I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on tutte le cose pisane but I am going to suggest a few things to do and see in Pisa.
The problem with Pisa is that we only know it for one thing, the leaning tower, and for a lot of people they take a quick day trip there either during a stay in Florence or enroute to somewhere bigger and more well-known. They don’t leave themselves with enough time to explore the small city, which was in the early part of last millennium one of the powerhouses of Italy.
- My first suggestion is to prolong your trip to Pisa and at least stay one night. Because of this day trip trend accommodation is cheap and easily available in Pisa. I stayed in a Hostel close to the train station and it only cost me 33 euro for two nights. I would have spent more than that for one night if I’d been staying in nearby Florence. If you stay over night you’ll be surprised at how much more you stumble upon and learn about the city.
- Take a tour. A few of the hostels have free walking tours. If you happen to being staying in one of these hostels then do take the tour. It’s just a few hours and you will see things you may have ignored and learn a bit about what everything is and the history of Pisa.
- Walk aimlessly. The first afternoon we went for a walk and just followed which ever street took our fancy. Funnily enough we ended up eventually at the tower, but on the way we got to see some very interesting buildings and sights.
- Piazza dei Cavallieri. This piazza is gorgeous and comes with a lot of history. Not only does it house Italy’s most exclusive and prestigious university but also the former prison of Pisa’s and Dante’s Divine Comedy’s most ghastly traitor.
- Make the most of Piazza del Duomo (the location of the tower). Before arriving at this beauty spot I had always thought that the leaning tower was standing alone, probably in a field. But no it is surrounded by beautiful buildings.
These are the Cathedral:
The Baptistery:
The Cemetery:
And two museums (one containing art work from the cathedral and the other displaying the original sketches uses to create the gigantic paintings found in the cathedral/cemetery/ art museum:
You can buy a ticket for entry to all 5 for just 10 euros, that’s 5 euros LESS than the ticket of entry to the tower!
My personal favourite was the Cathedral. It is stunning inside. Admission is free during Sunday mass, although you cannot walk around then. We were lucky to witness the Pre-Easter mass on Thursday and it was spectacular. Not only the mass itself, but they also light up the inside of the cathedral so you can see the beautiful work of art clearly.
- The little church by the river. The river in Pisa is lovely. There building along side the river are rather grand. But there is a cute little church on the train station side of the river which is dwarfed by the rest of the palazzi. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina is a cute as a button and is definitely worth a look at, even if you are just passing by.
- Finally but not least there is the tower (bet you’d forgotten all about it right?). Enjoy taking you classic holding up the tower photo or be a bit more creative (I saw some people taking photos of the tower coming of their crotch. 0_o If you are brave, patient and rich then you can go into the tower and climb up the 200 odd stairs to the top. I didn’t but I’ve heard the view is breath-taking. However bare in mind that it is 15 euros per person and you are given a designated time to enter and leave. Children under 8 cannot enter, and you cannot take any bags. The climb is also not for the faint hearted as you can feel extremely disorientated as you reach the higher levels. But if you are able to do it, then by all means go for it.
So this is my break down of what you can do in Pisa. There are probably more. Shopping in Pisa is good and there are some nice looking restaurants. If you are looking for a night out then supposedly going to Piazza Garibaldi and following the crowd is the best plan.
Whatever you do in Pisa, just remember to divertiti :D
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