I've been reading all the old posts on these towns as a day trip from Florence and decided I want to do both on the same day. I'll have a total of 6 days in Florence, with one other day trip to Siena. My question on the Pisa / Lucca trip is which order should I do them in? I was thinking I'd do Pisa first as I probably only want to "see" the outsides of the buildings. In planning this (total of 17 days) trip there are so many church interiors/tower climbs/museums that I really want to do, and the ones in Pisa sound less interesting. I wasn't even going to go but those posts on "is Pisa worth it" convinced me that I do want to at least see it. So I'm going to take the advice of in and out fairly quickly and spend most of the day in Lucca.

Anyway, back to my question. Should I do Pisa first or Lucca? I also read that if you take the train from Lucca to Pisa (as oppossed from Florence to Pisa) it stops at a station only five minutes from the Leaning Tower. So if I go with that option I'd do Lucca first. But since I'll only be in Pisa a short while I want to see it in the best light. Does anyone know if that would be morning or late afternoon/early evening (think photographs)?

Also, since at least in one direction I'll have to go to/from the main train station, did anyone walk it (as oppossed to taking the bus) and if so, can you recommend the best route (most scenic, pleasant) from the main train station to the Tower? Thanks

I did this 2 weeks ago. I wouldn't waste my time on Lucca. There is absolutely zip to see. The dumo is minor league. The main square and shopping areas are fairly dull. The wall is, well, a wall. You'll see plenty of others. To give you an idea of how hard up Lucca is to impress, one of the big sights is a tower with oak trees on top. Wow! Honestly, don't bother.

Given that:


""is Pisa worth it"

The town itself is a very grim and unappealing place. The tower and duomo are as good as sights as you will find in Tuscany outside the Florence duomo.

"Anyway, back to my question. Should I do Pisa first or Lucca?"

It makes no difference whatever. I might slightly tend toward Lucca first because more trains run between Pisa and Florence than between Luuca and Florebce. This makes it easier to schedule your return whenever you want.

" also read that if you take the train from Lucca to Pisa (as oppossed from Florence to Pisa) it stops at a station only five minutes from the Leaning Tower."

Incorrect. There's only one station. It's about a 25 minute walk, but you can take a city bus.

" was thinking I'd do Pisa first as I probably only want to "see" the outsides of the buildings."

The inside of the duomo is a far better sight than the inside of any of the churches or duomo in Florence. They are OK, but hardly remarkable by European standards. In might have been the best we saw in Italy, except St. Peter's, of course and maybe Siena. (You're idea of not not going into every single church is excellent. I would skip Santa Marian Novella and Santa Croce in Florence.)

OK, my apologies to Crozier, but I must insert that I found Pisa to be an incredibly CHARMING town. It can only be considered grim if real Italy is grim. Outside of the are with the leaning tower and the Bapistry, it's a living, thriving Italian town with very few tourists.

Yes, you can take a bus or cab to the leaning tower, but if you have the time, WALK. You will see a very interesting, beautiful place; a university town that is quintisentially Italian. Take your time and enjoy it.

Sorry, I haven't been to Lucca, but I've heard from friends that it's a fun excursion, particularly walking the wall. I'm interested to hear what parts of Italy Crozier finds "worth it".

Hi isabel,

My wife and I liked Lucca when we visited it last Fall.

It makes for a pleasant, calming, quiet 1/2 day or so.

For the trip to Pisa, you want the San Rossore station, that is the one closest to the tower, not Pisa Centrale.

Thanks Ira. I had read that that station is closest to the Tower. But I only read about it in conjunction with the train from Lucca. Do you know if it's possible to get to that station on a train from Florence?

And Grasshopper - I think I am planning to walk from the train station (whichever one). Do you remeber which streets you took (I'm assuming from the main station)? On a map there seem to be several choices. I was just wondering if one route was more pleasant than another. In most cities that is the case but you usually don't end up discovering which one till you've taken the boring one. That's why I was looking for a tip.

And Cozier, thanks for your opinion. Most of the stuff I've read disagrees with you, but it's always nice to hear from all sides.

Hi Isabel,

>Do you know if it's possible to get to that station on a train from Florence?<

Yes it is, but you have to change at Pisa Centrale.

