Lucca ZTL: hours, cameras and who can drive in

Checked on 22 October 2026 against the city's ordinances and official pages.

Photo: Palickap, CC BY-SA 4.0

Right now in Lucca

Worked out with Italian time and public holidays from the official hours. The sign at the gate always prevails. Signs and cameras: the guide.

Lucca sits entirely inside its walls, and the walls shape the traffic rules too. Within the ring, the council uses three colours: a white belt ("ZTL C") where anyone may drive and park in the blue pay-and-display bays, a yellow zone (ZTL B) for permit holders only, and a green core (ZTL A) around Via Fillungo and Piazza dell'Anfiteatro. Driving through a gate in the walls is not an offence in itself: what matters is the street you take next.

There is a second twist: since 19 January 2026, unauthorised exits are fined as well. If your permit is time-limited, keep an eye on the clock: a vehicle still inside after the authorised period is penalised.

The zones and their hours

ZTL B

The yellow zone wraps around the pedestrian core: the San Francesco district in the north-east, then the western and southern parts of the ring. In 2025 and 2026 it took in Via del Molinetto and Via della Dogana (formerly ZTL A), Via del Fosso, Via San Micheletto and the area around Porta San Pietro. The cameras listed are a minimum, those named by the council: 8 read both directions, 2 entries only and 7 exits only.

There are no time slots here: the ban applies day and night, all year round, public holidays included.

17 cameras read number plates: 10 at the entrances and 7 at the exits.

Inside, the speed limit is 30 km/h.

List of the 17 cameras (varchi)

Via del Gonfalone · Via della Cavallerizza · Porta San Donato · Via Vittorio Emanuele (piazza della Magione) · Via dei Tabacchi · Corso Garibaldi (via del Peso) · Piazza della Caserma · Corso Garibaldi (via del Molinetto) · Via San Leonardo · Via Galli Tassi · Via San Micheletto · Porta San Pietro · Via della Dogana · Via del Crocifisso · Via Elisa · Via del Molinetto · Via del Fosso

ZTL A (zona pedonale)

The monumental centre: Via Fillungo, Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, Piazza San Michele, Piazza San Frediano, Piazza Napoleone and San Martino Cathedral, plus the path along the top of the walls. Even with a permit, you drive at walking pace. In about ten streets, including Via Fillungo, Via Roma, Via Santa Croce and Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, driving through and stopping are banned for everyone, hotel guests included, from 10.30am to 2pm and from 6pm to 9pm.

It is closed to unauthorised vehicles 24 hours a day, every day, Sundays and public holidays included: there is no quiet hour when you could slip through.

Who can drive in

Visitors: hotels, rental cars, tickets

Staying in a hotel

Only accommodation located inside the ZTL can register your number plate. A hotel outside the zone gives you no right to drive in. It must do so no later than 72 hours after you enter. Give your plate number to reception as soon as you arrive. To compare with other cities, see the guide to hotels inside a ZTL.

Tickets for non-residents

There is no day ticket for tourists. Temporary permits do exist (€15 daily permit for tradespeople, firms and deliveries (categories B and C), €15 wedding or funeral (Z3)), but only for the specific cases the city lists, not for sightseeing. The simplest option is to park outside and walk or take a bus.

Rental cars

The fine notice goes to the rental company, which names you as the driver and, depending on your contract, may charge an admin fee, before the fine itself reaches you, sometimes months later. A registration made in time by your hotel covers a rental car just as well: all that counts is the number plate. Admin fees, timings, appeals: see our guide to rental cars and ZTLs.

Parking inside the walls without a permit. ZTL C is open, so you can drive in and use the blue bays. The council lists, among others, Piazza Santa Maria, Piazzale Verdi, the Cittadella, Piazza San Ponziano and Via del Pallone. Several of these car parks sit right next to yellow-zone cameras: follow the road signs, not the satnav.

At a hotel, the permit is free and lasts for your whole stay, but it only covers driving to the hotel by the shortest route and unloading your luggage (30 minutes at most, with a parking disc).

During Lucca Comics & Games, whose dates change every year, the rules are turned upside down. In 2026 (order no. 2393 of 21 October), from 28 October to 1 November, the whole historic centre, ZTL C included, is closed without authorisation from 8am to 7pm; Porta Santa Maria and Porta Sant'Anna are shut day and night to vehicles without a permit; ZTL A is closed to all vehicles, two-wheelers included, from 9am to 7pm. Hotel guests may only drive in between 7pm and 10am, with a paper authorisation from their accommodation.

Disabled badge: no link to the national CUDE platform has been published. The freephone number only answers Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm; otherwise, use Lucca Plus's online form. Only one vehicle can be registered permanently, even with a badge issued by another town.

Electric cars: the type of engine only changes the price of permits. A resident's first permit is a one-off payment of €13 (electric) to €30; the second is annual, from €50 to €120.

Lucca in numbers

Where official sources disagree

If you drive in without a permit

Driving past an active gate without a permit costs €83 to €332 (article 7 of the Italian Highway Code), cut by 30% if you pay within 5 days. Since the 2024 reform, when the passages are recorded by camera rather than by an officer on the spot, only one fine per calendar day applies within the same ZTL, even if you drive through several times (article 198); two different zones mean two fines. For drivers living abroad, the notice can arrive up to 360 days after the offence. No licence points are deducted. If you think you were entitled to enter (hotel, disabled badge), contact the office named on the notice before paying: a late registration can sometimes still be sorted out. Paying from abroad, deadlines and appeals are explained in the ZTL fine guide.

Frequently asked questions

Can I drive inside Lucca's walls?

Yes, into ZTL C, which is open to everyone, to park in the blue pay-and-display bays. Zones B and A are closed without a permit at all hours, Sundays included.

My hotel is in the centre: what do I need to do?

If it is in ZTL B or A, it registers your plate within 72 hours of your entry, for your whole stay and free of charge. After 30 minutes for the luggage, the car must be parked outside zones A and B.

Are exits checked too?

Yes, since 19 January 2026: 7 cameras check exits only, and another 8 read both directions.

What changes during Lucca Comics & Games?

In 2026, from 28 October to 1 November, the whole centre is closed without authorisation from 8am to 7pm. The dates change every year and are set by an order published a few days beforehand.

Can I ride in on a motorbike?

Yes into ZTL B, following the direction of traffic. Not into ZTL A, except for residents heading to their own garage.

Sources

Based on the city's own ordinances, rewritten in plain language. Only the ordinance in force and the sign at the gate are legally binding.