Pisa Travel Forum

We are planning a stop in Pisa on our train journey from Cinque Terre to Florence and are trying to decide how much time we would need to visit the tower, how much to climb and how much for any other worthwhile sites. We only have a night in Florence before taking the train to Alberobello so any time in Pisa is at the expense of time in Florence. Can anyone help please?

in Pisa just the Piazza dei Miracoli (the square with the tower) is worthseeing. in Florece everything is worthseeing. To climb over the tower (it's quite expensive...i remember 16 euro last year but i am not sure)you have to book and decide what time you want to climb. let's say they will tell you at what time there is free places and than you decide. to give you an example: we arrived at 10.30 pm and the first place avaiable was for 3 pm. So, go to Piazza dei Miracoli as soon as possible and book. Do not miss the inside of the church and the cimitery as well. The Baptisterium is amazing outside but I've seen much nicer inside in italy (in Parma for istance). Tickets can be comulative; you can buy just the tower alone or a combination with the Dom, cimitery and baptisterium. if you can arrive soon in the morning I would say that you could be able to take a train to Florence in the early afternoon but all depends on how many people want to climb over the tower that day. Is it a working day? Hopefully not on August...anyway avoid like the pest the restaurant around the square.

There is so much to see in Florence that personally I would get there as soon as possible. If you must see the Leaning Tower you could see it, but not climb it, take that photo and be back on the train within an hour and a half. I would check the train timetables and then make a decision.

this is exactly what we did in 2007! we checked into our hotel in the Piazza della Santa Maria Novella around 4pm, dropped our bags, ran back to the train terminal and caught the local to Pisa. Took a short cab to the Tower, got our tourist photos, then walked along a moonlit Arno back to the Pisa terminal for the next train to Florence. now THAT's romantic!

I would agree with the other 3 responses. Florence has so much more to offer than Pisa. The Leaning Tower is worth seeing--but not really worth the climb, unless you just want to say that you did it. You'll get much better views from the Duomo and the Campanile in Florence (all those red roofs and the Tuscan hillside--gorgeous!). However, do not miss the Cathedral while in Pisa. It is absolutely beautiful inside. Skip the Baptistry, it really wasn't worth it. Other than the Piazza dei Miracoli, there isn't much else in Pisa except the Arno River.

BTW-While in Florence, if your pocketbook or the amount of time you have available dictates that you can only climb either the Duomo or the Campanile, choose the Campanile. The price is the same, the line is much shorter at the Campanile, and you have some awesome views of the Duomo as well as the rest of Florence. Have fun!

I know this is off the subject, but how long are you in the Alberobello area, and are you travelling primarily by train in that area? We are headed there only for about 8 or 9 days in September and would like to see many of the neighboring villages. Wonder if there is a scooter rental place we could hire a scooter from. Or can we just see most everything by train?

THank for all the replies so far. I am getting the picture! We are hoping that 2 hours is enough, we will get in by train at 10:15 from Vernazza and head to Florence on the 12:33! So that should do nicely.

As for the question about Alberobello. WE will be there for only 2 nights (this is definitely a "taster" trip as part of just under 4 weeks in Italy and UK before we head back to NZ and work!). The comments I have read suggest you can indeed hop from town to town cheaply by train, and what you can see in between from the train is almost as much as from the road! I'm not so sure about that! I would think a scooter would be a good idea, maybe for some of your time there, and to get down to the coast.
Of course there could be buses as well but I have not tried for those.

Cheers
Roger