Well hello to you my reader chums! Pisa is ultimately renowned for its leaning tower and the monument you've got to see whilst travelling around the Tuscany region. It may be touristy, but you'll have a lot of fun getting the candid photo that every other person there will be trying to take too.

Pisa wasn't my favourite part of Tuscany as it was smaller than I expected with the square of tourist spots as the main hub. However, it's not to say I didn't like it because in Italy everywhere is beautiful. I don't think it's essential to spend a whole day in Pisa, you can see the main sights in the afternoon, but a whole day allows you to immerse into what is past the leaning tower.

I stayed 4 nights in Florence previously and took the train to Pisa the next day and it took around an hour. Out of all the train journeys in Tuscany, this was the busiest!

Here's everything we got up to in Pisa:

The main sights

As I mentioned previously, Pisa is pretty small and the main hub of it is the Leaning Tower and the surrounding sights including the cathedral, baptistery, and Camposanto. This square is pretty much crowded all the time (depending on the time of year) so it's best to head down as soon as each monument opens as you have a better chance of avoiding the queues.

For all the sights you can get one ticket which will give you entrance to them and to go up the leaning tower. I believe it was around 18 Euro each and was completely worth it - especially going up the tower.

Leaning Tower of Pisa - I saw this in a million pictures prior to my trip so it was pretty cool seeing it in person and walking up to the top. It's quite a long walk up and at first, I felt a little disorientated due to the lean. Still, once we got to the top, the view was insane and you can see the whole of Pisa including all the other monuments. For your 'up the tower' ticket, you're given a set time to climb the tower.

Cathedral - I love entering cathedrals, there's something so beautiful about them and this one was no different. The cathedral was huge and had the most gorgeous detailing with lots of mosaics and gold everywhere.

Baptistery - The Baptistery was just as beautiful; it's a huge domed building with two layers and a very similar matching interior to the cathedral. You could see the square from all the windows as you walk around the dome.

Camposanto - I think this was the most interesting building to walk around. The entire building was filled with historical statues and artwork which I loved learning about. I always find it incredible how monuments can last for centuries and still be standing today - I just love learning the history behind it.

Hub of shops and restaurants

Pisa isn't the biggest place, however, there was the main strip of restaurants and shops which I loved to stroll around. This strip was located down one of the roads by the leaning tower. This is where you'll find the best amount of buzz and some incredible restaurants to dine at and cute market stalls to buy souvenirs.

Going for a stroll

The more you walk around the city, the more you'll get a feel of Pisa and soak up the culture. There are many quaint streets and Pisa has quite a residential feel when you step away from the main tourist attractions. I liked that as you could feel at home walking around rather than being in a constant tourist trap spot. If it's sunny too, it makes for the perfect romantic walk in a place destined to be explored.

How to get there

Pisa is incredibly easy to get to from a lot of Italian cities and towns including Florence and Siena. You can get a direct train and the tickets are super cheap. I got mine on the Omio train app and managed to get them discounted by buying an under 26-year-old ticket. You can also easily arrive by car or book a tour for an afternoon or day visit.

Where to stay

Considering the small area, there are a handful of great hotels in Pisa. On the trip, I stayed for one night at the Can San Tommaso hotel. I loved this hotel; it was located about a 5-minute walk from the tower and was near everything. The station was probably around a 20-minute walk from there. They offered the best breakfast (lots of cake) too!

Where to eat

As I was only in Pisa for a day, I only dined at one proper restaurant in the evening and that was Il Peperoncino.This restaurant was owned by the loveliest man who taught me some Italian and really got chatting as I dined. The food was also superb! I loved my mushroom pasta dish and our shared bruschetta starter - I'd highly recommend it.

Places to go from Pisa

Pisa is in a great location to visit other towns and cities. The best places to go either on a day trip or move onto for a few days are Florence, Lucca, Siena, Cinque Terre, Bologna, and even the Chianti Region. All of these places are accessible by train or car (besides Chianti).

I hope you enjoyed this post. Have you visited Pisa before?

Thank you for reading <3