There may be no landmark in Italy so iconic as the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Are there any other things to see in the city of Pisa? Of course there are! But, as it happens, most of those things are either right next to the tower, or between the tower and the train station.
That’s why Pisa is the perfect place to day-trip to while you’re staying in Florence. Here’s what the day trip to Pisa was like for me.
Travelling from Florence to Pisa
The best way to get from Florence to Pisa is by train. It’s cheap, quick, and easy.
There are direct trains leaving from Florence’s Santa Maria Novella station multiple times per hour, all day long. The cost is only about 9-10 Euros, and the quickest journeys take only about 50 minutes.
One morning during our stay in Florence, we simply walked up to the train station in the morning and bought tickets from the electronic ticket kiosks, then hopped on the train—no planning required.
Pisa Centrale station is located in the southern part of what you’d call “downtown Pisa,” and that’s where you’ll get off the train. From there, it’s an easy walk to the city’s big, leaning attraction.
Getting to the Leaning Tower
Walking north from the train station, it takes about 20 minutes to reach the Tower. There are a couple of possible routes, but the most direct is across the Ponte Solferino (a bridge).
Next to this bridge is one of Pisa’s non-tower-affiliated landmarks, the Church of Santa Maria Della Spina. This tiny, white, Gothic-style church is almost 800 years old, and is definitely worth stopping to look at on the way by. Being very small, it doesn’t take long to take it all in.
A little further on, and you’re suddenly face-to-face with a sight that’s familiar even if you’ve never seen it before: the Leaning Tower.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, in all its 3.97-degrees-of-tilt glory, is quite a sight. Despite having seen it in countless photos, I was still impressed.
Of course, if it was just the Tower, maybe it wouldn’t be worth the entire day trip—but it’s not just the tower. There are several magnificent buildings right next to the Tower, like the Pisa Cathedral and the Battistero di San Giovanni.
There’s also the endless fun of sitting around and watching people doing what looks like Tai Chi but is actually posing for photos.
Of course, the grounds around the Tower tend to get busy. Thousands come to see the tower, and most don’t seem to wander too far from it.
We arrived at the tower in the morning, around 10:00, and it was surprisingly quiet. Things ramped up quickly, but if you show up early enough, you can get a few photos sans-crowd. It’s also easier to go up the tower or go inside the other buildings before the long lines form.
But there’s one fantastic attraction in Pisa that didn’t seem to be very well known: the Walls of Pisa.
The 11-metre-tall medieval walls run for a length of 3 kilometres, and you can walk along them. It doesn’t sound like much, but the wall starts right next to the Tower—so you get an excellent view all around it.
For just 5 Euros, you can hop up on the wall and enjoy a quiet walk and great views of the city. There are four possible access points:
After you’re done checking out the Tower and its neighbours, you can walk along the wall all the way back to the river. From there, you’re just 15 minutes away from the central station.
While thousands visit Pisa for the tower, it seems like mere dozens bother with the wall; that’s their loss. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you’re making a day trip to the city.
Questions or comments? Leave ’em below. Want to read another travel story? Check out this story about backpacking the Juan de Fuca trail on Vancouver Island.