Best Things to Do in Pisa

Located in the region of Tuscany and south of Cinque Terre, Pisa is one of the most visited cities in the area near the Italian Riviera and that is largely because of the Leaning Tower, which is its main attraction and also one of the most photographed buildings in the world, but also because the city has many other activities to offer.

Some of the best things to see and do in Pisa include walking around the picturesque old town, visiting the Piazza dei Miracoli, seeing the Cathedral and the Baptistery, discovering the sunset on the Mezzo Bridge, touring the Carrara marble canteens and visiting the Leaning Tower, which is part of the best tours of Pisa.

Pisa is world famous for the Leaning Tower, which is also one of the most photographed buildings in the world. The construction of this tower, which is actually the bell tower of the Cathedral but can be visited independently, began in 1173 and an error in the calculation of the instability of the ground led to the original inclination. Since then, the architects have been working to prevent its collapse.

During visits to the Leaning Tower, which you can do on your own or with the assistance of an expert local guide, you can learn about its history and visit the interior. You can also take the classic photograph holding the bell tower and learn about the myths and legends of the city, which are hidden behind the particular building and involve famous people of the city such as Galileo Galilei and Leonardo Fibonacci.

Keep in mind that the Leaning Tower of Pisa is the main attraction of the city, so it tends to be very crowded and also offers a limited number of tickets per day to favour the preservation of the building, so I recommend you to book your ticket in advance, especially if you plan to visit Tuscany during the high season.

Interesting details

• Price: Admission to the Leaning Tower of Pisa has an initial cost of approximately 25 euros per person.
• Hours: daily from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Location: Piazza del Duomo, Pisa.

The Leaning Tower is the main attraction of Pisa, but the city has much more to show, and a tour of the historic centre of the city, which hides some of the region's millenary wonders, is one of the best alternatives to leave the main circuit formed by the Piazza dei Miracoli, the Cathedral and its bell tower.

On these excursions you can visit the picturesque medieval district of Borgo Stretto, which was influenced by the Medici family during the Renaissance years, the Mezzo Bridge, the most famous bridge across the Arno River, and also learn about the stories that made Pisa a brave warrior city and a key site in the Italian reunification promoted by Giuseppe Garibaldi in the 19th century.

During the tours you will also visit the Church of St. Michael, which was one of the main Catholic seats during the medieval papacies, the houses where the Pisan inventor of the telescope Galileo Galilei lived, and the Piazza dei Cavalieri, which is one of the most beautiful squares in Pisa.

As these excursions, which last about 4 hours, usually start or end in Piazza dei Miracoli, where you can visit the Cathedral and the Leaning Tower, they are ideal for an alternative profile of the city even if you are planning a short stay. If that is your case, here are the best alternatives to get to know Pisa in 1 day.

Piazza dei Miracoli is the tourist centre of Pisa and the open space that brings together the main attractions of the city, including the Cathedral, the bell tower of the Leaning Tower, the Baptistery and the monumental Cemetery, making it one of the most famous sites in the region of Tuscany.

In the Piazza dei Miracoli you will also find the monument to the Capitoline Magnifying Glass, the she-wolf who saved and fed Romulus and Remus, the brothers who are mythologically said to be the founders of Rome. From any corner of the square, you can also see the brilliance of the buildings, most of which were built with Carrara marble, which is the emblem of the regional industry.

In Piazza dei Miracoli, you can also take some of the best pictures of your trip and, if you want to find unmissable night views of the city, you can take a walk after sunset to discover the illuminated buildings, which is one of the best things to do in Pisa at night.

The absolute and sudden fame of the leaning tower completely overshadowed other constructions of the city, but in reality the most famous attraction of Pisa is only the bell tower of a much bigger building, which is the Cathedral, located in the heart of the Piazza dei Miracoli and which is the most representative Romanesque Duomo of this architectural style in the world.

The construction of the Cathedral took almost 300 years, so the crossover of styles on the exterior and interior is very noticeable. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance the Duomo added frescoes and works of art that serve to demonstrate the medieval economic power that Pisa had and that is manifested in the paintings, mosaics, sculptures and coffered ceilings that fuse Byzantine, Islamic and European styles.

During your visit to the Cathedral you can also visit the Baptistery, which is the largest Catholic baptismal building in the world and is famous from the outside for being the circular construction that adorns the skyline of Pisa. You will also be surprised that, like the bell tower, the Baptistery is also slightly inclined, as it has also suffered from the swaying of the ground.

You can visit the Cathedral and the Baptistery on your own or as part of a guided tour and you can also choose to include the leaning tower in the tour, although they can be visited independently.

Interesting details

• Price: entrance to the Cathedral and Baptistery costs approximately 25 euros per person.
• Hours: daily from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Location: Piazza del Duomo, Pisa.

