…

5. Battistero di Pietrasanta

6.38 MILES

Around the corner from the cathedral on pedestrian Via Garibaldi is this atmospheric old-world baptistry. The pair of baptismal fonts – one originally in…

6. Duomo di San Martino

6.4 MILES

Grandiose white-marble steps flank Pietrasanta's attractive cathedral, built in the 14th century on the site of an earlier church dating from 1250. Its…

7. Museo dei Bozzetti

6.42 MILES

Inside the convent adjoining Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, this small museum explores the evolution of modern sculpture through 700-odd bozzetti (maquettes or…

8. Chiesa di Sant'Agostino

6.44 MILES

The far end of Piazza del Duomo is dominated by the 13th-century stone hulk of this deconsecrated church. Once dedicated to St Augustine, today the…