Florence/Pisa

6ix

I'm thinking of going to Florence for a weekend in February, and had a question or two. I'll fly into Pisa on a Friday with Ryanair, arriving at 23.50. Here I have two options:

a) Stay in Pisa that night. Get up, see the leaning tower and go to Florence Sat morning, returning to Pisa Airport Sunday evening to catch a flight at 17.55.

b) Go straight to Florence, not returning until the Sunday evening to fly home.

From what I've read, it appears there's very little in Pisa bar the leaning tower (which I dont really care about). However, given the time of the flight, perhaps connections to Florence wouldn't be great etc, and I might be better staying in Pisa, and leaving at 10/11am.

Anyone done this, or something similar? I'd appreciate any info.

AleoN

Similar issue when I was there last Septemeber. Flew in on a Tuesday night at 23.50. We had booked a night in Pisa and rented a car to get to Forence the following day.

When we arrived at midnight the whole Irish flight were queuing for taxis....and there were only 3 on duty. We were waiting for two hours to get a taxi...absolute nightmare. Once we got in the taxi the hotel was in the main Pisa center, we probably could have walked if we knew where it was

Have to say I was impessed with the tower and thought it was worth seeing while your there...other than that there really is nothing else to do. If your really not bothered about seeing it your better off going straight to Florence, but be prepared that you could be queuing for awhile and by the time you get to florence it would be ealy morning..

bringitdown

Don't wait for a Taxi, walk ... grab a map on Google or similar it is a little trek but not longer than the wait for a Taxi.

That said yes spend the majority of your time in Florence. Pisa has some nice quirks but the Leaning Tower and surrounds are the main attraction. I would recommend a visit as it is more impressive than you might think.

Florence has tons upon tons of things to see ... like an open air museum in parts ... The Duomo, squares, museums, loads. Drink espresso, have a Florentine Steak (don't miss it!!), eat gelato.

There are regular train services from Pisa Central to Florence and back again at times a connections run to the airport too.

joeblogg1

FORGET PISA

Did I put it in capital letters , yes because its not worth seeing

Yes the bl**dy tower is leaning over but you can see that in a photograph. Pisa is otherwise a dump. I know as my wife and I tried in vain to find even a 3 star hotel late one night. At night most of the town/city resembles a red light district with ladies of the night and winos everywhere.

Florence is fantastic and the extra night there would be well worth it whereas Pisa in my opinion has no redeeming features

bringitdown

Guess I have lower standards ... joeblogg1 ! :-)

I honestly thought the tower was great ... the climb to the top run down ... the dizzyness... Anyways you would not be dissappointed with an extra night in Florence.... by any means.

krinpit

Personally I thought the Pisa was a lovely place to spend the day. When I was there, it was the middle of summer. We bought our tickets for the tower, but the demand was such that the next available slot was 3 hours wait. So we headed off for a walk though Pisa. The streets are really cool and there are loads of shops and restaurants to keep you occupied.

It's dead easy to get to Florence by train. It's not a huge city by any means. The train station is about 25 minutes walk from the tower.

6ix

Appreciate the replies...

Given that we arrive almost at midnight, I'm beginning to think that the best course of action is to stay in one of the airport hotels in Pisa that night. Then get up early and go into the city centre, see the tower (pre booking seems to be an idea), before catching a mid morning train to Florence. Glad that transport, either by train or coach seems very straightforward!

gollem_1975

I am flying into Pisa on one of those late night Ryanair flights.

Has anyone got any recommendations as to what hotels are worth staying in and what are to be avoided in Pisa.

also has anyone flown in to Pisa on a weekend recently ? is the transport/taxi situation still as bad as is mentioned in some of the earlier threads ?

grazie mille,

Gollem