This is the info from the German railway system:

http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en

However, www.trenitalia.com doesn't recognize the San Rossore station. I wonder if it has been closed.

Ira, you're right. When I go to any of the train sites they don't seem to have the San Rossore station, even if you plug in Lucca to Pisa it says Pisa Centrale (although the station is on the map and looks very close to the tower).

OK, so I give up on that idea. I don't mind walking a half hour. So now I really hope someone can tell me the best streets to take to make that an enjoyable walk. According to my map there is a pedestrian street, Corso Italia that crosses over Pont de Mezzo. But there are at least three other streets and another bridge that don't look like they'd take any longer. So anyone done it lately and remember what route you took? Thanks

Isabel,

Just another possibility, if the train situation gets complicated-- we took a bus from Lucca to Pisa.

It was a short (20-30 min., I think) ride through interesting countryside and little villages.

The bus stopped right in from of the tower complex. You could take the train back to Florence from Pisa.

Byrd

If you take the train to Pisa, it's very easy to get a bus to the tower, look for a stop at the Field of Miracles (it's in Italian, forgot what it is but it's easy to recognize) Make sure you look out on your right and you will see the gate and crowds of people and you will know that's it.

We took a bus to the field and a taxi back to the train station. The taxi was only 6 E.

Joelle

The train from Florence to Pisa doesn't go to S. Rossore as it is past the central station. The train from Lucca does stop at S. Rossore. If you enter Lucca to Pisa on Trenitalia and then click on the train number you will see the stop listed. If you get off at S. Rossore you cross the tracks and go through an opening in the fence to your left.

I would go to Lucca first and plan on getting there early and leaving after lunch. When we were there the town shut down in the afternoon so there was very little to do until things begin to open again late in the day.

I found prices to be better in Pisa than Florence. My daughter's teacher asked her to buy paper/pencils from Il Papier and the prices were much better in Pisa even though the store was in the touristy area across from the duomo.

Just back yesterday and did these two towns as day trips. We did Lucca first because of the opening times of the things we wanted to see in both cities. Check your guide book and you will see that some things in pisa don't open until 1:00. So we did lucca in the morning and then pisa. We loved lucca, it's a little taste of tuscany. We also loved the tower in pisa. I will be posting a trip report shortly if your interested.

Just take a bus (Euro 1 per person from Tabac stores) and it picks up/stops in fromt of the entrance to the Field of Miracles from the train station. We were there last month and took the bus to/from the Pisa main train station.

Hi ky,

Thanks for your post.

It clears up the problem.

I just checked my notes. It is the #3 bus that goes to the Field of Miracles from the train station. We followed Rick Steves advice to pick it up across the street at the hotel, but it looked like you could have gotten it on the station side as well

Joelle

I disagre with poster who said Lucca had nothing. We had a pleasant visit. Walking the top of the wall gives you a great view of town. At the main visitor's center you can rent an audio guide to use all day walking the town, with a map showing you spots to stop to listen to the tape.
You mention a day trip to Siena. I wish you could stay longer, it's a lovely town. While the cathedral tower is closed, the one at the main square is open. Maybe in summer it will be crowded, but on an April morning there were only a few people. Steep, and a lot of steps, it's for the fittest, but what a view. The square in Siena is wonderful, would love to one day see their festival.

Aleta - I wish I had more time for Siena also but I guess you can't have everything. I'm sorry to hear that the cathedral tower is closed (I assume you mean in Siena). I had heard the view from there was as good as from the campanille and with no lines (I'll be there in July, I'm sure there will be lines). Do you know why it's closed, or if it is permanent?

I guess in terms of Lucca and Pisa it really doesn't matter which I do first, there seem to quite a few trains to and from Florence from each of them. One itneresting fact I found is that the only mention of that San Rossore station is on schedules from Pisa to Lucca. If you plug in that route you get several trains that go from Pisa SR (the others from Pisa Centrale). But when you plug in Lucca TO Pisa you only get centrale station. Go figure. I guess I'll just take all my detailed notes with me and then wing it.

Hi isabel,

>when you plug in Lucca TO Pisa you only get centrale station. <

I thought so too. However, if you click on the arrow on the left side you will get the train number. Click on that for the scheduled stops.