To begin the "coast to coast" ride, we catch the train from our overnight base at Hotel Mario's in Firenze to Viareggio. This is a one-train trip of about 90 minutes on a regional train. So our ride commences at the Ligurian Sea coast, about 600m from the train station. Further north up the coast you can see Cinque Terre.

We head inland to join the Via Francigena south of Camaiore, and follow it south-east to Lucca. Today is only about 50km and fairly flat, so time for a meaningful stop in Lucca. There are only two climbs, the first is about ten kilometres out of Viareggio where we climb over a ridge at about 200m then it is about 100m of climb at the end of the day to Montecarlo, although the views from the road will make it pass quickly. 

After Lucca we use local roads to head east to Montecarlo.  Montecarlo is on the Tuscan wine trail, with the local DOC white being regarded as Tuscany's best.

Accommodation

Our overnight stop in Montecarlo is at Antica Casa Dei Rassicurati, which is in the centre of this small town. For dinner it is only a short walk to Osteria del Vento which is well regarded.

Route information for mobiles