During our Tuscany driving segment of our trip, we’re driving from an overnight in Lucca to Pisa for about half a day before moving on to our agriturismo in the Chianti region. Pisa will not involve an overnight, so we’ll have luggage in our rental car. (Hopefully we’ll have a car with a trunk and not a hatchback.) I have been scouting out parking areas and considering options in terms of distance from the Campo dei Miracoli as well as safety (manned/unmanned, likelihood of theft, etc.). Has anyone found a reasonably safe parking option or have suggestions? Or, is a safer option to park at the train station (is it in the ZTL) and store our belongings there? I’d love to hear your experienced recommendations.
Posted by
Italy
3812 posts
Since you'll be an obvious American family driving around, the chances of car break-inns will be high all over Italy, even higher in Pisa. Thieves know that people usually stop there on the way between the International Airport and their final destination.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15144 posts
I always park here:
Parcheggio Pubblico a pagamento
https://goo.gl/maps/6SaMmDQh69F2RmkK6
No guarantee there will be no break-ins but it’s a somewhat safe parking lot (or at least it used to be).
There are parking stalls near the wall (fence). If available back the trunk against it so as to make it hard to access the trunk.
In any case valuables (including electronic devices) should not be left inside. Never leave unattended something that will devastate your trip if stolen.
It’s only 2 min walk from the Piazza dei Miracoli.
Save it in your Google Maps.
Posted by
melbourne FL
60 posts
Was researching the same question and came across this post. When I looked at this parking lot on Google Maps, there were multiple recent reviews detailing recent break-ins/theft of luggage. we will be driving the rental car up from Tuscany on the way to LaSpezia and thought we would stop and see the main sites… but if this lot literally right across from the main plaza is risky, maybe it’s not worth it at all
Posted by
OP
WV
67 posts
My trip was a few weeks ago. I parked at one of the lots adjacent to the Field of Miracles. We had our luggage in the car, since we were in Pisa en route from Lucca to Greve. The trunk of our rental held all but one of our bags, so I carried a small bag and stored it for the day. I used a site called Radical Storage and found a storage site near the F of M for 5€. The storage worked exactly as it should, our car was fine when we returned to it, and there were no signs of any car vandalism in the lot.
Have a great time!
Posted by
melbourne FL
60 posts
Susan, thanks for your reply and follow up on your trip. Hopefully it was a memorable experience all around.
We booked our rental through AutoEurope and selected a small Volvo SUV with hatchback. Since we will be changing our base from one point to another while visiting Pisa, all of the luggage will be in the back—unfortunately within view of prying eyes. Although we could remove valuables, it’s probably not wise to roam the “field of miracles” with four rolling suitcases🫤