Brief review of Pisa with photos

[yokeagan]

We (my husband, myself, and our 15 year old son) took the Norwegian Ultimate Florence & Pisa with David and Tower Climb tour.

 

I'll review the Florence part of the tour separately.

 

The second half of our day was spent in Pisa. We took our bus to Pisa. it is important to note that the buses park in the town of Pisa about 15 minutes away from Miracle Square. You must walk from the bus to the square and back again. It's a flat walk, but we did have some people on the tour that were surprised about the walk. I had read about this ahead of time, so no problem for us.

 

We arrived at Miracle Square and did a brief tour of the outside of the buildings (the baptistry, the cathedral, and the tower). We then walked to the end of the square where we were handed our free water, told about our meeting time to climb the tower, and then given about an hour of free time. You can get tickets to go inside the baptistry for a fee. You can go inside the Cathedral for free, but you must pick up a ticket. The tickets for both are located at the guest services area in the square (very easy to find).

 

We decided to get the free tickets for the Cathedral and skip the baptistry due to time constraints. Let me say, it was completely worth it to go inside the Cathedral. Beautiful!

 

Street performer on the walk to the square.

 

Miracle Square

 

cathedral

 

 

[yokeagan]

Cathedral

 

 

[yokeagan]

The tower climb was really cool. You go by large groups into the bottom of the tower for a brief history. The you are on your way to climb. Just so you know, it's a climb of 294 steps in tight quarters, especially if you meet someone coming down while you are going up. The marble steps are well worn, so watch your step. There are also no handrails. That said, it was amazing! The views from the top are fantastic. Worth the time and effort!

 

 

 

my son climbing the steps

 

At the top in the bell tower

 

View from the top

 

After we climbed the tower we had about 45 minutes before we had to meet the group to leave. We sat down at an outdoor cafe across from the tower and enjoyed some gelato, canapés and a glass of wine. Perfect end to a great day. It was then about a half hour trip back to the port.

[ace1zoe2]

Thanks for taking time to post about Pisa. We are going 10/2014 and appreciate your thoughts about Pisa. We will be doing it prior to boarding the ship, we're spending a few days at a Tuscan villa. Hoping to do Florence & Pisa on the day we arrive (flying in to Florence early morning).

[dbowe5]

Hi

We will be in Livorno in just over 3 weeks. We will be with my son who is coming up to 3. Do you think a trip to Pisa would be suitable for someone his age?

Many thanks

Darren

[ace1zoe2]

Hi

We will be in Livorno in just over 3 weeks. We will be with my son who is coming up to 3. Do you think a trip to Pisa would be suitable for someone his age?

Many thanks

Darren

 

Keep in mind that children under 8 are not allowed inside the tower for the climb. I believe that is the age requirement that I read on their website.

[yokeagan]

They are right, children under 8 are not allowed to climb the tower. However, there is a great big lawn there for him to run around on. I'm not sure that a 3 year old will be very interested in seeing the inside of the buildings. I know my son at 3 would have had no interest at all. However, you could take shifts, someone could watch the 3 year old while others enjoyed the buildings, then you could switch.

[euro cruiser]

Hoping to do Florence & Pisa on the day we arrive (flying in to Florence early morning).

I don't think this is realistic if you are flying in from the States. Even if you are already in Europe and won't be dealing with a time change, it will be challenging to arrive, pick up a rental car, check into your lodgings, drive 50 miles between Florence and Pisa, then drive to your villa, etc. That's a pretty packed day. Using public transit makes this even more difficult.