Pisa, Italy
About an hour west of Florence, Pisa is a great city for a stopover if you’re travelling through the Tuscany region of Italy. We stayed there for one night en route to Cinque Terre and it was one of my favorite stops on the trip.
We stayed at Hotel Astor, a budget hotel about 10-minutes (on foot) from the train station and 15 minutes from the tower. After checking in and freshening up, we headed out to find the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We strolled up the Corso Italia (pedestrian-only, lots of shopping), crossed the river, and meandered through the lively Borgo Stretto which was filled with street vendors, restaurants, gelaterias, and a random tango session in the plaza. Along the way we stumbled upon numerous buildings that elicited “oohs” and “aaahs” as the architecture in Europe really is quite stunning.
Eventually we arrived at the Piazza dei Miracoli, home to the Pisa Cathedral, Baptistry of St. John, and the Leaning Tower.
Once again, the Leaning Tower is a very touristy attraction, but that doesn’t make it any less cool. Every structure in the Piazza dei Miracoli was breathtaking, with intricate designs carved into every aspect of the buildings. I’m not a religious person, so I wasn’t able to identify the scenes being depicted on the doors of the cathedral, but I was still awed by the artistry of it all.
After wandering around the grounds and taking thousands of pictures, we departed to find a restaurant to dine at. The road leading to the tower, Via Santa Maria, is lined with restaurants, and the place we chose, L’europeo, was one of the best meals I had on our entire trip.
Of course there was much more to see, but I did feel like one day was a sufficient amount of time to get a taste of the town before heading off to our next adventure…
For more information on planning your trip, check out Behind the Tower.
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