Pisa

Prepare

Be prepared for lingering meals, riverside strolls and good wine. Dress lightly in summer. In winter it can be mild, but bring some warm items for cold snaps.

Pisa Year

On the last Sunday in June, see costumed re-enactors at the Gioco del Ponte (Battle of the Bridge) festival, held since medieval times. On 17 June, the Arno is churned by the efforts of rowers in Regata Storica di San Ranieri, a competition held in memory of the city's patron saint. Every four years, the Palio delle Quattro Antiche Repubbliche Marinare (a rowing regatta of the four one-time Maritime republics, Pisa, Venice, Amalfi and Genoa), is held along the Arno in late May or early June.

Public Holidays

New Year's Day (1 Jan), Epiphany (6 Jan), Good Friday (Mar/Apr), Easter Monday (Mar/Apr), Liberation Day (25 Apr), May Day (1 May), Republic Day (2 Jun), Assumption (15 Aug), All Saints (1 Nov), Immaculate Conception (8 Dec), Christmas Day (25 Dec), St Stephen's Day (26 Dec).

Weather

Spring and autumn are the most delightful times of year, although the latter can be wet. Average daytime highs of around 20ºC-25ºC are pleasant. Rainfall in October and especially November is heavy. In summer, temperatures can soar well above 30ºC. In winter (when temperatures can drop as low as 0ºC), tourism drops off considerably and, with luck, you might get mild days with crisp blue skies.

Electricity

220V AC, 50 Hz, two-pin plugs are standard.

Dialling Code

+39 (national), (050) + 6- or 7-figure number (Pisa).

Pisa Tourist Info

Pisa Tourist Board website

Fit In

Flamboyant Pisans dress well to do just about anything and labels are a part of life. For men, shaven heads and designer beards are almost standard; flowing dark locks are well gelled. Big sunglasses are in for everyone.

Highlights

A medieval building blunder, the Leaning Tower is now one of Italy's most visited sights. From the top you look down upon the bulk of Pisa's attractions.

Find Pisa's giant beauty spot, the Piazza dei Miracoli by its beacon, the Leaning Tower. This masterpiece of medieval architecture went awry with subsidence. It is accompanied by the magnificent Romanesque Pisa Cathedral, begun in the 11th century. The adjacent Baptistry, finished in the 14th century, mixes styles. A couple of museums and the ancient Camposanto complete the picture.

Move in towards the medieval centre of the city for the graceful Piazza dei Cavalieri. It is fronted by the Palazzo dei Cavalieri, decorated with eye-catching graffiti (not the spray-can type). Enjoy the opera near the Arno at Teatro Verdi.

Sightseeing Tips

You can visit up to five monuments of your choice on Piazza dei Miracoli with a combined ticket, saving on cost and waiting (the Leaning Tower is not covered). Get to the tower early in the morning for the shortest queues. Timetables for all sights vary greatly in the course of the year, so check before you go.

Food & Drink

Tuck into Tuscan favourites like ribbon pasta and hare or Florentine steak at characterful osterie scattered about town.

Hearty: Centre

Seek out the homey osterie around Piazza Sant'Ombone and Piazza delle Vettovaglie. A mix of market workers, students and business folk tramp that extra bit to snuggle in here, converging on places that ooze history and irresistible kitchen smells. Other good spots are sprinkled around nearby Piazza dei Cavalieri.

Chips: North

If time is of the essence, Piazza dei Miracoli is loaded with ideal joints, some with outdoor spaces. Menus are in various languages and food is average, but generally comes pretty fast.

Dining Tips

You can order lunch from about noon to 2pm and dinner from 7pm to about 11pm. With few exceptions, you'll be hard pressed to get a meal beyond these times. Service (10-15%) and a cover charge of up to around €5 is generally included in the bill.

Shop

Shopping Streets

Heading north from the train station, you will see department stores and typical Italian high-street stores along Corso Italia. Across the river it becomes Borgo Stretto and then Via Oberdan, where you will find a greater number of small, family-run speciality stores, from luxury food goods to shoes and jewellery.

Markets

Piazza dei Cavalieri and the streets around it are converted into a bustling antiques market, the Fiera dell'Antiquariato on the second weekend of each month (except July and August). It is a festival of furniture and a bric-a-brac lover's delight. Buy fresh produce in the lanes around Piazza delle Vettovaglie before 2pm.

Shopping Tips

Some shops close for all or part of August, a hot and unpleasant time to be shopping in Pisa anyway. Standard hours are roughly Monday-Saturday 9am-1pm and 3.30pm-7.30pm. The souvenir shops around Piazza dei Miracoli tend to open daily.

Nightlife

Join the boisterous student crowd in the bars near the university, or slip into somewhere more restrained on the city's main drag or near the Teatro Verdi.

Students: Centre

Students keep the noisy activity up in pubs and bars around the university in the old centre of town. Thursday is a big night but summer weekends are quiet as students leave town for long holidays on the coast.

Style: Borgo Stretto

For a handful of classy cafés and bars, try the arcaded medieval street of Borgo Stretto and nearby. Here you'll chance upon the ideal place for an aperitif before heading out to eat.

Nightlife Tips

Binge drinking is a no-no and locals look aghast upon some of their tourist guests! With few exceptions, bars close by 1am (2am on Friday and Saturday nights). In summer, the real nightlife happens in coastal towns like Viareggio.

Soundtracks

Sing along to Tosca by Puccini (who lived in nearby Torre del Lago) while soaking up the beauty of Piazza dei Miracoli. Or groove with Tuscany's big rap star Jovanotti while hanging with the students in bars around the university.

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