The bar scene in Lucca is thoroughly Italian — aperitivo culture, espresso at the counter, and long outdoor evenings in the piazzas. Piazza San Michele and the streets immediately around it have the best concentration of bars for aperitivo (5pm–8pm is prime time). The streets around Piazza dell'Anfiteatro are popular with younger residents in the evening. Lucca is not a nightlife city by Italian standards — it is more about long summer evenings on terraces than clubs or late bars.