In September my husband and I will be going to Europe, spending our last few days in the Cinque Terre. We fly out of Pisa. We will stay 1-2 nights in Pisa. What neighborhood should we stay in? We do want to see the tower.... and perhaps some other touristy sites.
Thanks in advance!
Cynthia
I would stay in Lucca. Quite close, beautiful and retains its medieval street layout and walls.
I agree with Nigel. Lucca would be a "nicer" place to stay for a few nights and you can easily take a day trip to Pisa to see the Tower. I'd recommend Hotel Rex which is outside the walls but right at the rail station (makes it very convenient).
Me three! Lucca, and I also stayed at Hotel Rex, extremely convenient for arrival, departure and day trips by train, and just three minutes walk to the walls and gate of the old city. Thirty minutes by train from Pisa (unless you get on the train going in the wrong direction, as I did. In that silly case, it is thirty minutes in the wrong direction, then thirty minutes back to Lucca, then the expected thirty minutes to Pisa. Don't do that!)
I love Pisa as it's a vibrant Italian city with numerous underrated attractions, such as the National Art Museum of San Matteo, the Palazzo Blu, the ancient Jewish cemetery, the old market area, Piazza dei Cavaliere, as well as the Piazza dei Miracoli. FWIW, architecturally the Tower is a sideshow and the Duomo and Baptistry are the center rings. There are no real good or bad neighborhoods for staying, although I'd avoid anything too close to the train station. Most of the hotels are away from the center, but the Royal Victoria Hotel is on the Lungarno which is the famous stately riverfront so a front facing room would provide nice views.
If you decide to stay in Lucca, look for places inside the walls. I stayed at Piccolo Hotel Puccini, a nice place a block from the Duomo.
If we decided to stay in Lucca instead of Pisa, how long would it take us to get to the air port? Our flight leaves at 1pm on Wednesday 9/21
Before going to Pisa/Lucca, we plan to be in the Cinque Terre the Friday before 9/16,. We have 5 nights to plan.... I am not really counting the first night in Montorosso , because we will be arriving late in the day. How many nights should we stay in either Lucca or Pisa?
Thanks again!
Cynthia
Lucca is 25 min by train from Pisa Central station. Then you need 8 min on the shuttle bus from the Pisa station to the airport. A taxi from Lucca will have you at the airport in less than 30 min (for less than 60€).
There is also a bus that can take you from Lucca to the airport:
http://www.pisa-airport.com/downloads/pisa_-_lucca_2015_summer.pdf
I'd stay 2 nights in Lucca and visit both Pisa and Lucca. You just need a couple of hours to see Pisa.
