Help needed from Italy experts...PLEASE!
 

I'm helping a cousin plan his trip...and here's the question: He would like to take a train on Sun. 4/1 from Florence to Pisa in the am. See the leaning tower. Get back on a train for Rome in the pm. Do-able? Would a better option be taking a train to a Tuscan town for a few hours of walking around, and then going onto Rome? Sundays could pose a problem as far as things being closed. Any suggestions/details are most appreciated.

Looks pretty straightforward, though I have never been to Pisa without a car; surely easy to get a cab from the train station to the Campo dei Miracoli. <BR> <BR>Firenze to Pisa, 8 morning departures, from 6:18 to 11:25 am; most of them are about an hour in duration <BR> <BR>Pisa to Roma, 16:37 to 19:57 or 18:25 to 21:27 (and other, worse times). <BR> <BR>Courtesy of www.fs-on-line.com <BR>

Lynn, it's more than doable. We saw the tower en route from Florence to another destination - stashed our bags in lockers, then grabbed a cab to see the tower (you could also simply take a local bus, they are right outside the station and very cheap, take about 10 to 20 mins to reach the tower depending on route.) <BR> <BR>

Thanks Rex & Gluck---sometimes it's hard to put some of the travel puzzle together. Pisa over say...Sienna, huh? Rex, you seem to be a great "fodor-ite" and always have helpful & polite advice. thanks again.

Blushing... <BR> <BR>But as to your question... Pisa over Siena? No, I hardly think any would advise that. But the problem with Siena will be leaving after just x number of hours. In 2-4 hours (at least with the Campo dei Miracoli), you'll be ready to move on from Pisa. I don't know anything about the rest of Pisa. I hear people say some kind things about it - - the few who have taken the trouble to go looking at the rest of it. <BR>

I must say I'm not a great fan of Pisa. It's a fairly unattractive industrial city, and when there's so much else to see in Tuscany I really wouldn't waste time here. <BR> <BR>Actually these days I even find the leaning tower a disappointment. I climbed it YEARS ago when it was open (which gave me vertigo for life, but that's another matter), but I revisited 2 years ago and was very disappointed to see so much metal fencing and cheap souvenir stalls.