Pisa, as seen by a Pisa university student!

Pisa is well-known around the world for being the city of the leaning tower… I think there are more things to do in Pisa than spending an entire day in "Piazza dei Miracoli", where the tower is located. You’ll appreciate this little town (think about the fact that when the university is closed, Pisa has half its population--there are 30,000 students) and its ancient origins, its narrow streets, and a nice view of the River Arno.

I’m quite accustomed to the view of "Piazza dei Miracoli" and the tower, as I’ve been studying here for 5 years. But I’m pleased to give you some useful advice collected in five years giving a helping hand to lost tourists!

Don’t expect to visit a big city, as I was saying before. I really think that a day or two is okay to get a nice overview of the city--more days will be only a waste of money. The city has about 60,000 inhabitants, and most of them don’t know a word of English, so be sure of what you’d like to visit, and try not to ask any Italian where the leaning tower is... in Italian, it's "torre pendente".

Architecturally speaking, this town was rebuilt in different periods, so you’ll find buildings from 1000 BC to the horrible popular houses of the '60s and '70s, but don’t be afraid; there are still many things to see.

The city center is located next to the train station--the main street is called "Corso Italia" and goes from the station to the river Arno, and then there’s a bridge called "Ponte di Mezzo" (middle bridge in English) that leads you to a street that really fits the shop-addicted, called "Borgo Stretto". The more ancient and interesting part for tourists is located on the bankside, which is also Borgo Stretto but is a little bit aside. I’ll try in my journal to give you some good directions to reach the leaning tower from different places in the city.

The last thing before concluding this overview: Pisa has, like any Italian touristic place, many shops that sell original Italian products and souvenirs... well, no Italian would buy them! Things that you find in many shops are old-fashioned, expensive, and sometimes express really bad taste. So be careful when buying "cheap" things, especially bags, because they could be fake. Trust your sixth sense!

Quick Tips:

The best thing to do before arriving in Pisa is to book a hotel if you’re going to travel around June 16th, because there’s a local happening that attracts lots and lots of people from all over Tuscany (called San Ranieri... all Pisa is lit up with small lights during the night, and there are fireworks, of course). So it can be a problem even to find a restaurant to dine in.

Anyway, you won’t have particular problems in others period of the year. If you get to Pisa on an intercontinental flight, you’re probably not only going to visit Tuscany but also other parts of Europe. Well, in the section where I’m going to write about the Pisa airport, I’ll spend some words on low-cost airlines like Ryanair that fly from Pisa to many European destinations. Really cheap and fast... I’ve been to Bruxelles, departing from Pisa, with a 30-euro ticket (round-trip!), including taxes.

Best Way To Get Around:

Transportation can become a real problem in Pisa. Streets are narrow, buses are quite crowded, and there are lots of cars. So in rush hours, you can find yourself packed in a bus and spending 40 minutes to get from the station to the city center. Not good. If the weather is fine, you can plan to visit Pisa on foot, and you’ll see more of the city. If you’re in a real hurry (a few hours to see the city), you can take a bus or a taxi (there are some taxis for cab-sharing).

Anyway, never think of driving in Pisa, it’s not a big city, but car parking can get very expensive. If you’re forced to get into Pisa in a car, leave it in a car park outside the city or next to the tower (there are many signs) and than catch a bus.

This is not actually a restaurant, it's what in Italian is defined as a wine bar, a place where you can taste different wines while you eat appetizers for free (you only have to pay for the wine) or order an entire meal if you want.

The place is really nice, with many young people and some travellers. Remember that on Fridays and Saturdays it can become very crowded for the so called happy hour from 7:30pm to 8:30pm. The atmosphere is sort of romantic, so if you want to dine with a special person, this is the right place.

Ask for directions to reach this restaurant, because it's not so easy to find.

It’s a local celebration dedicated to the city patron - San Ranieri, of course. It takes place in Pisa on June 16 of every year.

It consists of a very particular thing: the leaning tower, the Dome, the Baptistry, and all the houses along the River Arno are illuminated by little lights and sometimes candles to create a real romantic and medieval atmosphere during the night. At midnight, or sometimes after, there is a big firework show on the River Arno that you can’t miss.

Some advice for you: the day of San Ranieri is a holiday, so you won’t find many shops, offices, or museums open, so be sure to check if the things you planned to visit are open to the public on that day. The second thing is that on those days, Pisa is really overcrowded, so you’d better book your hotel and restaurants if you want to have the chance of eating something. There are many takeaway stands in the narrow streets around the city center, though. The third thing is don’t expect to find a car park, a bar, a pizzeria, or a restaurant with a place free. You really have to fear the crowds. Two years ago, I went to this celebration, and it took 2 hours for us to leave Pisa with the car because of the traffic jams. It took two hours to reach the freeway, which was a half mile far from the car park.

This is one of the questions that a university student has to face more frequently during spring and summer. When I travel, I like to be independent from locals (even if I’m fond of getting in touch with new people), just because I like planning things in advance.

