Hi everyone--We will be flying into Pisa around 2:45 pm on a Tuesday. We are planning to take a train from Pisa to Monterosso later that day. We'd like to go and see the tower really quick while we're in town. No formal tour or anything. My questions are how much time do you think we should allow to accomplish getting to the tower to take some quick pictures and what is the best way? Is walking reasonable or should we take a bus or train from the airport and back again to Pisa Centrale? Also is it necessary to buy the train tix from Pisa to Monterosso in advance? Thanks for any advice!
Posted by
Chicago
8236 posts
It is not necessary to buy that train ticket in advance just take note of the schedules so you know your options when you want to leave Pisa and arrive at Monterosso. I took a train after 7pm I think to Monterosso and bought it 15 minutes before the departure from the automated machine at Pisa Centrale.
I think there is a bag storage at the train station. It is a nice hike (if you don;t have trouble walking 30 minutes more or less in the sun possibly i did it) this will give you a mini tour of Pisa as the area by the bridge over the Arno river is picturesque; there is also a bus that runs by there (just follow the crowds queueing for a bus) that you can take if you don't want to walk and there will be someone trying to get you to take a cab or independent operator at the train station (they will say Hi do you speak English)
This link has all the options I covered as well the walking mapped out at
https://www.rome2rio.com/s/Pisa-Centrale-Station/Leaning-Tower-of-Pisa
Posted by
Portland, Oregon
5687 posts
You can take a train from the airport to Pisa Centrale and store your bags there, then take a local bus on to the Field of Miracles where the Tower is. Or walk 30-40 minutes (not a bad walk) out to the tower from Pisa Centrale. If you check the train schedules to Monterosso, could be it might be worth your money just to take a taxi from Pisa Centrale to the Field for a few minutes (leave your luggage in the taxi, assuming you can get the driver to wait) just to go out and look at the tower for a few minutes, just to say you saw it, then back to the train station. I'd suggest this only if you hope to catch a specific train to Monterosso and have limited time - no idea how much a taxi would cost. I'm usually too frugal to spring for a taxi, but if it means getting to Monterosso an hour earlier on an earlier train at the end of a long day of jetlagged travel, maybe I'd do it.
If you will have a working smart phone in Italy, you can buy Trenitalia train tickets with the Trenit app, using Paypal or a credit card to pay. You can then show the tickets on your phone - no paper needed. You can't buy tickets at the very last minute with the app, though. You can also use those ticket machines at the train stations, but they take only cash or chip and PIN credit cards (which few Americans have, if you are American).
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you friends for your advice! We just got back from our trip. We ended up taking a cab to the tower from the airport and just grabbing quick pictures. As the cab was pulling away I was already regretting letting him go realizing we weren't going to hang out there with a million tourists looking at a tower. Luckily another one pulled right up in his place and we snagged him. We spent prob a grand total of 50 minutes in Pisa from the plane touching down to us leaving on a train to Monterosso. But thanks to your advice we were able to quickly navigate the train station in terms of getting a train ticket from the machine rapidly and just made the next train to Monterosso, otherwise we would've had to wait another 50 minutes. I appreciate your help!