Pisa
Introduction
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, straddling the Arno just before the river empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital of the Province of Pisa. The city is known worldwide for the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it holds far more than that single monument: more than twenty other historic churches, and several medieval and Renaissance palaces, most of them facing each other along the avenues that line the Arno, known as the Lungarno.
Much of the city's architecture was financed by its history as one of the Italian maritime republics, so the wealth of that past is written into the streets you walk. Use the Lungarno as your spine: the palaces and churches line the river avenues, and the tower that draws you here is only one part of a much larger historic city.
Before you go
Pisa sits between Italy's north and south in character, and its weather follows suit. Winters are mild, with temperatures that almost never drop below freezing and snow that is very rare. Summers are warm to hot and can turn very humid, though wind and the nearby sea keep them from becoming as oppressive as in some inland cities; rain in July and August is rare. Spring and autumn are very pleasant, but most of the year's rainfall falls in those two seasons, so pack accordingly.
The city is safe overall, though you should take the usual precautions and be alert to pickpockets in the touristy areas; some zones around the station are best avoided at night. Expect to be approached by illegal vendors, particularly near the Tower — they can be pushy, and even a polite refusal may draw unwanted attention, so ignoring them entirely is the better course. Buying from them is not just a matter of etiquette: police have fined tourists for doing so, and the fines can be steep. Licensed vendors with permits line the main road in front of the Tower, and their stalls are easy to tell from illegal sellers, who keep their goods in sacks, cardboard boxes or on their arms. If you stay in a very cheap hotel, keep your valuables with you.
Getting there
Pisa International Airport is the main gateway for Tuscany, including Florence, with frequent scheduled and budget flights from across Europe and beyond; there are no direct flights to North America. The airport sits very close to the city, just south of the main railway station. The Pisamover, a pair of automated cable-drawn trams, shuttles between the airport and Pisa Centrale at short intervals throughout the day, taking about five minutes; buy your ticket from the self-service machines by the platform gates rather than from Trenitalia machines. City buses don't serve the airport itself but stop on Via Sant'Agostino, a short walk north, and are often the better choice for reaching parts of the city away from the station, such as the Leaning Tower area. Direct buses to Florence and Lucca leave from outside Arrivals, and a taxi into the centre is another option—worth considering if you're a group of three or more, when it can undercut the tram to the station. Walking is feasible too: the station is under 2 km away and the tower about 3 km, through a residential area that is uninteresting but safe.
By train, Pisa Centrale is the main station, just south of the city centre, served by Rome–Genoa trains and by regional services through Florence to Livorno or Viareggio; it has a left-luggage service and is the city terminus of the Pisamover. For the Leaning Tower area in the northwest of the old centre, Pisa San Rossore station is much closer, on the branch line to Lucca and Pistoia with at least hourly trains. By road, Pisa is easy to reach by autostrada, though city parking is the problem; Flixbus runs direct services to and from Milan, Genoa and Rome, but not Florence, where the stop is well out on the western edge.
Getting around
In the historic centre, just walk: many streets are pedestrianised or closed to through traffic, and the centre is compact enough that most visitors need nothing else. The Leaning Tower sits at the northwest corner of the old centre rather than in the middle, so work out which side of town you're heading for before choosing a mode of transport. It's a longer but safe stroll from the railway station through a residential district. If your main goal is the tower, Pisa San Rossore station is much closer than Pisa Centrale, on the branch line to Lucca and Pistoia with trains at least hourly.
City buses, known as LAM, run frequently during the day and more sparsely into the evening. The most useful route is LAM Rossa, the red line, linking the railway station, the riverside and the Leaning Tower; LAM Verde runs near the airport. Validate your ticket on boarding, after which it's valid for a set period. City buses don't reach the airport terminal itself but stop on Via Sant'Agostino, a short walk north, which is often better than the Pisamover for the Leaning Tower area. The Pisamover, a pair of cable-drawn trams, shuttles between the airport and Pisa Centrale from early morning until midnight at frequent intervals; buy tickets from the self-service machines at the platform gates, not from Trenitalia machines. Taxis are an expensive way to move around and aren't really needed in the centre, though they make sense from the airport if you don't want to walk. Don't drive into the centre: camera-enforced limited-traffic zones are easy to stray into accidentally, and the streets you can drive are narrow, one-way and congested with next-to-no parking. Ask ahead at your accommodation about parking and permitted approach routes. A car is genuinely useful for exploring the hill villages of Tuscany, so consider hiring from the airport and using public transport for Pisa, Lucca and Florence. For two wheels, the Ciclopi public bicycle service lets you pick up and drop off cycles at points around the city, but registration must be done in person at a designated sales point; electric scooters from operators such as BIT Mobility and Helbiz are charged by the minute and unlocked through their apps.
