Tuscany Questions - Pisa Hotel
 

Hi everyone,

I will be visiting Tuscany later this summer. I'm flying into Pisa and arrive at 9:50 at night. How far is the airport to the city center? Is it advisable for me to travel to a hotel near the city center at this time of night alone (I am a female in my 20s traveling alone)? Should I book a hotel near the airport for the first night/are there hotels near the airport? Also, how to I get to the airport to the city center, and do you have any suggestions on hotels? My budget is somewhere around $100/120 a night.

Second, I am looking for some helping planning my trip there. I will be arriving in Pisa at night and then staying for 4 full days, leaving on the 5th. I would like to go to the beach while there and basically just relax. Will I want to spend all the time in Pisa/is the beach easily accessible? Or should I try to see another town/city for a day or two? Is Cinque Terre/Monterossa anywhere close? I've heard that's a wonderful place. I am open for any suggestions, I am just looking for a nice beach, good food, and a nice place to walk around/shop, etc. If there are major tourist sites you think I should see, please suggest them. I'm not into museums, but things like the leaning tower of pisa I definitely will check out.

Thanks in advance!

You can reach Pisa Central by bus, shuttle train or short cab ride from the airport. I guess the answer will depend on how many people are around plus your comfort factor at the time. Monterosso is about an hour if I recall on a train straight from Pisa. If you enjoy hiking or relaxing, its a great place. Not much shopping in any of the cinque terre towns though. I'm sure you will hear about how crowded the towns are, but it really is fine. Take a train, boat or hike between each town, they really are beautiful.

>>How far is the airport to the city center?<<<

Five minutes by train.

I would not spend five nights in Pisa. You might want to try the beaches around Viareggio (a bit north of Pisa and can be reached by train) if you want a beach vacation.

Thanks for the answers. I'm thinking of staying in Pisa for two days, then going to Florence for one day and Cinque Terre for 2 days. Do you think one day in Florence is enough? I don't like to go to museums, is there much else to see/do there? I basically just want to walk around and eat gelatto haha

If you just plan to visit Florence for the day, then do so as a day trip from Pisa--don't waste time changing hotels. Pisa will also be closer for your trip to Cinque Terre.

Here is how my friends and I spent one day of Florence with just a taste of museums. I've posted this itinerary before . . .

On a quick 5-day trip to Rome with Italy novices, I took them on a day trip to Florence. It was one of their favorite days. These friends appreciate art, but don't know much about it, nor did they express any special interests in particular sights. Our trip was during Thanksgiving weekend—late November. I planned the day this way for our group of 5 adults.

We got a train at about 9 AM which put us in Florence by about 10:30AM.

From the station, we took the #12 bus to Piazzale Michelangelo. Therefore, our group's first real view of Florence was from this famous scenic overlook. Loads of photo opportunities, ooohs and aaahs. (If our group had been smaller, I would have opted for a taxi. Even so, a taxi might have been a good idea, since the bus skirts the center of the city and took 30 minutes to reach the piazzale.) Having just spent 3 days in the city of Rome, the group also appreciated the views of the green hills and houses on the hillside nearby and the different style of architecture than that of Modern and Baroque Rome.

From there we went into the city, walking down the steep Via di San Salvatore al Monte, a pedestrian-only walk past green gardens. We entered the city at Porta San Niccolo just as the church bells were ringing noon, the fragrance of delicious lunches in the air. We followed the Via San Niccolo through quiet streets (One friend commented that she finally felt like she was in Italy.) to Via Bardi, eventually turning onto the busy Ponte Vecchio, decorated for Christmas.

From there we walked through town past Piazza della Signoria all the way to the Duomo, which took my friends totally by surprise. This seemed a good moment to stop for lunch, so we had a lovely lunch at Osteria Belle Donne.

After lunch we strolled back through Piazza della Repubblica and then visited the Duomo and the Baptistery. My friends really enjoyed the mosaics inside the Baptistery, spending a lot of time sitting and interpreting the stories depicted. I'm sure we stopped for coffee once or twice during the day since this group became quick converts to the Italian system of coffee—a quick shot at the bar and then on your way.

Then we went to the San Lorenzo markets, splitting off into smaller groups to explore the wares and setting a meeting place and time. I knew my friends would enjoy this market, especially since there is no equivalent in Rome. At the meeting time, 3 were content with their shopping while 2 were still looking for leather jackets, so I indicated a nearby coffee bar where we 3 would wait while they finished. We sat for at least an hour, enjoying our thick hot chocolates and watching the buzz of the busy bar.

With the group together again, it was just after 5 PM, so I thought it couldn't hurt to see how the line was at the Accademia. There was no line, so we walked right in and had David to ourselves and about 20 other people. Quite magical.

We shopped a little more and then had dinner at Trattoria Za-Za. Our return train to Rome left at 9 PM and arrived at about 10:30 PM. They loved this day, which was balanced with a short "hike", beautiful scenery, historic sights, shopping, relaxing in a cafe, and two good meals.

Its been over a decade since I stayed here so you might want to check tripadvisor.com for recent info.

It's the oldest hotel in Pisa 1837 and was the only hotel on the Arno River.
And quite a few 19C VIP's stayed there, I can't find my old post about them who I did name.

It was shabby and worn but clean, it was just a cool old hotel with a very friendly (family?) staff.

My single room was big with a large bathroom and a big hallway room between them.
The old but worn furniture in the room was pretty neat also.
And a nice view of the river.

"Hotel Royal Victoria" a brief NYT article and be sure to click-on the hotel's website on that page.
http://tinyurl.com/d5899z8
Regards, Walter

We stayed at the Hotel Royal Victoria and enjoyed stepping back in time. Truly a unique experience.

thank you!