A weekend trip to Pisa, Italy. Anybody been there...?

Question

What's the best website to check out Pisa for the weekend ?

Is the city far from the airport, can I take the metro, train to the city centre at all hours, day or nite ?

Is it as exciting as say, Florence ?

Any cheap & cheerful hotel ( minimum 3 stars, clean & safe ) centrally located ???

Hope I am not asking too much .

Answer 1

Here are some sites with information:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinati...

http://www.travel-library.com/shortbreak...

http://torre.duomo.pisa.it/index_eng.htm...

http://wikitravel.org/en/Pisa

Trains run from the airport to the central station in Pisa - a 5 minute trip for 1.10 euro.

I would recommend that you consider taking a side trip to Lucca while you're there. It's 20 - 25 minutes away by train (2.30 euro). There's a lot more to see and do there. Lucca has a full set of old city walls that you can walk, many good churches - the Duomo, San Michele, San Frediano. There are some interesting towers, one with a large tree growing from the top (Torre Guinigi) - you can get good pictures from the clock tower (Torre delle ore). The Puccini birthplace is there too. The Piazza del'Anfiteatro is a good place to stop for a caffe. The last time I was there they had a Ferrari show in the Piazza. http://www.globopix.net/photos/lucca_1.h...

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Eur...

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/luc...

This is a good site for accomodations in Italy which I use frequently: http://www.venere.com/search/?lg=en&geoi...

You can narrow down to a particular location in a city, sort by price or other criteria, and read reviews by past guests. I've never stayed overnight in Pisa, so I can't make any specific recommendations. It's just a day trip from where I live.

Florence is an easy train trip too.

Answer 2

Pisa is a totally nondescript city. Very little charm at all. The only things worth seeing are the Cathedral and the tower, which you can do in about an hour. Visit there and stay somewhere else, like Lucca, Livorno (has a "Little Venice" with Canals) , Cinque Terre, Siena.

Pisa is absolute nothing like Florence.  If you stay there for a weekend after having been to Florence, you will be bitterly dissappointed  if you are expecting something similar.

Answer 3

Pisa is only known for their Leaning Tower and thats it.  There's nothing else to see

Answer 4

I live here and no you cannot take the metro as we don't have it! Pisa is so small, less than 100,000 inhabitants. The airport is very close to the city centre and you can take a taxi, the train or the bus. As for the schedule, sorry I can't help you as I move by car so I don't know if those services work at night. But here is an useful link, at least I hope it is..

http://www.trenitalia.com/en/index.html  The main station in Pisa is Pisa centrale. Keep in mind that it's  not a good place at night.

As for taxi, this is the number :050541600

No, it's not as exciting as Florence. There is not that much here except for the leaning tower. there are lots of pubs, bars but florence is far better!

As for the accomodation, take a look at this, maybe it can help you: http://www.pisaonline.it/

also this one: http://www.pisa-tourism.com/ita/

Answer 5

Skip Pisa and try Siena or Lucca.  As far as things to do there's really only the tower.  It's not a "quaint" Italian town at all; nor is it like many other towns in Italy where interacting with the locals adds to the surroundings.