---
title: "Top 10 Things To Do in Pisa, Italy | Wimup"
description: "Pisa in one page: the Leaning Tower and the Camposanto, Roman ships rescued from the silt, the walls walk, Keith Haring's last great mural and a cecina counter by the market."
url: https://wimup.com/city/pisa
type: City guide
updated: 2026-11-10
publisher: Wimup (https://wimup.com)
---

# Top 10 Things To Do in Pisa

Pisa, Italy · Europe · By Wimup Editorial, 11 min read

Most visitors give Pisa three hours: the tower, a photograph, the train back to Florence. They miss a university town of about 90,000 with a medieval core along the Arno, a museum of Roman ships, a walkable ring of walls and some of the cheapest good eating in Tuscany.

## Quick answer

Book a morning slot for the Leaning Tower, then take the Cathedral, Baptistery and Camposanto on the same square before the tour buses arrive. Spend the afternoon on the Arno: Piazza dei Cavalieri, Santa Maria della Spina and the Roman ships at the Arsenali Medicei. Stay the night, walk the Lungarni at dusk and eat cecina near Borgo Stretto.

## Quick facts

- **Best months:** Apr · May · Jun · Sep · Oct
- **Ideal length:** 2 days
- **Budget per day:** €85–160
- **Language:** Italian
- **Getting around:** On foot; Pisa Mover to the airport
- **Tourism board:** [Official site](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## The 10 best things to do in Pisa

### 1. Leaning Tower of Pisa

Landmark · Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa

Begun in 1173 and leaning almost from the start, the cathedral's bell tower was stabilised between 1990 and 2001 and now tilts about four degrees. The climb is a narrow spiral of 251 steps; book a timed slot online, as walk-up tickets sell out by midday.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** €20
- **Best at:** First slot
- **Tip:** No climbers under 8; bags go in the cloakroom

Links: [Opera della Primaziale Pisana](https://www.opapisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 2. Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta

Cathedral · Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa

The Romanesque cathedral that set the Pisan style, striped marble outside and a gilded coffered ceiling inside. Giovanni Pisano's carved pulpit is the masterpiece; stand under it and read the panels clockwise.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** Free, timed entry
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Collect the free entry slot at the ticket office

Links: [Opera della Primaziale Pisana](https://www.opapisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 3. Baptistery of San Giovanni

Monument · Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa

The largest baptistery in Italy, Romanesque below and Gothic above, with a pulpit by Nicola Pisano. Its dome carries sound so well that the custodians sing a few notes to show off the echo; climb to the upper gallery for the square framed through the windows.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Late morning
- **Tip:** Combined tickets cover the square's other monuments

Links: [Opera della Primaziale Pisana](https://www.opapisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 4. Camposanto Monumentale

Cemetery · Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa

A marble cloister of tombs and Roman sarcophagi along the north side of the square, and the quietest place on it. Its frescoes burned in a 1944 bombing; the restored Triumph of Death is back on the walls, and the underdrawings hang in the Museo delle Sinopie.

- **Time:** 45 min
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Midday
- **Tip:** The tower photos are better from inside its cloister

Links: [Opera della Primaziale Pisana](https://www.opapisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 5. Piazza dei Cavalieri

Square · Piazza dei Cavalieri, 56126 Pisa

The political heart of medieval Pisa, remade by Vasari for the Knights of St Stephen. The sgraffito-covered Palazzo della Carovana now houses the Scuola Normale; come in the evening, when students fill the steps.

- **Time:** 30 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Evening
- **Tip:** The Torre della Fame on the square is where Dante set Count Ugolino

Links: [Turismo Pisa](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 6. Museo delle Navi Antiche

Museum · Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli 16, 56126 Pisa

Roman and later ships found in 1998 under the San Rossore rail yard, conserved in the Medici arsenal with their cargoes, ropes and a sailor's leather. It is the best museum in the city and rarely crowded.

- **Time:** 2 hrs
- **Cost:** €10
- **Best at:** Afternoon
- **Tip:** A walls ticket takes €2 off

Links: [Navi di Pisa](https://www.navidipisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 7. Mura di Pisa walkway

Walk · Torre di Santa Maria, Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa

A walkway along the 12th-century walls, entered beside the Leaning Tower and running for about three kilometres around the north of the old town. Walk the stretch from Torre di Santa Maria for the only high view of the tower with the cathedral behind it.

