Very Confused about Pisa - Please Help!
 

I thought I had done all my research thoroughly. I booked 2 tickets to climb the tower about 1 month ago (for Sept.3rd). I used their official website, used my c.c., and instantly received my printed confirmation. However, today I looked at their website to see when the other monuments open and it now says there are certain times for English tours to climb the tower (there is only 3 times listed - and about 24 tours a day, so this doesn't seem right.) I e-mailed them but not sure if I'll get a response. Does anyone know if the above info. is correct? Are there really only limited "English" tours while climbing the tower? Also, does anyone know how long it takes to drive (by car)from the city center of Florence to the tower on a weekend morning (early - 8/9am)?

Thanks for all your help.

the 'tour' i took was by an older Italian guy who grunted not a single word on the way up, up top or down - it was said he led the group up only for security reasons - in old days you could climb by yourself. I think English tours are something special - the others not really tours at all - i may be wrong - i visited in the days just after the tower was reopened so may have evolved - but i wouldn't worry about language - the view and the climb will make you speechless.

We climbed the tower this past June and as PalQ mentioned, there still was no true "tour". Someone just took the group up and told us when we had to leave. We took the train from Florence, so cannot help much on your driving question. I don't know if it matters to you, but the only thing they let us carry up the tower was our camera, all other bags must be left in locker provided by the tower office. The tower was a great experience.

Hi ...

As someone who is planning on visiting Pisa on the 15th September 2005, is it actually worth climbing the tower ??

Mark

I climbed the tower when it first openned again back in 2002. The "tour" indeed was just a security person telling you when to go where etc.

The experience was definitely unique - kind of cool to be able to say you've climbed the leaning tower - however, not life altering. The view from the top is definitely not spectacular. I'm glad I did it though.

Also - be warned if you easily get motion sickness or dizziness. Climbing up all those stairs going in circles on an angle really disrupts your equalibrium.

We went up the tower this time last year and it was definately just a couple of (very grumpy) security guards making sure you got up and back down again in the alloted time.

I would say the experience is well worth it. There are a lot of steps but you can take it relatively slowly - I'm certainly not super fit. The view from the top is fab and you certainly get the feeling the building is sloping not only while walking up and down, but also from the top.

Hi K,

>does anyone know how long it takes to drive (by car)from the city center of Florence to the tower on a weekend morning (early - 8/9am)?<

See www.mappy.com and www.viamichelin.com

The train will take you from Florence city center to Pisa in an hour for 5E.

From Pisa Centrale, you can take a bus to the Tower, or a :30 hr walk.

((I))

Or you can go right to the tower by train - or at least within a short stroll of it - train to Pisa Centrale then hop the train to Pisa's secondary station that is very close to the tower. But there are only about trains every two hours however so know your schedules - otherwise bus or walk is best.

We did a combo of what PalQ recommends. We walked from the train to the Field of Miracles, with a stop for pizza on the way, then took a bus back. The university area was nice and it was a good way to see Pisa for the first time rather than being dumped off in front of the tourist stalls. I'd also recommend going inside the Duomo, which is beautiful.

Thank you all for the great advice! Now that I know in advance that it is not a true "tour" - I won't be dissappointed. Plus how many people get to say they've climbed the leaning tower of Pisa - so we're very excited.

Ira - thanks for the websites. We definately are going to go by car due to our other itinerary that day, so checking the distance time is great.

Thanks again!!