Most of the people arrive in Pisa by train, expecially when getting to Pisa from Florence or Livorno, the port in which every love boat stops; also buses from Pisa airport (line 3) stop here at Pisa Centrale station. First of all, you’ve got different choices: you can reach the tower in a cab, by bus, or on foot. Consider the fact that reaching a place in a cab is easy, while taking a bus could be uneasy.

By Bus
Anyway, when you’re in the entrance hall of the train staion, you’ll see two newsstands; they sell also bus tickets (in Italian = BIGLIETTO, pronounced beeleettou), and you’ll need to validate one for each way on the bus. The bus stop is on the opposite side of the station (the ones you have on the side of the station are not okay), and you have to look for the "NAVETTA A". Anyway, if you have any doubt, ask the driver, saying "TORRE?"--that means "tower" in Italian. You'll need to do the same to locate the right bus stop for you because the bus stop next to the leaning tower is outside the square, so from the bus, you are not able to say if you’re near or not.

The bus stop is next to the "Santa Chiara" hospital; you’ll recognize it because there’s a red cross on a sign. In front of the hospital, there’s a service area named "AGIP". When you are here, you can drop off and look to find a big arch that leads you in Piazza dei Miracoli, where the tower is.

On Foot
I prefer this way of reaching the tower; you just have to plan a short walk of about 15 to 20 minutes, maximum. I’m accustomed to this path because I have to reach the university every morning, which is next to the tower. This way is not so "panoramic" or "breathtaking", but it is the shortest.

First of all, leave the train station, exit to the big square, and look to your left. You’ll see a cinema, a hotel named "Roseto", and a narrow street. Enter that street, go straight on, and then cross the road. You have to veer a little bit left (not turning left) to enter the other road and go straight on. You'll have the bus depot on your left. Cross the road again, and you’ll see a big square with a church and many cars parked on it. (Note: On the rear side of the church, you can reach in few minutes an enormous painting by Keith Haring).

Cross the road and go straight on, entering "Via Crispi". Walk for some minutes and reach the bridge, named Solferino. This is one of the bridges on the Arno River, the same river of Florence. When you’re on the bridge, if you look to your right, you can see the "Chiesa della Spina" and, farther away, another bridge called "Ponte di Mezzo", or in English, Middle Bridge. This bridge joins Borgo Tretto and Corso Italia.

So cross Solferino Bridge after taking some photos of this panoramic view, and go straight on for about 5 to 8 minutes. Then you’re in Piazza dei Miracoli, which is the location of the leaning tower, the dome, the monumental graveyard, and the baptistery. I’ve made a little map for you; please forgive me if I’m not so good at drawing.

Landing in Pisa can be very unpleasant for a traveller accustomed only to big and organised airports. Since Pisa is a small city, it has a little airport. It's functional, tidy, and clean, but really small. Anyway, I don’t think you’re interested in airport architecture, so I’ll give some essential advice on what you can find in this airport.

First of all, when you book a flight to Tuscany and want to land in Pisa, be sure to book for PSA, not Florence airport, because they’ve unified the bookings for flights. Notice that Florence and Pisa are not so close; it takes about an hour and a half by train to get from one to the other. So if you're going to Pisa and you land in Florence after hours and hours of travelling, you’ll probably be unpleased to have to travel another hour by train. I prefer to underline this fact because some friends of mine made similar mistakes.

Anyway, let’s start with some practical information. First of all--important for backpackers--the airport is closed during the night. It closes after the last flight (it depends on the season) and opens at about 5:30am. In the airport, there are many car rentals, an ATM, and some shops. Regarding the rentals, check the opening hours by phone--many times, on my arrival, they were closed (I had no booking).

Transportation:

Trains
There’s a train station just outside the airport, called "Pisa Aeroporto", that's useful to get directly to the main station, "Pisa Centrale", or to Florence "Firenze S.M.N". I don’t suggest you take the train to go to the central station, as it's better to take the bus.

Terravision
This is a low-cost coach service between Pisa and Florence, in partnership with low-cost airline, "Ryanair". So check their website for the schedule--it varies according to Ryanair's flight changes: http://www.terravision.it/florence_pisa.html.

Cabs
I’ve never used cabs to get to the city centre, since it’s not so far away. Usually cabs in Pisa are not expensive.

Bus
There’s a bus stop just outside the airport, and you only need to buy a ticket at the newsstand. But be careful--if your flight is scheduled to arrive after 8pm in Italy, it can be a problem to find a bus. It would be better take a taxi in this case.

In the last 5 years, Pisa airport has become an important hub for low-cost airlines, so if you plan to visit Europe in a cheap way, think about Pisa. I’ve personally been to London, then again to London/Aarhus and to Brussels with Ryanair. If you find a good offer, you can travel from Pisa to Bruxelles with 30 euros round-trip, including taxes. Main low-cost airlines are Ryanair, Hapag Lloyd express (Germany), and Transavia (Amsterdam).

Check the official websites frequently to find offers and more information. This is Pisa airport's homepage: http://www.pisa-airport.com/.