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Pisa Centrale or San Rossore Station?

Posted by (Texas) on

Hi, I'm trying to figure out the easiest way to stop in Pisa and see the leaning tower on a train trip between Florence and Cinque Terre. We will have rolling carry-on size luggage. Rick says there is a luggage storage at the Pisa Centrale station. I have read elsewhere that some luggage storage spots are closed during lunch, have long lines to drop off and retrieve luggage, and some require your luggage to be locked. Does anyone have any experience with this in Pisa?

For the San Rossoro option, we would have to take our luggage with us. What is the walk like to get to the tower from there (traffic and safety-wise)? To get back, Rick says "cross the busy street" and continue straight ahead along Via Andrea Pissano. How busy is that street??? Are there traffic signals to help you cross, or is it a busy highway you have to get across? What about pulling your luggage along behind you? Although that station is closer to the tower, maybe it's easier to go from Centrale?

What is the minimum time you would allow to get from the train station to see the tower and back, if not spending much time on the other sights Field of Miracles?

Thanks for any input.

Posted by
15798 posts

It looks like there are 3 types of trains from Pisa to La Spezia, Frecciabianca (very fast), Intercity (fast), and Regionale (not fast). The Regionale stops in Pisa Centrale, then in Pisa S. Rossore. The others do not stop again in Pisa. There are other options from S. Rossore but they necessitate changing trains at an intermediate station.

Do you only want to spend 10-15 minutes seeing the tower and walking around it? If you want to climb it, you need to allow more time. Personally, I think it would be a shame to skip the church and the especially beautiful baptistry.

Posted by
5687 posts

There aren't a lot of direct trains between Florence and the Cinque Terre that stop at San Rossore as I recall. It wouldn't make sense to connect at Pisa Centrale to another train to San Rossore - makes more sense to get off at Centrale, try to store your luggage, and take a local bus (or walk about 45 min each way) to the Field of Miracles to see the tower etc. The long walk one way is worth doing, to remind you that Pisa is more than just the tourist mobs around the Tower of Pisa, though it's not a particularly charming town compared to the others you will visit.

Taking a train to San Rossore makes sense only if you can get a direct train (say from Florence occasionally) and don't have luggage.

Posted by
1814 posts

If you can get off at San Rossore, there is baggage storage at the large Info Point within the Piazza dei Miracoli, see here http://www.turismo.pisa.it/en/infopoint/ I second the notion of taking enough time to see the Duomo which is really the major achievement there. Italian tourists come to Pisa just for the Duomo. It's a landmark in Romanesque architecture from 1063 - the same year St. Mark's in Venice was begun. Inside is Pisano's pulpit, a seminal work in the history of sculpture.

Posted by
28 posts

Thank you for the tips and links.

Good to know about Buffalmacco's frescoes.

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