Best Day Trips from Pisa

Pisa is world famous for the leaning bell tower of the Cathedral, but it also has other outstanding buildings such as the monumental Cemetery, the Baptistery and the Mezzo Bridge and, because of its location, it is also an ideal place to use as a base to discover other nearby attractions.

Some of the best things to see and do to discover Pisa and the surrounding towns include taking a full day tour to Cinque Terre, visiting Florence, seeing Livorno, taking an excursion to Lucca and touring Tuscany on a wine tasting experience.

On these full day excursions to Cinque Terre from Pisa you will get to know one of the most emblematic sites of Tuscany and also some of the most beautiful landscapes of Liguria. On a coach you will visit Manarola, Vernazza, Riomaggiore, Corniglia and Monterosso al Mare, which is the main and most important village of the Italian Riviera.

The tour includes free walking time in each of the sites and also a boat ride on the Ligurian Sea to see from the water a different profile of the region characterized by its colorful buildings located on the cliffs as balconies overlooking the sea. From there you can also get to know the maritime town of Porto Venere and, if you plan to travel in summer, you will have time to take a swim.

During the tour of Cinque Terre, you will also get to know the vineyards and landscapes of the Italian hinterland, where you will have time to take some of the best pictures of your trip. The return will take you along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea, where you will see some of the best beaches of Pisa.

Details of interest

• Price: the tour to Cinque Terre from Pisa has a starting cost of approximately 130 euros per person, including round-trip transfer with hotel pick-up.
• Duration: approximately 9 to 10 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions: you will get to know one of the main sites of Tuscany and Italy.
• Disadvantages of these tours: although it includes stops, the tour is intensive, so you will not have much time to rest between each of the attractions.

Florence is the capital of Tuscany and also one of the most beautiful and famous destinations in Italy, so getting to know it on a full day tour from Pisa is one of the best activities to do during your visit to the city of the Leaning Tower. On these tours you can travel by train with the local expert guide and get to know the birthplace of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Sandro Botticelli.

Generally, on these excursions you will stroll through the Florentine old town, which was also the cradle of the Renaissance. During the tour you will visit the picturesque Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiori, Piazza della Signoria, Palazzo Vecchio and you can take a walk along the banks of the Arno River, which is the river connection that Florence shares with Pisa. In addition, from Ponte Vecchio you can enjoy the best panoramic views of the city.

During your trip you can opt, at extra cost, for guided tours of the Uffizi Gallery and the Accademia Gallery, two museums that contain some of the most important works of the Italian Renaissance.

Interesting details

• Price: the tour to Florence from Pisa by train and with the assistance of an expert local guide has an initial cost of approximately €79 per person.
• Duration: approximately 11 hours.
• Advantages of these tours: you will get to know the capital of Tuscany and one of the main centers of the Italian Renaissance.
• Disadvantages of these tours: it does not include bus transfer, so it could be tiring. Also, if you choose to complete the excursion with visits to the galleries, you will not have much free time for sightseeing.

If you want to make an excursion from Pisa that breaks with the traditional circuit, you can visit Livorno, which is one of the most outstanding coastal towns in Tuscany, especially for its port, which is an ideal place to take a stroll, but also to learn about the warlike past of the Tuscan Riviera.

During these full day bus tours you can also visit the Central Market, where you can taste the best local and regional flavors, the Fortezza Nuova, from where you can get some of the best views of the city and the sea, the Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, the urban park of Villa Puccini and the famous Terrazza Mascagni, which is a viewpoint located at the highest point of Livorno.

In addition, if you plan to visit Pisa during Christmas, you will see that Livorno also gets into the festive spirit, mainly in its flea markets, which are filled with stalls of decorations, activities for children and carol concerts.

As these excursions usually last between 7 and 8 hours, they can be ideal if you are planning a short stay in the city. If that is your case, here is a list of activities you can do to discover Pisa in 2 days.

Interesting details

• Price: the tour from Pisa to Livorno has an initial cost of approximately 98 euros and includes round trip bus transfer with hotel pick-up and the assistance of an expert local guide.
• Duration: approximately 7 to 8 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions: you will get to know one of the most beautiful port cities in Italy.
• Disadvantages of these excursions: usually the price of these excursions does not include the entrance tickets to the attractions, so you will have to buy them on your own.

