Pisa is home to one of the most popular sites in all of Italy: the Leaning Tower. Trains in Italy are efficient, allowing for an easy daytrip to come here.

How long to stay?

Pisa is an easy daytrip that you can add in to any trip through Tuscany. We tacked it on a stay in Florence (only 1.5 hours away by train), which meant we didn’t need to stay the night in town. While you could in theory add it onto a visit to either Rome or Milan, both trips will top four hours in train rides just to get to Pisa. In that case, you’d probably want to spend the night if you want to break up the train rides into multiple days.

If you’re just coming in for the day, you can easily walk to the Leaning Tower of Pisa from the train station. There’s no need to rent a car unless you’re looking to explore more of the countryside.

What we did in Pisa

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

There’s one “bucket list” item waiting for you here in Pisa and it’s the famous Leaning Tower. I’m sure everyone knows the story. The bell tower of the church next door has a small lean due to its foundation. The tilt has since been reinforced in the mid-1990s to prevent it from moving any further. The Tower is one of Italy’s best-known landmarks and many tourists flock here, so expect plenty of crowding.

Yes, you can climb the tower, but it will cost you 20€ per person to go up. There are a lot of other vendors out there that want to sell you tickets as part of a package, but your best bet is just going to the official website to purchase. However, do note that children under the age of 8 are not permitted up the tower. And to prevent things from falling from the Tower, bags and purses are not allowed up (there is a locker room for you to store your stuff).

Do you want to go up here? I would say yes. You get a beautiful view of both the large bell and the surrounding city. The Tower is the tallest building in the city and so you’ll get excellent views of both Pisa and the greenery outside the city. It’s easy to see from up here just how small Pisa is. The lean is noticeable while you’re up there, but it’s not going to make you fall over.

Cathedral of Pisa

The Cathedral (with the Leaning Tower in the background) is visually quite impressive. It amazes me how a city as compact as Pisa is gets such a large Cathedral to serve its population. If you purchased a ticket to go up the Tower, you’ll also get entry into the Cathedral. On top of that, if you’re disabled or a child under the age of 11 (accompanied by an adult), you’ll also get free admission to the Cathedral.

It’s incredibly beautiful and impressive to walk inside the Cathedral. If you’re a fan of touring so many similar churches and important buildings in Italy and Europe in general, you’ll feel at home here. The intricate details found on the walls, on the ceiling, on the pews, and all throughout is simply mind-blowing.

Other activities

There are other buildings in the area you can visit if you purchase a “complete” tourist ticket. However, when we visited, we only had a strong desire to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Thus, we cannot speak to the other activities that you can see if you purchase access to all. For completeness, here are the other things you can see within Pisa:

• Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery)
• Camposanto
• Opera Del Duomo Museum
• Sinopie Museum

Where we ate in Pisa

McDonald’s

Did you expect something fancy? In truth, when we visited Pisa, I didn’t make firm plans on where to eat while we visited Pisa and opted for the easiest thing: what was in Central Pisa train station. On the plus side, they did have items here that we weren’t used to seeing in the States. The Chicken Crispy McBacon was indeed quite crispy as advertised. Meanwhile, the Crocchette di Spinacci e Parmigiana Reggiana wasn’t bad at all. Hey, at least we tried eating different things than we were used to!

Where we stayed in Pisa

…We didn’t

As I mentioned above, we didn’t need to spend the night in Pisa. And to be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I would the next time we’re in town. True fanatics of touring Italy might find that staying in Pisa is a must-do, but I don’t fall into that category. We certainly loved our time in Italy and wouldn’t be opposed to returning, but we haven’t yet found an excuse to stay specifically in Pisa.

It’s not specifically due to an absence of chain hotels in the city. It’s more just the efficiency of Italian trains and staying in another city where there is more for us to do on top of Pisa.

What do you like to do in Pisa?

Suggested reading:

• Other destinations we’ve visited
• Pro Tip: Exchange Currency at Your Destination
• The Travel Gadgets That Make Our Travel Easy