Italy – Pisa (En)
Since we were in the area, we decided to visit Pisa to see the famous Leaning Tower. We were surprised to discover that the city has a wall that runs the entire length of the old town. Entering through any archway in the wall, you’re greeted with a stunning view of the tower. The tower stands in a breathtaking square where you’ll also find the Romanesque cathedral, the baptistery, and the Camposanto Monumentale. We didn’t know what to expect, and we absolutely loved the city, with its charming alleyways lined with restaurants boasting lovely terraces.
Where to stay
We stayed in a paid motorhome area (43.721078, 10.420672 lat, long) from which we could walk to the tower. The area is a parking lot that costs €15 per day without electricity. Electricity is charged based on usage. We paid €2 for 10 hours. There is a water filling station and a grey and black water disposal area, but it’s only available from 9 am to 12 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm, so there’s usually a queue. You can empty the chemical toilet whenever you want. There’s no shade, so it gets quite hot. The parking attendants give you a map and tell you what to see in the city. It takes about 20 minutes to walk to the Square of Miracles, where the tower, the cathedral, and the baptistery are located. If you arrive and there’s no one there, lift the barrier and park. You pay at a machine on your way out. The parking is fine for visiting the city, but nothing more.
What to see
Following the directions and map we were given in the parking lot, we walked around the city wall. We entered through one of the gates and came across a parish church, which we were able to see inside.
From the parish church, go straight ahead, and you’ll start to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa and arrive at the Square of Miracles. A street vendor selling bracelets took some photos of us and gave us free bracelets, saying he had lived in Málaga and his family was there.
We walked around the square, taking photos of the Cathedral, the Baptistery, and the Monumental Cemetery, built in 1277. The square was bustling with tourists. We tried to go inside the cathedral, which was supposed to be free, but they told us we had to get tickets at the ticket office. When we went to get the tickets, they told us we couldn’t go in until almost 4 pm—it was only 1 pm! So we didn’t go in. We just saw everything from the outside.
Then we took the obligatory photos holding up the tower. In the photos, the tower doesn’t look leaning, but it is. More leaning than we expected!
We left the square through a side entrance that led to a street full of really cool restaurants. We were surprised to find that the restaurants weren’t expensive. Set menus and pizzas were 10 euros or less.
We strolled through the city along the river, passing by the Royal Palace, the Church of Saint Frediano and the Church of San Sixto, which we liked very much.
We finished our tour in a very cool square, surrounded by beautiful buildings and with a kind of column or monolith.
Exhausted from walking for about four hours, we returned to the parking lot. We planned to visit Florence, but everything was packed because it was Easter, so we decided to go to Barberino di Mugello, a medieval Roman stone village, which you can see in the next blog post.
