Lucca Comics & Games 2026: everything you need to know to experience Lucca during the festival.
From October 28th to November 1st, 2026, Lucca will once again transform into a vast universe dedicated to comics, games, video games, movies, TV series, animation, fantasy, illustration, and cosplay.
But there's an important detail for those planning to visit the city during those days: You don't need a ticket to experience the atmosphere of Lucca Comics & Games.
In its 60th edition, the festival occupies different spaces in the historic center and transforms Lucca into a large open-air stage, bringing together communities, artists, creators, and audiences from different parts of the world.
The scale of the event is impressive. The 2025 edition ended with more than 280,000 tickets sold, more than 17,000 accredited professionals, 900 guests, 730 exhibitors and More than 750,000 attendees over the five days.The organization also highlights that the festival is considered, by Variety, "the biggest geek gathering in the West”.
Lucca Comics & Games 2026: Dates and Times
The 2026 edition will take place from Wednesday, October 28th to Sunday, November 1stThe general festival schedule is: Opening: 9:00 AM | Closing: 7:00 PM
In addition to the daytime programming, there are also plans various nighttime events that continue after the official closing time.
The full program can be found on the festival's official website.
Can I visit Lucca without a ticket?
Try. This is one of the most important pieces of information for anyone planning a visit to the city during the festival. According to official information, the city remains freely accessibleThere are no restrictions on walking around the areas of the city covered by the event, for both residents and visitors.
This means that even those without tickets can walk through the historic center, observe the cosplayers, explore different areas of the festival, and participate in some free activities.
And there is also a specific program designed for those who do not have a ticket or wristband.
Free shows and music
In 2026, Lucca's historic center will be transformed into a large open-air stage. Among the spaces with free access are:
Garden of the Observants: A stage dedicated to fans, with free entry and no need for a ticket or wristband.
Verdi Square: Live shows with a wider reach, also with free admission, no tickets or wristbands required, respecting the maximum capacity of the venue.
Other musical spaces, such as Giglio Theater and Saint FrancisThese areas have specific access rules and are intended for festival ticket or pass holders.
The official program allows you to search for events by date, location, and category, including evening events.
Map and locations of Lucca Comics & Games 2026
What can be visited for free?
Even without a ticket, some areas and activities of the festival will be accessible. These include:
🆓 Garden of the Observants
🆓 Verdi Square
🆓 Family Palace: Lucca Junior
🆓 IMT Library – Game Science
🆓 Walk along the Walls
🆓 Exhibitions
🆓 Self-Service Area
In other words, during the five days of the festival, there is much to discover beyond the pavilions that require admission.
Family Palace: Lucca Junior
Located in the Real Collegio di Lucca, in Piazza Collegio, the Palazzo della Famiglia is a free-entry space dedicated especially to children.Lucca Junior takes place there, with activities and guests designed for children.
For families visiting Lucca during the festival, this can be one of the most interesting alternatives to explore the world of Comics & Games without necessarily buying a ticket for the entire program.
IMT Library: games, meetings and activities
The IMT Library – Science of Games, located in Piazza San Ponziano, is also part of the free program. The space brings together different activities, including lectures and demonstrations related to the world of games.
The proposal highlights an important characteristic of Lucca Comics & Games: the festival is not limited to comics or entertainment, but also encompasses creation, culture, knowledge, and different forms of expression.
Exhibitions in the heart of Lucca
Another highlight of the 2026 edition are the exhibitions spread throughout the city's historic buildings.
The Palazzo Guinigi, at Via Guinigi 29, hosts some of the main exhibitions.
Among them is “Lucca Legacy, a Comics & Games Story,” created especially to celebrate the festival's 60th anniversary and tell the story of the event and its community. The program also includes exhibitions dedicated to artists, characters, and universes that span generations.
During the festival period, from October 28th to November 1st, several exhibitions will have free admission. Holders of a valid day ticket have priority access to certain exhibitions.
An interesting detail is that some exhibitions started back in October and remain open throughout the festival. The exhibition dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Lucca Comics & Games, for example, will have an extraordinarily long run at the Palazzo Guinigi. Official exhibitions Lucca Comics & Games 2026
And what about the Walls of Lucca?
The city walls remain one of the best places to observe the city's transformation during the festival. A walk along the walls remains accessible, although the pavilions set up in the bastions are subject to the festival's access rules.
For those without tickets, walking along the Walls can be a particularly interesting way to grasp the scale of the event: cosplayers, families, visitors, and characters from completely different universes become part of Lucca's urban landscape. It is precisely this integration between festival and city that differentiates Lucca Comics & Games from a conventional fair.
Download the official app
For those planning to attend the festival, the organizers recommend the LuccaCG Assistant, appliedThe official Lucca Comics & Games app is available on the Play Store and the App Store. Store.
The app allows you to check the schedule, create a list of favorite events, locate different venues on the map, and receive notifications before the start of your chosen events. A particularly important advantage during the festival is that... Navigation features can also be used offline..
The organization also recommends downloading an offline map of Lucca beforehand on Google Maps or Apple Maps, which is particularly useful when the city is receiving hundreds of thousands of people and the connection may become congested. Access your map. here no TuscanyLucca.
Lucca during the Comics:
an experience that goes beyond just the ticket.
For those visiting Lucca for the first time during the festival, it might be tempting to think of Comics & Games as a large fair that requires an entrance fee.
The reality is more interesting. For five days, the festival blends into the city. The streets, squares, walls, historical buildings, theaters, and gardens become part of an experience that combines pop culture, art, creativity, playfulness, music, and community.
Therefore, even without a ticket, It's worth walking around Lucca, exploring the free spaces, visiting the exhibitions, watching the cosplayers, and discovering what's happening in the different areas of the historic center..
For those with tickets, naturally, access to the program is even broader. But the festival can also be discovered from within the city itself.
And perhaps that's one of the most fascinating aspects of Lucca Comics & Games: for a few days, Lucca doesn't just host the festival. Lucca becomes part of it again.
Official information
The information in this article was obtained from the official websites of Lucca Comics & Games 2026 and in the official access and schedule information provided by the organization.
Official website Lucca Comics & Games 2026
images: Michele Quilici, Riccardo Bonuccelli and official site Lucca Comics & Games.
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