One Day in Pisa

It’s common to allocate just one day in Pisa to your Italian itinerary. It’s a must to come here to see the Leaning Tower – but how do you fill your day?

Let me show you how!

I visited Pisa as I was travelling around Tuscany. Most people visit as a day trip from Florence, the nearby city of Lucca or even from Cinque Terre.

As soon as Pisa is mentioned, it’s famous leaning tower is the first thing that comes to mind. In fact, many times when I mentioned travelling to Italy, it was the first place people asked me if I was going.

Clearly I had try to include one day in Pisa in my itinerary somewhere – even if just for the obligatory photo holding up the tower!

I stayed overnight as I was travelling from Siena to Lucca, arriving late one afternoon and leaving late the next.

Of course I visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa, so I will give you all the information and tips for that, as well as some ideas to fill up the rest of your day.

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What to Do in Pisa for a Day

Here is my suggestion for how to spend a day in Pisa. There are more details further down for each attraction mentioned.

Arrive in Pisa Early

8:30am – Walk from the train station to the Piazza dei Miracoli. Take note of the “Tuttomondo” street art by Keith Haring

9am – Visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the surrounding attractions as soon as it opens to get in before the crowds arrive. You will spent most of the morning here, especially of you want to climb the tower too.

Lunchtime – Walk a couple of blocks away from the Piazza dei Miracoli to avoid the most overpriced restaurants and choose one that looks appealing (see my recommendations below)

Afternoon – If you are interested in the Botanic Gardens, head there now. Afterwards, take a stroll along the Arno, calling into the Church of Santa Maria della Spina and the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo along the way.

Other options…

If you don’t want to go your own way in the afternoon, I highly recommend this tour. It’s just one hour and runs several times throughout the day (so you can pick a time that suits you).

Rather than just seeing some of the sites, you will get some commentary about the city, the history and what you are looking at.

If you book this tour right after lunch (2 pm) then you will still have time afterwards to visit some of the museums if they pique your interest.

If you arrive in Pisa later, you may prefer to do the above tour first at 10:30 am, have lunch and then visit the Leaning Tower.

In summer, the attractions at the Piazza dei Miracoli are open late into the evening, so you could even leave your visit until much later in the day. In winter it closes at 6 pm. You can check the opening times here.

Another option is to swap out lunch with a food tour, and taste a range of delicious local options instead.

Getting to Pisa

Pisa is ideally located in Tuscany. If you don’t want to stay in Pisa but still want to see the Leaning Tower, it is perfectly doable as a day trip from many other towns in the area, most notably from Florence.

Getting here by train from Florence takes less than an hour, and it’s around half an hour from Lucca. It’s a little longer coming from Siena, as we did, around 90 minutes with a change of train.

There are buses available too – the E3 from Lucca stops much closer to the Leaning Tower, so if you are coming from that direction, it might be a great option.

From Florence, I would choose the train as the buses take longer and often have multiple changes.

Pisa is also home to one of the two international airports in Tuscany, so you can fly directly here.

This could be a great way to take a look around if you can arrive on an early flight, enjoy the day in Pisa and then continue on your Italian getaway.

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Looking for luggage storage for your day in Pisa? Try this option near the train station

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If planning your own day trip to Pisa is too overwhelming there are so many tours available from Florence, both full day and half day tours, like these…

Getting to the Leaning Tower

Once in Pisa, it’s an easy 20-25 minute walk from the train station straight through the middle of the city to get to the Piazza dei Miracoli, home to the Leaning Tower and some of the other Pisa attractions.

We meandered along and took a bit longer than this by stopping and getting a coffee at one of the many little cafes along the way.

As you make your way from the train station to the Leaning Tower, you will pass over the Arno River, with some lovely architecture on either side to admire.

If you prefer, there is a bus that runs from directly outside of the train station. Buses come every 10 minutes and it’s a 12-minute ride.

Tickets can be purchased on board from the driver for €3, or it’s a little less if you use contactless instead.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

As soon as you arrive you will be drawn to the Tower. It is not crammed between other buildings as many other Italian landmarks are, but out in an open green area with one or two other buildings.