Where to stay
Where you sleep in Pisa depends on whether you want to be in the middle of the city or out in the surrounding hills. In the centre, the area around Piazza dei Miracoli and the river Arno puts you within walking distance of the tower and the festivities. Near the tower you'll find Hotel Francesco on Via Santa Maria, and the Bed and Breakfast ARISTON sits just behind the Piazza dei Miracoli. On the banks of the Arno, the Royal Victoria on Lungarno Pacinotti offers faded old-world elegance, with original frescoes and tiling that limit what can be renovated, so expect some gloomy corners and rattly furniture. Villa Kinzica on Piazza Arcivescovado is a three-star with en suite single, double and triple rooms in a great central location, while the Hotel Relais dell' Orologio, a converted townhouse with an annexe, sells itself mainly on its proximity to the tower. If you're arriving by train or plane, Michele Guest House B&B on Via Amerigo Vespucci is next to the railway station, and the NH Pisa is on Piazza della Stazione with modern rooms and good views.
For a countryside base, the Pisa hills have drawn travellers since the early 1700s, when the thermal spa of San Giuliano became fashionable with the upper classes and the mansions along the hill road took on the character of leisure resorts. You can still stay at Bagni di Pisa, where the 'health-giving' waters are offered to an international clientele, or at the Agostini Palace to enjoy the best view of the city's festivities. The Airone Pisa Park Hotel in San Giuliano Terme, northeast of the city, is a countryside three-star with an outdoor swimming pool, restaurant, bar and free parking, though the road there is poor. East of the city, the Eden Park Resort Pisa in Colignola places you among cottages near the banks of the Arno, surrounded by mountains, valleys and historic villages. Closer in, the San Ranieri Hotel in Cisanello, near the hospital, is a four-star with a restaurant and conference facilities.
Food & drink
Pasta and pizza are easy to find, but Pisan and Tuscan cooking goes further: look for bread soups such as pappa al pomodoro or the kale-based bordatino, beef from the chianina and mucco pisano breeds, game like boar or hare, and cold cuts. The classic street food is cecina, a chickpea-flour pancake served inside focaccia with a sprinkle of pepper. Note that traditional Tuscan bread (pane sciocco) is made without salt, which surprises most visitors. Tuscany is known for red wine such as Chianti, Brunello and Morellino, and many places now also pour local craft beers.
As a rule, avoid eating right at the Leaning Tower, where prices are high and quality low; walk south on Via Santa Maria instead, where you'll find good restaurants (Ristoro Pecorino among them), and continue into the centre for more. Around the busy vegetable market of Piazza delle Vettovaglie there are excellent, friendly and reasonably priced cafeterias, and Via San Martino near the south bank of the river has inexpensive places of good quality. Near the tower, Pizzeria Le Mura, Al Bagno di Nerone and Mr. Sgabeo sit close together, and L'Ostellino serves generous sandwiches with vegan options. North of Ponte di Mezzo, Il Montino does pizza by the slice, cecina and focaccine, La Ghiotteria is a student favourite for pasta, and Gramigna pairs home-made burgers with local craft beer. South of the bridge, Numeroundici serves generous portions, Al Madina offers Lebanese and Syrian cooking with good vegetarian and vegan choices, and La Taverna di Pulcinella and Pizzeria da Nando are reliable for pizza. For a splurge, La Mescita near Piazza delle Vettovaglie and Osteria dei Cavalieri serve traditional and more sophisticated Tuscan food, and Ristorante La Buca is known for fish. Ice cream is taken seriously here, with shops using seasonal ingredients; De' Coltelli and Gelateria Rufus are worth seeking out. For pastries, try the late-night cornetti at Dolce Notte, the traditional cookies at Pasticceria Da Tripoli, or the French-inspired creations at Pasticceria Cioccoroccolato. If you have transport, drive west along the SS224 to Marina di Pisa, where seafront restaurants make an outdoor sunset dinner rewarding — arrive early, as tables and parking fill up and many places open late.
