Hey everyone!
I'm taking my grandmother to Pisa to see the leaning tower. She's 73 yrs old and is in fairly good shape, but I'm concerned that the steps will be too much for her. Does anyone have any recommendations on whether or not we should nix climbing the Leaning Tower?

Thanks!

An impossible question to answer without knowing what fairly good shape means but...
I can tell you my experience climbing: you are only led up in groups of about 35 by a 'guide' - our 'guide' was a man about your mother's age and he set a deliberately slow pace to accommodate the lowest common denomiator i guess.
But of course not climbing it individually you cannot really stop and go your own pace either.
There once was a lift in the tower i believe but no longer accessible to public or not there perhaps - didn't see one few years ago.
Maybe the ascent has changed but that was the way it was just after reopening a few years back.
Reserve you climb online to avoid potentially long waits - they told us only 70 people an hour could climb, but again this was just days after it reopened and things could have changed.

If you stand at the very back of your group, you can be the last ones up, and go at a slower pace. I would be more worried about a fall than her not being able to make it up; the marble stairs are charmingly worn and uneven - they can be slick, even on a dry day. I wouldn't climb if it was wet or rainy.

My daughter when she was a teenager did fall going down the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I wasn't with her but my husband was said it was because of the slippery marble steps. Fortunatly she was not hurt, but it sure shook her up. Tata, only you would know if your grandmother would be alright I think. If she is stable on her feet and if she is able to climb stairs and go down them without a problem I would think she would enjoy going up the tower. If she is "wobbly" or has problems with stairs (either going up or going down) I would probably skip it. If you want to climb the tower and she isn't up to it she could visit the Duomo and Bapistery which is so beautiful while you climb the tower. Best wishes.

Thanks for your help! I've decided to not take her. Not so much for the amount of steps, but because it seems to be so slippery. It's not worth the risk.
THANKS!

But you should definitely still go to Pisa itself. Go inside the baptistery and the church. Admire the tower and watch the goofy people on the ground, trying to get the perfect shot of their loved on "holding up" the tower.

Are the steps outside? just wondering if it is wet feet that make them slippery or being open to the elements?

No they are inside - doesn't mean necessarily they may not be wet i guess but probably not - just a bit worn after several hundred years of use.

I believe when i first climbed the Tower in the early 70s you could walk around the outside of the inside and kind of spiral up - i remember this being very slippery and kind of close to the edge - don't believe you can do this anymore.

I think there also once was a lift - havn't heard about this anymore either.

Hi nonna, when my daughter slipped and fell it was a warm and nonrainy day. Since I didn't go to the top of the tower I don't really know all of the cirmustances. Unlike me my daughter loves climbing as high as she can get, but I will say although she enjoyed going to the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa it did rattle her nerves but again fortunatly she wasn't injured.

While worth seeing of course, don't plan to spend much time in Pisa. The area around the tower is a dumpy tourist trap. Marvel at the Leaning Tower, take photographs, and <i>leave</i>. 45 minutes, tops, should do it.

And, please, guard your belongings. The area is ripe with thieves.

Thanks for all the information, are there railings going up and coming down or are they one and the same? I'd better get some practise at stairs, we are in a single storey

Keep in mind that only a very limited number of people are allowed to walk up at a time, and the wait to climb the stairs can be many hours.

(I was in Pisa two weeks ago and the wait was 2.5 hours. You get a timed ticket to climb.)

you go up and down the same stairs i believe - can't remember if there are railings but would be shocked if there weren't. What there is not i think are any places to rest as the whole group goes up together - at least when i did it, with a guide who moves at a snail's pace.

Gekko, I assume that you didn't have an advance reservation, correct?

Correct ... and I didn't wait. I was in Pisa for about 90 minutes and that was 60 minutes too long.

I did walk up the stairs in the baptistry, however, which was fun.

Something else to remember if you do decide to go up the tower... when you get to the top and want to walk around remember that <i> it leans,</i> so that for part of the time, you'll be walking at a downhill angle.

If you or your mother are afraid of heights, this may affect your enjoyment of the tower.

Y'know, for example, if you freeze and can't move for what seems like 10 minutes, like someone I know (me!).

The Leaning Tower ain't so hot. You see one, you've seen them all.

The campanile (bell tower) on Burano (island off Venice) actually leans more than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Question for Gekko, you walked up the stairs in the baptistry, is that the dome near the tower, looks more my style if so

70 people an hour let up when i did it - you should reserve your time slot online (not sure how but possible) and then just show up a bit early, avoiding a possible disappointment.