Is the hike to the top worthwhile? How difficult is it? I may have difficulties if it is too strenuous

&gt; &gt; &gt; &quot;Is Pisa Worth a Visit?&quot;<BR>http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&amp;tid=34389819<BR><BR>I've rendered my opinion on the Pisa issue on one of the other many threads haggling over the &quot;worth it&quot; topic. Saw the Tower a couple years ago, before they reopened it. I characterize this site as a grade B ~ not a &quot;must see&quot;, and certainly not worth taking away from other cities if time is short. IF you're in the neighborhood and feel compelled to go, then do so. As for the hike, well, if you've decided that the Tower is worth viewing you might as well go for the climb. Having only viewed from exterior, it doesn't look anymore challenging than other &quot;up the stair schleps&quot; I've done in Italy (for example, climbing up to the cupola of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome). <BR>

I love the tower, it's one of my favorite sites anywhere! For me it was a thrill to go inside and climb. However, I'd have to say that for anyone who isn't as thrilled about the tower as I am, there's really nothing special about going up to the top. It's a really long stone spiral staircase, with nothing to see inside. I think it can be considered fairly strenuous for an older adult or someone with physical limitations, but I saw people of all shapes, sizes and ages going up. I did feel the slant at the beginning more than towards the top. If I recall it was 15 euro, and you do have to buy your ticket early and wait till your time slot. When you get to the top you get a beautiful view of the baptistry, but the best part of Pisa is the part you're standing on! In short, I think it's really thrilling and fun to &quot;actually climb the leaning tower,&quot; but for many it's probably good enough to stand on the ground and take a look.

I think Pisa is a horrible tourist trap. The town of Pisa is not bad once you get away from the tower area, but I regret the time I wasted there, considering there are so many other worthwhile places in Italy that you could visit.

We enjoyed our side trip to Pisa. The Leaning Tower is an image known world wide--who can possibly resist taking the traditional photo of those in your group holding the tower up? I didn't find it to be a tourist trap at all--just avoid all the peddlars on the side and it's fine.

we enjoyed Pisa, but probibly for us the best thing was the adventure of getting there. We had stayed in a town called Montecatini (loved that town) and we took a local train to Pisa, got off mistakenly in Lucca, then we took the train to the second stop in Pisa which ended up being a 1/2 hour walk to the tower (if we got off at the right stop it would have been 5 minute walk). Actually I am so glad we got off at the wrong stop because then we would have never seen the rest of the town which was lovely. Around the Tower was great but touristy. The rest of the town had lovely shops and courtyards and such. <BR><BR>We decided not to climb the tower because the price was kind of high when converted to Canadian funds, and it just didnt seem worth it.

I loved pisa. I was there 2 weeks after Sept 11 and they were having 20 minutes of silence to honour the Americans (there is a base outside of Pisa) between the times the 2 planes hit the WTC. It was one of the most touching things about my trip (Sept 9-Oct 6) I will never forget the compassion. I am Cdn, but it meant alot and I remember feeling very touched. Besides that, the tower was touristy, but I loved it, just a very uniqe thing that stuck out in my head. I am sorry that my husband will miss it when we go in May.<BR><BR>Jamie

Pisa, and the Leaning Tower, is one of those places that you are glad you've seen but wouldn't go back to. As a previous poster stated, it is not worth a full day if your time is limited. It is, however, probably worth it if you are already in the vicinity or if you otherwise have plenty of uncommitted time. Be wary of all the junk vendors surrounding the Leaning Tower --- the term &quot;junk&quot; is probably too complimentary a term for the stuff they are attempting to sell. Bon voyage!

The Torre was still scaffolded and closed when we were in Pisa,<BR>but we did climb up into the roof of the Bapistry!<BR>and the view from there was spectacular!!<BR>So, I can imagine the view from the Torre is even better.<BR><BR>When we were in the Bapistry, we were on the fringes of a guided tour, so hung around a bit.<BR>One of the guards there sang for the group.<BR>closing my eyes, I felt as if I had been transported to the 15th century.<BR>The acoustics are astounding<BR>(helped the guard had a great voice too)<BR>Maybe you will hear that .<BR>Have fun,