- **Time:** 1 hr
- **Cost:** €5
- **Best at:** Late afternoon
- **Tip:** It closes in bad weather

Links: [Turismo Pisa](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 8. Santa Maria della Spina

Church · Lungarno Gambacorti, 56125 Pisa

A small Gothic oratory covered in pinnacles and statues, built to hold a thorn from Christ's crown and moved stone by stone in 1871 to save it from the river. The outside is the reason to come; see it from the far bank.

- **Time:** 20 min
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Golden hour
- **Tip:** Ponte Solferino gives the classic view

Links: [Turismo Pisa](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 9. Museo Nazionale di San Matteo

Museum · Piazza San Matteo in Soarta 1, 56127 Pisa

Tuscan painting and sculpture from the 12th to the 15th century in a former Benedictine convent on the Arno, with Masaccio's Saint Paul and Simone Martini's polyptych. Few visitors make it here, so the rooms are often empty.

- **Time:** 1.5 hrs
- **Cost:** Ticketed
- **Best at:** Morning
- **Tip:** Closes early on Sundays

Links: [Turismo Pisa](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

### 10. Tuttomondo

Street art · Via Zandonai, 56125 Pisa

Keith Haring's 1989 mural on the back wall of the Sant'Antonio Abate convent, thirty figures in a chain about peace. It is one of his last public works and two minutes' walk from the station, so see it on arrival.

- **Time:** 15 min
- **Cost:** Free
- **Best at:** Any time
- **Tip:** Stand in Piazza Sant'Antonio for the whole wall

Links: [Turismo Pisa](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)

## Best monuments in Pisa

Towers, loggias and palaces that tell the maritime republic's story away from the tower.

1. **Palazzo della Carovana** (Renaissance · Exterior · Piazza dei Cavalieri): Vasari's sgraffito palace, seat of the Scuola Normale since 1846.
2. **Torre Guelfa** (Tower · Views · Cittadella): The rebuilt tower of the Cittadella, a lookout over the Arno and the arsenal.
3. **Logge di Banchi** (Loggia · Free · Ponte di Mezzo): The 17th-century covered market hall at the foot of the Ponte di Mezzo.
4. **Ponte di Mezzo** (Bridge · Free · Lungarni): The central bridge, battleground of the Gioco del Ponte every June.
5. **Palazzo Gambacorti** (Town hall · Lungarno Gambacorti): The town hall on the south bank, with a council chamber of naval scenes.

## Best museums in Pisa

Five more collections, from the cathedral's treasures to a Renaissance botanical garden.

1. **Palazzo Blu** (Art · Exhibitions · Lungarno Gambacorti): A blue-fronted palace on the Arno with a picture collection and big touring shows.
2. **Museo dell'Opera del Duomo** (Sculpture · Piazza del Duomo): The original sculpture from the cathedral square, with a terrace facing the tower.
3. **Museo delle Sinopie** (Frescoes · Piazza del Duomo): The red underdrawings peeled from the Camposanto walls after the 1944 fire.
4. **Orto e Museo Botanico** (Garden · Science · Via Luca Ghini): One of Europe's oldest university botanical gardens, founded in 1544.
5. **Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale** (Palace · Lungarno Pacinotti): The Medici and Savoy residence on the river, with tapestries and period rooms.

## Best churches in Pisa

Four churches that show the style the cathedral started, all within the old town.

1. **San Nicola** (Romanesque · Via Santa Maria): A church with its own leaning bell tower and a spiral stair inside.
2. **Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri** (Baroque · Knights · Piazza dei Cavalieri): The Knights of St Stephen's church, hung with Turkish banners taken at sea.
3. **San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno** (Romanesque · Lungarno Sonnino): A striped façade so close to the cathedral's that locals call it the old duomo.
4. **San Michele in Borgo** (Gothic · Borgo Stretto): A Pisan Gothic front of stacked loggias over Borgo Stretto.

## Best restaurants in Pisa

Trattorias in medieval tower houses, and the counter where Pisa eats its cecina.

