Are you going to check out Florence next week? You should find a day to stop in Pisa – the most attractive place that draws everyone’s attention. Why not? There is a good reason for that. Every tourist has a dream to see the legendary tower of Pisa with their own eyes, explore churches and chapels around. What places are worth seeing if you have just one day? Hire a car and save some time for more places you can see in such a very short space of time. Also, taking a road trip is often less costly than flying to Florence.
Getting around Pisa
What is the best way of traveling through Florence? If you are limited in time and have no more than a day in Pisa, you can try to explore the territory around your hotel on foot. Therefore, it would be great to book one of the central hotels. Don’t even try to see as many city attractions as possible. Pisa is not a big city and everything is possible with the right planning. Lots of travelers that are visiting this absolutely amazing city prefer walking around. Of course, it is enough to explore the lively streets, the legendary tower of Pisa, and the territory around. What if you need more?
Cheap car hire Pisa airport allows you to travel with comfort all over the country for any distance. This is the best option for family travelers and for those who prefer a comfortable car salon to hot and crowded buses. So, planning to explore Pisa and surrounding areas, hire a car. If you don’t like cars, take the train. The trains are very popular in Florence as they go along the popular city routes.
Shopping places in Pisa
Pisa is not a popular shopping destination. Tourists come here to see the best historical places and buy souvenirs. If you need a new shopping bag or leather boots, go to Milan. Nevertheless, you may need to buy a SIM for your phone, a new charger, or some food. There are few places in the center of Pisa that welcome you for budget shopping. Here, you can find everything useful you may need during the trip.
- Vodafone shop: your phone is probably one of the most important things for a trip. If you feel like you need to buy a new SIM during your visit, pick Vodafone. Different SIM cards are available. The cheapest deal is when you just speak and text with no internet.
- PAM: this is a popular supermarket with a big choice of food products, such as meat, cheese, bakery, dairy, greens. Traditionally, you can buy some general supermarket goods here like toothpaste, and soap, even magazines for reading. The parking for your hired car is at the corner.
MUST SEE places in Pisa in one day
That’s so great if you know when and how you start your trip. It’s time to build up your route in such a way that you can see as many interesting places as you want. Of course, if you hire a car, you can see even bigger as you can travel long distances. But for now, let’s start with the world-popular city attraction that has become a visiting card of Pisa.
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Go to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa
This amazing view attracts tourists from around the world. Speaking about the past of this place, the Leaning Tower was designed as a bell tower near the magnificent Duomo a long time ago. Now, it is the most popular and really weird monument in Italy. Millions of tourists from all over the world come to see this tower and take selfies on its back. To climb up the tower you need to buy a ticket for 20 EUR. Is this the only reason why you drove to Pisa?
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Go to see the Duomo
Obviously, as the tower is situated near the Duomo, it is recommended to go and see this elegant building. The building itself is a wonderful example of Pisan Romanesque architecture and the oldest building in Italy. Duomo’s exterior is done of marble with heavy side columns and arcades. The entrance door is huge and massive, decorated with bronze and delicate columns of smaller size. Go inside and see the most important part of Duomo – a Gothic pulpit dated the 14th century.
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See the Baptistery
Few steps from Duomo and you’ll see another great monument worth your attention, the Baptistery. This giant construction is made of white marble with another beautiful pulpit inside. This architecture belongs to old Renaissance art. You have some time to see the walls paints and sculptures. It is interesting to know that the dome hanging over the building is actually two domes. The ceiling is essentially a cone and this makes the illusion of one dome if watching from afar.
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See Piazza dei Cavalieri
Another name of this great square in Pisa is the Knights’ Square. It’s a great pleasure to walk around the central city square of a historical meaning next to the main city palace – the Palace of the Convoy. It was the headquarters for the Knights of St. Stephen. Look at the wall decoration. You can see many allegorical figures and zodiac signs. What’s in this building now? It is a university library.
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Go to see the University of Pisa
Here we go to the university. This is one of the oldest and the most respected educational establishments in Italy for now. The university was founded in 1343. The university and the campus building are great architecture samples. The oldest academic botanical garden, the Orto Botanico di Pisa, can also be found here.
As you can see, you don’t even need to hire a car to see the main Pisa beauties in one day. Nevertheless, if you want to see more places in the city and around, or take your family to the shop or to the park for a picnic, think of picking the best transportation. Remember, you can’t see all the interesting things in one day. Leave something for the future.