"Discover Lucca with Elena" tourist services now better than ever

Well, the best tour guide in Lucca has upped her game. Elena Benvenuti recently fulfilled a long-time dream of buying a house in Lucca that serves as a second home and doubles as a workshop for her cooking classes, an office and a place to sleep when she needs to stay in the city overnight.

All right, full disclosure: Elena is our friend and is married to my cousin Davide Seghieri, so I could be accused of some bias. But consider this. Out of 137 reviews on TripAdvisor, she has 132 5-star reviews. TripAdvisor also lists her as number one out of 14 “things to do in Montecarlo.” Elena and Davide live in Montecarlo, but she grew up in Lucca, and a large share of her tours take place there, so it has been a goal of her to have an operational base in Lucca.

Now if she works into the evening and then has another tour the next morning, she can save driving time by staying overnight in the second home. Another important benefit is that she no longer needs to rent a kitchen for her cooking classes. I can personally attest that these classes are fun and informative, and the money she saves by using her own property allows her to offer classes below the rate charged by other chefs.

Custom made
book shelf made
of old pallets.

Lucy and I were able to see her house today and we were impressed by all the custom work that she and her brother and husband have done. Reportedly, it was in pretty rough shape when she bought it at a bargain price, but now it is freshly painted with new fixtures, soundproof windows and a sparkling new kitchen. She is gradually adding new furniture, some custom-made, as well.

In my humble opinion, a trip to Lucca is not complete without at least one tour and a cooking class with Elena. You can find out more about what she has to offer on TripAdvisor or on her website: Luccatouristguide.com