Pisa

Travelling to Pisa

Firstly we were picked up by coach from Florence as we were on an excursion from our cruise on 13th July 2022. Please click on the following link for full details of cruise and itinerary Highlights of the Mediterranean. It is a short walk from the coach park to the leaning tower. Also there are a lot of people around all doing the same thing. However we had a tour guide who put up a sign for us to follow her as it was very crowded even on the streets. Before we were left to do our own thing the tour guide told us where the meeting point was and when to be back to get on to the coach.

It was a particularly hot day reaching 39 degrees at times . Consequently even the dogs had shoes on as the ground was too hot for them to walk on. On the way to the tower etc there are several stalls selling things souvenirs, drinks, food etc. Surprisingly there is even a Mc Donald’s on the way too. Despite expecting Pisa to be very touristy we were shocked to see how busy it was. Also we found it a bit of a let down with a Mc Donald’s not far from the tower itself. It was certainly very hard to take any photo’s as there was always someone walking in the way.

Places of Interest

The leaning tower and the Pisa Duomo Cathedral are in beautiful ground. Undoubtedly the architecture of both buildings are absolutely spectacular. Also you can go in to the Cathedral each day form 10am – 7pm and look round. Subsequently you can ago up the leaning tower but you have to book on busy days as there is always a queue.

The Baptistery is also located on the same grounds as the leaning tower. Unquestionably this also has spectacular architecture. The building are stunning and definitely worth visiting. You cant go to Pisa without visiting the leaning tower.

Time in Pisa

Unfortunately we didn’t have much time in Pisa as we had booked an excursion which allowed us to spend a lot of time in Florence but not has much in Pisa. We would have like to have more time and see more of Pisa not just the leaning tower site. It would have been nice to experience some of the other places of interest and evening time in a nice restaurant and bar.

Food and Drink

Because of the intense heat a lot of people were trying to find shade. The stalls selling cold drinks were always busy even Mc Donald’s had a long queue. The stalls selling souvenir’s etc were reasonably priced. Water did vary from place to place form 3.5 Euro’s to 1 Euro.

Finally we waited at the meeting point for some time until all the coach was back. Because it was so hot and just stood still with very little shade the time seemed longer. Unfortunately this is the downside to excursion’s as there is always someone who is not back on time. Saying that we had a great time and saw some wonderful sites.

Summary

Although we did see the main sites of Pisa but felt it had a lot more to offer and would have liked to have spent more time. May be to have something to eat and drink in a traditionally restaurant. We definitely feel that there is a lot more to Pisa than what we have managed to write about.

Images

Things to do

• Visit the leaning tower of Pisa
• Visit the Baptistery
• Visit the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta
• Visit the Botanic Gardens
• Sample the local cuisine
• Visit Messo Bridge
• Visit the city center for shopping, restaurants and bars

Top Tips

• Take plenty of sun cream on hot days and a hat.
• Drink plenty of water.
• Check out days that may be less busy.
• Try to see other area’s of Pisa
• Check out other places in Italy we have visited. Please click on the following links Ravello , Florence , Rome , Venice
• Check out weather and rainfall below for best time to visit. Please remember that these are averages therefore may be higher or lower.

Weather

Temp – Celsius Rain – mm	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
High Temp	11	12	15	17	21	26	29	29	26	21	15	11
Low Temp	3	3	6	8	11	15	17	18	15	12	6	4
Rainfall	70	60	70	110	70	60	30	50	110	150	110	80
Number of days	11	9	11	11	9	8	4	5	10	13	16	14