What to see and do
Most visitors head straight for the Piazza dei Miracoli, the Field of Miracles north of the centre, where the city's most famous sights cluster together. The Torre Pendente began life as the cathedral's bell tower and started leaning soon after construction began; a project to stop it tipping over was completed in 2001, and you can climb it again today. Climbing requires a reservation-based ticket for a specific entry time, and it's worth booking online well in advance, though the tickets are non-exchangeable and effectively non-refundable. Children who won't have turned eight by the end of the year aren't permitted to enter, and under-18s must be accompanied by an adult. Pisa has two other leaning towers, the bell towers of San Nicola Church near the Arno and of San Michele of Scalzi Church. On the same piazza, the Duomo is a splendid Romanesque cathedral with double aisles, a cupola, a huge apse mosaic partly by Cimabue and a fine pulpit by Giovanni Pisano; free entry passes must be obtained beforehand from a nearby ticket office. The round Romanesque Baptistry has sculptured decorations, a pulpit by Nicola Pisano and a fine view from the top with the Leaning Tower in your photos, and at regular intervals the guard at the entrance demonstrates the echo effect. The Camposanto Monumentale holds ancient Roman sarcophagi, medieval frescoes by the "Master of the Triumph of Death" and a statue of Fibonacci, while the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo displays sculptures and paintings from the cathedral and cemetery, including bronze griffins from Syria captured by the Crusaders. The Museo delle Sinopie, skipped over by many, preserves the artist sketches found underneath the detached Campo Santo murals. A walking tour along the city walls lets you see the tower and the Campo dei Miracoli from an unusual angle, with four entrances including one in the Campo dei Miracoli; bring water and sunscreen on sunny days, as there's no shade along the route.
In Piazza dei Cavalieri, a small square that hosted the city's political powers in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, most buildings now belong to the University of Pisa or the Scuola Normale Superiore and aren't accessible to tourists. From outside you can admire the Palazzo della Carovana, with its elaborate façade by Giorgio Vasari, the Palazzo dell'Orologio, which replaced the Torre della Fame where Conte Ugolino was imprisoned and left to die of hunger as cited in Dante's Divina Commedia, and the Chiesa di Santo Stefano, also designed by Vasari. The riverside streets known as the Lungarni give the city its distinctive character, especially at night when lamplight reflects on the Arno. Along them stand the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo, housing almost all the original artwork from the churches in and around Pisa in the rooms of a former monastery, and the two opposing squares of Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza XX Settembre at either end of Ponte di Mezzo, considered the centre of the city; Borgo Stretto and Corso Italia run off them to form a pedestrian area. You'll also pass the Romanesque octagonal church of Santo Sepolcro, usually not open to the public, the Ussero Café in Palazzo Agostini, and the tiny Gothic Santa Maria della Spina, moved stone by stone from the riverbank to protect it from flooding. Giardino Scotto, a fortress converted to a public park, opens in summer for open-air cinema and music shows, and La Cittadella at the end of Lungarno Simonelli was built to guard the river access and shipyard when the sea was closer to the city.
When to go
Pisa has a transitional Italian climate, so your choice of season mostly comes down to how much rain you're willing to put up with. Winters are mild, with temperatures almost never dropping below zero and snow being very rare, making it an easy season to visit without harsh cold — though it is cooler than Italy's south. Spring is very pleasant, but it is one of the two seasons when most of the year's rainfall occurs, so expect changeable, wet spells alongside comfortable conditions.
Summers are warm, even hot, and sometimes very humid, though sea breezes keep them less oppressive than in inland cities like Milan or Turin. Rainfall in July and August is rare, so these months are typically dry. Autumn is very pleasant, but like spring it brings most of the rainfall, mixing mild conditions with frequent wet weather.
Three days in Pisa
Day one: Arrive at Pisa International Airport and use the Pisamover to reach Pisa Centrale, the city's main rail hub served by Trenitalia, with direct connections to Florence, Lucca and Rome. Settle in and spend the afternoon walking the Lungarno along the Arno, the river that runs through the city on its way to the Ligurian Sea. Winters here are cold and summers warm and humid, with July and August the hottest months, so spring is a comfortable time to walk. In the evening, eat Italian and look out over the water.
Day two: Give the morning to the Leaning Tower and the surrounding monuments, buying a licensed ticket rather than accepting offers from touts. The city's Renaissance heritage is best taken in on foot, and much of the centre is compact enough to explore without transport. In the afternoon, follow the Arno through the Lungarno quarter and take in the views across the water.
Day three: Use the day for a direct Trenitalia trip to Lucca, an easy excursion from Pisa Centrale, or stay in the city and wander the streets around Via Sant'Agostino. Expect arrivals to be straightforward if you are flying out later, with the Pisamover linking the centre to the airport. If you have time before leaving, return to the Lungarno for a last look at the Arno.