Pisa, Italy, one day?!! help
 

hello everyone, i´m going to spend 2 weeks traveling through Italy this summer, and we will stop for a day trip in Pisa...
what can be done in 1 day and 1 night at this beautiful place? what should i visit, where should i go, and what should i skip...???
and what about Pisa´s night life...any suggestions? i

thank you all...

Karen.

Pisa is best known for its Duomo and its leaning tower (the campanile of the Duomo). Both can be visited in a half day. While there are doubtless other things to do in Pisa, we have never stayed for longer than a day trip. I probably wouldn't visit Pisa for its nightlife but others may have suggestions. If you will be in Italy for two weeks, visiting for a day trip should be just about right.

Are you driving? Where will you be before Pisa? Where is your next stop? Just me, but I would probably take only a half day for Pisa: try to get there early, climb the tour if you want, tour the cathedral, and head to Lucca for late afternoon and spend the night in Lucca. There are other places I would prefer, depending on your next destination, but Lucca is fairly close.

the plan is: Milan, Verona, Venice, bologna, Florence, Pisa and Rome.

Sassafrass: do you think that spending the day in Lucca and then the afternoon in Pisa would be better?? since we are going to Rome after Pisa it´s not logic to go up to lucca and the down to Rome, what do you think about that? and how long does the trip between both take?

i´ve came to realize that Pisa takes half a day to visit...so any suggestions to the other half guys?

We spent a day and night in Pisa last month and really enjoyed it. There was an outdoor antiques/flea market that was really fun and went on for blocks. We found a GREAT place for lunch, packed with locals. Quite an experience. Had great, cheap pizza and apparently they're known for their ceccine, which I WISH we had had! Here's the link:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...a_Tuscany.html

I wish I had more time to explore Pisa. I saw the famous Duomo and tower, but the masses of tourists and trinket stands was depressing, so we didn't stay long.

I go to Italy every year and I would stay in Pisa a day ,and do Lucca it is really beautiful really easy to get round i live 4 months of the year in Florence i then go off and do a few days in other cities just make sure you validate your ticket in the yellow box before you board the train otherwise your in big trouble have a great trip

Pisa is so much more than the Piazza di Miracoli. Do take some time to wander around the town. Once you get out of the tower area it's amazingly untouristy and a lovely little university town.

I am hoping a couple of the real experts on Italy like Zeppole or Bobthenavigator (and others) will respond to your question. I am not that knowledgeable on the ins and out of transportation because we usually take trains everywhere, and it has been years since I've driven to Pisa. Sometimes I do things in a convoluted way in order to spend the evening in places I like, or to wake up in a place I like, and I much prefer Lucca to Pisa for spending a night.

Lucca is only about 30 minutes by train from Pisa, and there is a bus that runs frequently from The Field of Miracles in Pisa to Lucca. I would visit Pisa and then take the bus to Lucca, but I don't know what you do with luggage while you are in Pisa. I am sure someone else has the answer to that.

If you are already in Florence, why not just do Pisa as a day trip? It would be easy to take the train to Pisa, take the bus to Lucca, and back to Florence late in the evening. That would be a lot easier than dragging luggage and checking into another hotel for only one night. Travel light - train.

Are you visiting Siena from Florence? If not, I would actually consider driving to Siena for the night, but I would allow a good bit of time the next day for seeing Siena. I would not take the train because it is a long hike from the train station into the city center in Siena, but you could always spring for a taxi.

Without really looking at the transportation options, I can't give concrete advice, but I would look at other places along the route you already plan to take: Volterra, Montepulciano, Orvieto?

Sincerely hope this doesn't confuse your original plan, but doing the day trip from Florence is still the easist, IMHO.

Looks like two other people just posted saying stay in Pisa. So, there you have it! You can't go wrong, whatever you do in Italy.

OH GOD... i just wish i could see and visit everything!!! Italy is just so much more...

now i´m wondering about Lucca, because it seems beautiful...

We were there in March - did a very brief tour of Pisa and went on to Lucca which we really loved. Pics here

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/p...y-lifting.html

http://lizandrichardsa.typepad.com/p...reat-food.html

(a lot of food!)

thank you guys so much!! you really did help me again...
planning this trip has been an adventure it self, but thanks to you guys it´s been much easier...
i´ll keep asking stuff don´t worry...
one problem less!!! :)
thanks again,
karen.

Spent time in Pisa and Lucca last year. I think Pisa gets a raw deal in that everyone thinks it's just about going to the tower, taking a few pics pretending you're holding it up, and then going somewhere else. It's a nice little town, and like almost any other place if you get away from the touristy spots you can find a genuine slice of local life. I'm not suggesting you need/want a week in Pisa, but I wouldn't be bored spending one day.

That said, given the choice I would probably spend the day/night in Lucca. I think the city is a bit prettier, the walk around the wall is very nice. There are great places to eat in both.

I think for one day either would be a perfectly good choice.

Elizabeth_S,
Love the pics. Can't belive I had actually forgotten the piazza over the arena!
OK, I am sticking with my original suggestion.
Karencorreia, go to Lucca for the night.

Will echo those who say the Field of Miracles has more worth seeing than the Leaning Tower -- the Duomo, Baptistry, and Duomo Museum are very good as well. One day is plenty of time to experience all this.

hey, what do you guys think about a Segway Tour, in Pisa???
is it worth to pay for???