1. **Osteria dei Cavalieri** (Tuscan · €€ · Via San Frediano 16): Pisan classics in a 13th-century tower house; book for dinner.
2. **Il Campano** (Tuscan · €€ · Via Cavalca 19): A trattoria in a medieval casa torre, Pisan dishes with a modern hand.
3. **La Pergoletta** (Tuscan · €€ · Via delle Belle Torri 40): Home cooking under a vine-covered courtyard off Borgo Stretto.
4. **Trattoria Sant'Omobono** (Tuscan · € · Piazza Sant'Omobono): A no-frills trattoria by the market square, built into an old church.
5. **Il Montino** (Cecina · € · Vicolo del Monte 1): The city's cecina institution, eaten by the slice or in a focaccia.
6. **Antica Trattoria da Bruno** (Tuscan · €€ · Via Luigi Bianchi 12): An old-school trattoria near the walls for game and boiled meats.

## Best bars & cafes in Pisa

A historic café, a pastry shop, a brewpub and a bookshop café.

1. **Caffè dell'Ussero** (Historic café · Lungarno Pacinotti 27): Open since 1775 on the Arno, the café of Pisa's students and poets.
2. **Pasticceria Salza** (Pastry · Coffee · Borgo Stretto): The Borgo Stretto pastry shop, open since 1898, for cakes and torta coi bischeri.
3. **Orzo Bruno** (Beer · Via delle Case Dipinte 6): A brewpub pouring its own craft beers in the old town.
4. **Sottobosco** (Books · Coffee · Piazza San Paolo all'Orto 3): A bookshop café on a quiet square south of the river.

## Best neighborhoods in Pisa

Pisa is small enough to walk end to end; pick by mood, not distance.

1. **Santa Maria** (Sights · Hotels · North of the Arno): The streets between the tower and the river, busiest by day and quiet at night.
2. **Borgo Stretto and the market** (Food · Nightlife · Centro): Arcaded shopping street and the Piazza delle Vettovaglie market behind it.
3. **The Lungarni** (Views · Walks · Both banks): The riverside avenues, at their best on a June night or at sunset.
4. **San Martino** (Local · Budget · South of the Arno): The south bank by the station, cheaper beds and the town's own restaurants.

## Best day trips in Pisa

Walled towns, the coast and Florence, all within an hour by train or bus.

1. **Lucca** (Town · Train · 30 min north): A walled town with a tree-lined rampart to cycle, about half an hour by train.
2. **Florence** (City · Train · 1 hr east): The Renaissance capital, under an hour by fast regional train.
3. **Certosa di Calci** (Monastery · Museum · Calci, 12 km east): A vast Carthusian monastery that also holds the university's natural history museum.
4. **Parco di San Rossore** (Nature · Free · West of the city): Pine woods, wetlands and a beach between Pisa and the sea.
5. **Marina di Pisa** (Coast · Bus · At the Arno mouth): A seaside village at the mouth of the Arno, with fish restaurants on the shore.
6. **Viareggio** (Coast · Train · On the Versilia coast): Art nouveau seafront and Italy's biggest carnival, a short train ride north.

## Festivals & annual events in Pisa (2026)

- **Capodanno Pisano** (25 March): The old Pisan new year, marked in the cathedral with a historic procession.
- **Luminara di San Ranieri** (16 June): Thousands of candles outline the palaces of the Lungarni for one night.
- **Palio di San Ranieri** (17 June): A rowing race between the city's four districts, upstream on the Arno.
- **Gioco del Ponte** (Last Saturday of June): North bank against south in a costumed push-of-war on the Ponte di Mezzo.
- **Giugno Pisano** (June): The month of festivals that frames the three big June dates.
- **Regata delle Repubbliche Marinare** (Early summer, every four years): Pisa, Venice, Genoa and Amalfi race galleys, hosted in turn.
- **Pisa Book Festival** (Early October): The independent publishers' fair, with talks and readings.
- **Terre di Pisa Food & Wine Festival** (October): Tastings and cooking demonstrations from the province, in the city centre.