There will be a lot of other people around, but there is plenty of space for everyone.

The Leaning Tower was originally built in the 12th Century as the bell tower for the neighbouring Pisa Cathedral.

It started to sink immediately, and many things have been tried over the years to straighten it.

If you look carefully at the very top section, you can see it is not at the same angle as the rest of the building. It was added on in the 14th Century.

It is possible to climb to the top of the tower for an extra fee. There are a maximum of forty people allowed inside at any one time to help with the preservation so there can sometimes be quite a wait.

What Next?

Once you have finished marvelling at the tower and getting that shot holding it up, the question is “What to do next on my Pisa one day itinerary?”

There is no doubt you will have noticed the other gleaming white buildings so it’s time to have a look.

There are many different ticket options available, so you can choose to visit either 2, 3 or 4 of the surrounding buildings.

We chose to visit all four – the Cathedral, Baptistery, Camposanto and the Sinopie Museum.

Don’t want to wait in line? Click on the links to buy your tickets in advance

• Leaning Tower of Pisa Entry Ticket – this skip-the-line ticket will allow you to climb to the top of the Leaning Tower.
• Monumental Complex of Pisa Cathedral Square – this ticket is to access all of the other buildings near the Leaning Tower
• Explore Pisa City with Skip-The-Line Leaning Tower Climbing – this is a guided walking tour of the city that also includes a visit to the Leaning Tower.

While you are buying your tickets, take a moment to look at “The Fallen Angel”.

Pisa Cathedral (Duomo di Pisa)

Entry to the Cathedral is at the opposite end to the Leaning Tower. There can be some lines, but we were lucky to find no one waiting when we entered.

Budget Tip: Entry to the Duomo is actually free, but if you don’t buy one of the other tickets, you will need to book a time slot at the ticket office.

There are only a limited amount of free entry coupons issued per time slot, so get a time as soon as you arrive. Other paid tickets will allow you to enter at any time.

I have to admit I have a bit of a thing for churches. While I am not religious, I find these places fascinating.

I love the intricacies of the statues and the overall serenity. If there are stained glass windows, then I am completely taken!

The Pisa Cathedral did not disappoint. It had that feel of reverence to it. It feels larger on the inside than it looks, with the towering ceilings and echoes.

As always there was an area off to one side which was open for worship, and it is possible to enter than area for free through a seperate entry if thats your purpose.

Camposanto

Our next stop was the Camposanto. Built back in the thirteenth century, basically this cloister-like building is a big cemetery.

The whole floor is covered with rectangular plots under which important people were buried. It is still used today, and we saw some burial dates as recent as the last ten years.

There are some interesting frescoes on the walls, and quite a few statues and sarcophagi on display too. Some smaller chapels off to the sides held religious relics.

Most of the text on the floor slabs is difficult to read, either in Italian or some other older script.

There is little in the way of other information available to the casual visitor. If you are interested in more information, I think a guide for the Camposanto would provide a fascinating insight.

The Baptistery

At the opposite end of the Cathedral to the Leaning Tower is the Baptistery. Unsurprisingly, the Baptistery is also on a slight lean towards the Cathedral, but nowhere near as bad as the Tower.

From the outside it is a stunning domed building, probably the most interesting of all. The inside though was quite plain, with the most interesting aspect some small stained glass windows.

It is possible to climb up to the second floor balcony to look down on the pulpit from above. There is also a great view towards the front of the Cathedral from up here too.

The Sinopie Museum

The Sinopie Museum basically houses the “rough drafts” of many of the frescoes in the Camposanto.

We were also able to rest for a few minutes while watching a video about the building of the Leaning Tower and the different modifications made to try to hold it up.

Unless you are particularly interested in the artwork, this will only take a few minutes to browse through, with a little longer if you want to watch the video. All up 30 minutes is all that is required here.

Anything Else to Fill up Your One Day in Pisa?

Are you still looking for what to do in Pisa in one day? As we walked back, we came across the Orto e Museo Botanico di Pisa (botanical gardens).

We didn’t go in but saw afterwards that these are possibly the oldest botanic gardens in the world.

