Train from Rome to Venice - with a stopin Pisa to see the leaning tower?

Hi, Janet. Pisa is not along the direct train route from Rome to Venice - it's a detour. Direct Rome-Venice trains take 3h 45m. Stopping in Pisa increases your travel time to 7 hours, not counting the few hours that you spend in the city.

Most of the trip is by fast, reserved train, plus a middle leg between Pisa and Florence by unreserved regional train. You will have to buy separate tickets for each leg of the trip - there's no "free stopover." Tickets for these faster trains are also cheaper (and nonrefundable) if reserved in advance.

See schedules and prices at www.trenitalia.com. You can also use the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online (but not to buy tickets).

First, Pisa is not on the direct route from Rome to Venice. If you look at a map, the train goes from Rome, through Florence, then on to Venice, Pisa is some measure west of Florence. Normally if you buy a ticket to Venice from Rome, it is on a single train with reservations, so to make a detour likely will be two or more tickets unless you use the "advanced search" function and choose "multiple trips" and enter your times. Since the distance is longer, it is likely more expensive than just going to Venice, but buying in advance offers a discount.

There are a couple of ways you can go, you can go from Rome to Florence, then detour to Pisa and back; or you can take the western route and go from Rome to Pisa, then to Venice, passing through Florence.

Some may discourage you or comment that the tower is nothing special or just a tourist trap, but it is an icon of Italy and if you have an interest and it works in your itinerary...go for it. If you want to climb the tower though, you need advance tickets, no more than 20 days out, and at least a day ahead, so you might want to do tickets first then train plans, unless you want to risk it.

Just to add a couple of more points. All trains in Rome required a seat reservation that is assigned when the ticket is purchase. Therefore you need a specific ticket for each leg of your trip. The one exception is the Regionale trains -- think bus on rails. These are the slowest and cheapest because they make a lot of stops. If no seat available you stand till one becomes available. For all trains (except Regionale) there are three levels of ticket prices - Super Economy, Econ, and Base. The first two can be deeply discounted but come with restrictions as to changes and refunds - mostly no. The Base fare is the walk up fare and never changes. The other two are limited in quantity and generally sell out early. So you need to make some decisions about you schedule before buying tickets.

Sooo, taking all of the above responses into account, Janet, I wouldn't tack Pisa onto this trip: it's simply too far out of the way and going to add too much time JUST to see the tower. Go directly to Venice and save Pisa for another trip. It's much easier to do from Florence.

Just something to consider...after my recent visit to Italy, we found leaning towers all over. There were many of them in Venice, just not the famous one found in Pisa. I was kind of glad we didn't waste the time going there. But, if it's a landmark that is important to you, go for it.

Laurie, do you realize that the Tower is 700 years old and that it would be regarded as a masterpiece of middle-ages architecture (together with the other buildings in the square and the Cemetery frescoes) even if it wasn't leaning, right?

A tower made of red bricks may be leaning, but isn't in the same league of one made in marble as a neverending spiral of arches. It would be like not seeing the Gioconda in Paris because you have already seen the portrait of a smiling woman in Saint Petersburg.

Incidentally, any architect will tell you that the church next to the tower of Pisa is more beautiful and harmonious than Saint Peter's Basilica.

I agree with Dario. The entire complex is stunning, my favorite place there is the cemetery.

A dear friend of mine spent some quality time (most of a day) in Pisa and found quite a lot to see - including that cemetery, Zoe - so just another reason to save it until there's time to do more than get a quick look at the belltower?

True, it's not an easy stop-over between Rome and Venice but it certainly is doable if it's important to one of you. It takes some planning but you just need to buy separate tickets: Rome to Pisa, Pisa to Venice. It would make sense to take a pretty early train from Rome to Pisa, spend a couple of hours seeing the tower, cathedral, baptistery; have a quick lunch and then get the train to Venice. Expect to get in to Venice in the evening rather that afternoon. If you want to climb the tower, you need to buy timed tickets online ahead of time to avoid long lines.

The cemetery contains the grave of one of the Monuments Men who worked on the restoration of the frescoes. His Italian colleague is buried nearby.

I think one of the most beautiful parts of that Field of Miracles is the Baptistry. I find the whole works well together, it is a shame that many people just go as if it is only a Disney like tower.

But it is out of the way, and I spent a whole half day there.

Janet, You've gotten excellent advice about the trains. Now, if you really want to go ahead and make a stop in Pisa on your way to Venice, here's a bit more advice re. how to manage it on the ground. My then-20-year-old son and I made a 3-hour stop in Pisa some years back on our way from Florence to the Cinque Terre. First suggestion is to carefully research train schedules, but DON'T book the trains until 2) you then go on-line and book ticket/s for climbing the Tower (if that's what you/she want to do). The Tower climb could be booked approx. 1 hour after arrival at the main Pisa train station (but there are two stations; the not-main station is closer to the Field of Miracles but MAY not have luggage storage. Check on that.) You WILL want to check your luggage at the train station before going to the Field of Miracles. From the main train station, a taxi will be fastest, though there are buses. Give yourselves approx 3-4 hours in Pisa (that will include checking and retrieving luggage, taxis, Tower climb; Baptistry, Duomo and maybe cemetery). To maximize time in Pisa, you may want to plan on picking up food in Roma Termini train station to eat on the train, and then get more in the Pisa station for your onward journeys. AFTER you've booked your Tower climb (if that's what you plan to do), THEN go back on trenitalia.com and book all of your train tickets. It will be a very long day, but a very memorable one!

Thanks everybody!!!! I will discuss with my niece and we will make a decision!!! Either way, we are excited!!!!!