Much of Pisa's economic power in the Middle Ages was due to the fact that it was an important Marine Republic, which managed the control over the Arno, the navigable river that crosses the city and that not only gives rise to a hectic river trade, but also provides some of the best postcards of the city. From the Mezzo Bridge, the most important bridge in Pisa, you can discover these landscapes.

One of the best ways to see the best side of the Arno is to go down to the river to watch the sunset. The Mezzo Bridge is ideal for watching the sunset, as its almost 90-metre length is crowned with a giant arcade and an open view without tall buildings nearby, which will not only avoid visual pollution, but will also allow you to take some of the best pictures of Pisa.

The Mezzo Bridge also serves a cultural function in the city, as it was the site where the northern and southern armies met before each battle and is therefore a historical landmark. If you plan to visit Pisa during Christmas, you can see the bridge lit up at night with Christmas decorations and lights, which are automatically switched on after sunset.

If you're an architecture buff or just a trained observer, in Pisa you'll be amazed by the structure and texture of most of the main buildings, especially those in the Piazza dei Miracoli, which are different from the rest of the façades. This is largely due to the material used in Pisa in the Middle Ages, which was mostly San Giuliano marble and Carrara marble, the pearl of the regional industry.

If you want to learn about the history of the marble quarries, which is considered the white gold of Pisa, you can take an excursion outside the city to visit the quarries of the Apuan Alps, where marble is extracted from caves and transported to Cinque Terre, Lucca, Siena, Florence and many other nearby places.

On these excursions, you can usually also learn about the history of the local economy and the importance of white gold in the industrial development of the Italian Riviera.

These excursions, although they include a transfer to the outskirts of the city, last approximately 5-6 hours, so they are ideal for getting to know an alternative site even if you are planning a short stay. If this is your case, here is a list of activities you can do to discover Pisa in 2 days.

The Marina of Pisa is the best kept secret of the city, as here you can find some of the best beaches in Tuscany, usually overshadowed by the fame of the Leaning Tower or the paradisiacal beaches of Cinque Terre. However, this section of Pisa's seaside has some beautiful scenery to offer and the best way to see it is on a cycling tour.

During your tour you can opt for a tour with the assistance of an expert local guide or a self-guided tour, but in any case you can easily reach the Marina of Pisa by a specially designed bike ride along the Navicelli canal that will take you to the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea

. These panoramic tours last about 4 hours, but you can also discover the Marina of Pisa on your own or by other means of transport. Among the best beaches of the city are also Calambrone, Tirrenia and Bocca d'Arno.

Outside the traditional circuit of Pisa, you can find the Church of Santa Maria della Spina, a small but beautiful Gothic building that not only has a particular religious decoration inside, but also holds a fascinating history, since among its relics it treasures one of the thorns of the crown of Jesus of Nazareth that the Catholic Church recognises as authentic.

Another interesting detail about the Church of Santa Maria della Spina is that it is located on the banks of the Arno, so you can reach it on a leisurely stroll along the riverbank to the outside of the building, which houses a Gothic sculpture of the Virgin of the Rose, which also makes it a place of worship during Holy Week.

Entrance to this building, which is considered a small Gothic cathedral, is free of charge. This church is open every day, changing its schedule only during the dates of patron saint festivals or during days of religious worship.

Interesting details

• Price: admission to the church is free.
• Opening hours: every day from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Location: Lungarno Gambacorti, Pisa.

The Monumental Cemetery is the least known of the buildings in the Piazza dei Miracoli, but it is no less interesting for that. This cemetery, which was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco together with the whole complex, houses 600 tombstones and sarcophagi from the Greco-Roman period. The interior is decorated with frescoes by Italian Renaissance artists, which enhances the importance of the main building.

The complex is also made up of three chapels and a central courtyard, a large garden area and a wall with 43 arches and two enormous entrance gates, which not only bears witness to its age, but also to the importance of the personalities who were buried there during its slow construction, which took almost 200 years.

The Monumental Cemetery must be visited independently, as it is not included in the entrance tickets for the Cathedral, the Baptistery and the Leaning Tower.

Interesting details

• Price: entrance to the Monumental Cemetery costs approximately 5 euros.
• Opening hours: daily from 9.00 am to 6.00 pm.
• Location: Piazza del Duomo, Pisa.

Italian cities stand out for many aspects, but one of the main ones is gastronomy, so one of the best alternatives to get to know Pisa is to take a tour to get to know the local and regional flavours, which are characterised by the variety and richness of their preparations.

During these excursions, you will be able to taste trodden sausages, regional wines, Tuscan soup and ribollita, race stew, beans with sausages and gourmet ice cream, which is very prominent on the Italian Riviera, especially in Vernazza, in Cinque Terre. You can also discover all these dishes on your own, although I recommend a gastronomic tour so that you can see the best places that the local guide will advise you on.

Gastronomic tours are popular throughout the season, but at certain times of the year you can combine your experience with a visit to the Christmas markets on Christmas Eve, or to the vineyards, especially in September and October, which is harvest time, when the wineries become the focus of the best tours from Pisa.