Pisa: Is it worth the time or would our time be better spent elsewhere.

Its one of those things that are easy for people who have been there to say 'skip it.' But, they didn't. It was really an easy drive from Florence and I would not spend a ton of time there, but I had been to Italy many times and never gone and I took my grandson to Italy and he wanted to see it. We spent a fun couple of hours and don't regret it.

My thoughts are skip it. I have only been once, over 25 years ago,, and at that time we couldn't climb the Tower( it was being worked on or something) so it was just to see the outside and take photos, and there was a small church there,, plus of course millions( I exxagerate a tad I suppose) hawkers of tacky Pisa Tower souvenirs( Tower lamp base in pink anyone?).
So,, if one can ascend the Tower now,, and for those of you who have was it worth it,, if not,, I would absolutely skip it. Its not that exciting, remember, don't fill your days with things that just to be checked off a list of "we saw " .. there are so many faboulus things to do and see,, keep your time for them!

I stayed at a B&B in Pisa a few years ago. I enjoyed walking thru town to the tower area and going thru the cemetery and cathedral. I took a daytrip to Lucca from Pisa. One of the advantages of staying in Pisa is that it is close to an airport, close to Lucca, and not too far from the CT. A daytrip to Florence would work, too.

Thanks for the advice so far. We're picking up our car in Florence after seeing Venice, Verona and the Lake Como area. We fly out of Rome after heading down to Sorrento and seeing that area. What I need to decide on is if we should the time I set aside for Pisa exploring San Casciano and Montefiridelfi and/or other towns south of Florence as we head to Siena rather than Pisa. We fly out of Rome.

From Siena you have so many great towns to explore ! And everything is truly close. We stayed in the area and explored Montalcino, Pienza, Montepulciano, Deruta, Cortona, and Spello. With all of these towns that are NOT to be missed, you might choose to use the time to explore a bit into the Tuscany/Umbria area. However, if you only need to check it off your list, it is cool to see and only deserves an hour of your time ! So you can easily see Pisa and Volterra in one day.

I think the best parts of Pisa are those that tourists typically don't bother to see - just about anything two or more blocks away from the Tower (I assume you meant to type "Leaning" and not "Learning", though I suppose you could make an argument for either). But of course, if you're within two blocks of the Tower and don't go to see it, you'll ask yourself later "why didn't I?". It sounds like your trip, in general, is very rushed. One night here, two nights there, etc. I would suggest limiting your overnight locations and spending more time in each, and cutting out whatever towns you need in order to do that.

I spent a half-day in Pisa between Florence and the CT. I am glad I went. I never really appreciated the leaning until I was right under it. The church and especially the baptistry are well worth seeing. When I got back, I told friends who subsequently went "because of me." One couple with kids (9, 13, 17) loved it, climbed the tower and had a good time. Another couple took their grandkids (12,13) and also climbed the tower. Apparently everyone but the grandmother (suffers from vertigo) had a great time, though the kids liked Florence more! The tower is climbed by a winding ramp. Because the tower leans so much, the ramp too is tilted. You get the idea. If you want to climb, you should make advance reservations.

Thanks for the input everyone.

I think the approach to the Field of Miracles from the parking area outside Pisa is such a "turn-off" that many people find it hard to appreciate Pisa and the tower. The route is littered with junky shops and graffiti. Approaching from the central train station, walking thru the city, Pisa is much more attractive. Since the OP mentions driving, Pisa may not be worth going out of the way to visit unless a different parking lot can be located.

If it's open, and if you like archeology, you might enjoy the Le Navi Antiche di Pisa museum. It contains several almost perfectly preserved Roman-era ships - with their contents - that were unearthed several years ago when they were excavating in Pisa for a train station. We were able to see it and found it very interesting. Seems hard to believe nowadays, but in Roman times Pisa was a busy port city. Apparently what they've uncovered was the ancient harbor.

Yes,yes,yes. Pisa is definitely worth the effort to see. It is an easy drive from Florence. I would agree that you should plan to stay in one location for longer than a day. but then fan out to many of the smaller towns. For what it is worth, we were unable to understand the popularity of Siena. One day there was more than enough, even though we booked a room for 3. Don' miss San Giagnano, Montepulciano or Orvieto. Have fun!

For me, Pisa is iconic and should be visited. That said, you can visit the field of miracles in less than half a day. I think it works great as a day stop. It wasn't hard to get there from the autostrada. We arrived early and had no problem finding free parking on the street a short walk from the sites.

I would vote to go spend some time in Pisa. Seeing the leaning tower of Pisa and getting some nice photos was great. We took a train from Florence along with a bus to the tower. This is a one and done thing for me and glad I took the trip.

How can you go to Italy and not spend some time, even if only a day, in Pisa? The tower is even more amazing in person than it appears in photographs. One of the most amazing structures in the world, rightly or wrongly, but famous nevertheless. I vote for Pisa, absolutely.