Discover Pisa

Pisa. Basically famous for a piece of architecture that went horribly wrong! But it really is well worth a visit.

Less than an hour from the house but as you will fly in, then you may decide to capture this iconic city on your first or last day. The Leaning Tower and its neighbour, the Duomo, are an absolute must when you stay with us in Tuscany.

No visit to Pisa would be complete without getting your photo taken pretending to prop the leaning tower up. It’s cheesy but it has to be done at least once in your life!

You can walk up to the top of the tower on the inside, which is well worth doing. You can actually feel which side of the building you’re on as you wind your way up the steps (200 or so from memory) as you lean one way, then the other! The views from the top are amazing.

Pisa has an elite university, making the city rich from a tourist perspective, with bars and cafes, which mingle in well with the Gothic and Renaissance buildings, which are in abundance.

There’s a great botanical garden and museum in Pisa called Orto e Museo Botanico. It’s a walled garden with plenty of palm trees and lots of flora typical of the Apuane Alps, which lie to the North. It also has vintage greenhouses, a wonderful herb garden, and over 30 varieties of orchid.

Fun fact

The first time I went to Italy as an adult I went to Pisa years ago. Went into a bar and I ordered two lattes as one might here. Don’t forget that translates to ‘milk’ though. So I got 2 hot milks, which of course, being British, we dutifully drank! It’s a ‘Cafe Latte’ if you actually want coffee in it!!!

There’s more info on a Bloggers site.