(The other claimant is Padua, who started one year later, and says that they have the oldest gardens since the Pisa ones have moved location. I tend to agree, since a garden sort of has to be in one place, or it’s a new garden, even with the same name.)

Entry to the gardens is €4 per person.

If possible, take a small detour off the main thoroughfare to have a look at the other piazza of Pisa, Piazza dei Cavalieri (The Knight’s Square).

There are a few other nice buildings to admire, and a nice space to relax in.

When we were there though it was not so relaxing as they were setting up for a concert that night. Perhaps check if there is something on while you are in town that may be of interest.

Take a stroll along the banks of the River Arno and pay a visit to the cute little gothic Church of Santa Maria della Spina.

This 13th-century church was the original home to a thorn that came from the “Crown of Thorns”.

The thorn has since been moved to the nearby Chiesa di Santa Chiara (on Borgo Stretto) if you want to have a look.

There is one more significant church in town, the Basilica Romanica di San Piero a Grado. It’s located a little out of the town centre though, so you will need a taxi to visit this one.

It’s located in the place where St Peter is said to have come ashore on his journey to Rome.

In the 14th century the inside of the church was decorated with many frescoes commemorating St Peter’s pilgramige which can still be seen today.

Walk in the other direction to the Church of Santa Maria della Spina and cross the Arno and you can find the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo (National Museum of San Matteo).

Housed in an old Benedictine convent, the museum has a vast colletion of medieval works, including painting and sculptures, manuscripts and ceramics.

If you enjoy Italian art, you may also like to visit Palazzo Blu, another art museum filled with 14th Century Italiam art. Look out for the blue building it is housed in.

For shopping in Pisa make your way to Corso Italia, for some great local brands as well as some market stalls to pick up your souvenirs.

If you are looking for nightlife, head to Piazza Garibaldi. The square is full of cafes during the day that turn into bars in the evening.

Tuttomondo

I wanted to give this its own section because Tuttomondo is an incredible and significant open-air mural. It was done by American artist Keith Haring in 1989.

This will likely look familiar to you as his artworks can be found all over the place, from the Berlin Wall to one of the largest jigsaw puzzles ever made by Ravensburger.

Tuttomodo is one of his last public works, painted just months before Haring died.

Covering an entire wall, the mural features 30 interconnected human figures, animals, and symbols, all conveying a message of peace and harmony. 

You can find Tuttomondo on Piazzetta Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the Chiesa di Sant’Antonio Abate.

Where to Eat

My suggestion is to make sure you walk a little away from the Piazza dei Miracle to find food. Only a street or so back you will find better food for a cheaper price.

We were tired and a little lazy and ended up eating at Bar & Food 62 on the main thoroughfare at Via S.Maria 62, Pisa. They had a deal for a set price, including a starter, main and drink.

There were limited options for each course, but since I tend to eat margarita pizzas everywhere and that was on the menu, this was a good option for us.

I had bruschetta for the starter and a glass of wine. This meal was nothing special, but it was good solid food, so no complaints either.

For a snack, stop by Gelateria de Coltelli, one of the best places to go in Pisa for gelato. Try some of the lesser known flavours they make from their menu that changes every day.

Another place recommended by the host of our B&B was La Cereria, Via Pietro Gori 33, Pisa.

It sounded fabulous, and if we were there another day we would have checked it out. If you try it, I’d love to hear your opinion too.

Accommodation

Sadly the place we stayed in is no more. We chose a small B&B near the train station, which was perfect for us as we arrived the evening before.

In the morning we stored our bags near the train station, then picked them up later in the day before we caught the train to Lucca.

For accommodation options, have a look on Booking.com

The Verdict

It was well worth stopping for 1 day in Pisa. Seeing the Leaning Tower in itself is worthy of a visit.

The whole Piazza dei Miracoli is beautiful, and while really popular, there is plenty of space so there is no feeling of overcrowding.

There will even be somewhere you can get that crazy photo you have travelled all this way here to get!

Looking for more things to do in Italy? Have a look at my other Italy posts for inspiration.
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