## Must-try dishes in Pisa, Italy

- **Cecina**: Thin chickpea-flour flatbread from a wood oven, eaten hot.
- **Cinque e cinque**: Cecina inside a focaccia, the classic Pisan snack.
- **Torta coi bischeri**: Rice, chocolate and pine-nut tart with a fluted pastry rim.
- **Baccalà alla pisana**: Salt cod stewed with tomato, garlic and leeks.
- **Zuppa pisana**: Bread and vegetable soup with cabbage and beans.
- **Trippa alla pisana**: Tripe slow-cooked in tomato with parmesan.
- **Pappa al pomodoro**: Tuscan bread and tomato soup with basil and oil.
- **Castagnaccio**: Chestnut-flour cake with rosemary and pine nuts, an autumn sweet.

## Pisa transport & airports

- **Pisa International Airport** (PSA): Tuscany's main airport, at the edge of the city. The Pisa Mover shuttle reaches Pisa Centrale in about five minutes for €6.50. [Pisa Mover](https://pisa-mover.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **Pisa Centrale** (Rail): The main station, south of the river. Regional trains reach Lucca in about half an hour and Florence in under an hour. [Trenitalia](https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **City buses** (Bus): Autolinee Toscane runs the urban lines, including the route from the station to Piazza dei Miracoli, and buses to the coast. [Autolinee Toscane](https://www.at-bus.it/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- **On foot** (Walk): The station to the Leaning Tower is about 25 minutes on foot through Corso Italia and Borgo Stretto, past most of the sights.

## Pisa at a glance

- **Country:** Italy
- **Region:** Tuscany, province of Pisa
- **Population:** About 90,000 in the city
- **Founded:** Pre-Roman; Roman Pisae, later a maritime republic
- **Nickname:** One of the four maritime republics
- **Language:** Italian
- **Currency:** Euro (€)
- **Time zone:** CET (UTC+1), CEST in summer
- **Calling code:** +39 050
- **Airports:** Pisa International (PSA), at the edge of the city
- **Power:** 230 V, type C, F and L plugs
- **Emergency:** 112

## Interesting facts

- Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa in 1564 and taught mathematics at its university.
- Piazza del Duomo has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
- The University of Pisa dates its founding to 1343.
- Pisa's Leaning Tower is not the only one: San Nicola's bell tower leans too.
- Tuttomondo, painted in 1989, is one of Keith Haring's last public works.

## Pisa travel FAQ

### How many days do you need in Pisa?

Two. The first covers Piazza dei Miracoli and its four monuments, the walls walk and the Lungarni at dusk; the second Piazza dei Cavalieri, the Roman ships and San Matteo. Add a third for Lucca or the coast.

### Do you need to book the Leaning Tower?

Yes, in practice. Climbs run in timed slots with a capped group size, and the day's slots often sell out by midday in season. Book on the Opera della Primaziale Pisana site; children under 8 cannot climb.

### Is Pisa worth more than a day trip from Florence?

Yes. Day-trippers leave by late afternoon, which is when the Lungarni and the market streets come alive. A night also gives you the Roman ships museum and San Matteo, which most visitors never reach.

### How do you get from Pisa airport to the city?

Take the Pisa Mover shuttle to Pisa Centrale, about five minutes for €6.50, then walk or take a bus to the tower. A taxi to the centre is a short ride.

### When is the best time to visit Pisa?

April to June and September to October. June has the Luminara, the Palio di San Ranieri and the Gioco del Ponte, but also the most visitors; July and August are hot and crowded around the tower.

## Nearby guides

- [Siena](https://wimup.com/city/siena.md): Day trip · 10 picks
- [San Marino](https://wimup.com/city/san-marino.md): San Marino · 10 picks
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- [All of Europe →](https://wimup.com/europe): 160 cities

Part of the [Italy guide](https://wimup.com/country/italy.md) · [Europe](https://wimup.com/europe.md)

## Sources

- [Pisa tourism board](https://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Leaning Tower of Pisa: Opera della Primaziale Pisana](https://www.opapisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Museo delle Navi Antiche: Navi di Pisa](https://www.navidipisa.it/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Pisa International Airport: Pisa Mover](https://pisa-mover.com/en/?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [Pisa Centrale: Trenitalia](https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- [City buses: Autolinee Toscane](https://www.at-bus.it/en?utm_source=wimup.com&utm_medium=referral)
- Rankings are Wimup editorial picks. Prices, durations and budgets are editorial estimates, not live quotes; check the official site before you go.