Because of its geographical proximity and the similarity of some of its historic buildings, Lucca is considered by many the younger sister of Pisa, so if you plan to make an excursion to the surroundings of the city, you can not miss to visit this small Tuscan city that was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.

In Lucca you can visit the Torre delle Ore, the Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin, the Romanesque Basilica of San Frediano, the Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, which owes its name to the fact that it was built in an oval shape on the ruins of a Roman amphitheater, and also the Mura di Lucca, which is the set of ancient medieval walls surrounding the city and which have remained intact since the sixteenth century because the city has not faced wars since then.

During the tour, you will understand why Lucca is known as the city of 100 towers and 100 churches and learn about the historical importance of this site as a refuge for soldiers and politicians during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Interesting details

• Price: the tour from Pisa to Lucca has a starting cost of approximately €80 and includes round-trip bus transfer with hotel pick-up and the assistance of an expert local guide.
• Duration: approximately 8 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions: you will get to know a very interesting site in Tuscany that is very close to Pisa and has a very different history from the surrounding sites.
• Disadvantages of these excursions: these excursions will leave you little free time to tour on your own.

If you want to take an excursion that combines a full day tour with the flavors of Tuscany, then you can opt for this alternative that includes a visit to Volterra and Bolgheri from Pisa, with a stop for lunch and a tasting of local wines at a winery in Castiglioncello.

During these excursions, you will be able to relax as you travel by bus through the winding country roads of Tuscany and enjoy the scenery, with stops for some of the best photographs of your trip. In addition, you will also be assisted by an expert local guide who will tell you the history of the towns you visit and their main attractions.

Also, in Volterra, you can visit the Roman Theater, the fortified Palazzo dei Priori and the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum, as well as the alabaster workshops, where you can meet the artisans who mold this traditional material of the city.

These excursions ideally merge a tour of Tuscany's surroundings and a gastronomic tour, although they will take you the whole day, which might not be compatible with a short visit to the city. If that is your case, here are the best alternatives to visit Pisa in 1 day.

Interesting details

• Price: the bus tour from Pisa to Volterra, Bolgheri and Castiglioncello with lunch and wine tasting has an initial cost of approximately 105 euros per person.
• Duration: approximately 11 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions: you will be able to combine an excursion to the surroundings of Pisa with a gastronomic tour and a tour of local wineries.
• Disadvantages of these excursions: although it is a full day excursion, you will not have the chance to see as many sites.

You can book a tour from Pisa in advance online or book the tours once you are in the city, but keep in mind that if you plan to visit Tuscany during the summer months or during the high season, you may not be able to get a seat on some tours or you may experience last minute price increases.

Also, if you book in advance online, some tour providers offer significant discounts and also future discounts for the best tours in Pisa.

Also keep in mind that by booking in advance, you will be able to organize an itinerary for your trip, which will be more effective in saving time and money on tours and optimizing your trip around the city.

On all tours from Pisa you will be able to see the main sites that are located around the city, although in each city you will visit different attractions. If you visit Cinque Terre, you will be able to visit one of the best destinations in Italy and the main beaches towards the Ligurian Sea, while if you opt for the day tours to Florence, you will visit the capital of Tuscany and one of the main Renaissance centers.

Outside the main circuits, you can visit Livorno, home to one of the most famous ports in Italy, Lucca, which for its history and architectural similarity is considered the younger sister of Pisa, and Volterra, Bolgheri and Castiglioncello, the ideal tour of Tuscany's hinterland for the best regional wine tasting.

Pisa is one of the most visited destinations in Tuscany, just like Florence and Cinque Terre, so keep in mind that, regardless of the time of year you choose for your visit, you will encounter many tourists, although if you want to optimize your tours, save money and avoid crowds, you can organize your itinerary during the winter months or low season.

Also keep in mind that if you are traveling during the high season, it is best to book in advance to secure your spot and avoid last minute increases. The same applies if you plan to visit Pisa during Christmas, which is another season that attracts a large number of visitors.

During the tours from Pisa you will visit the main villages around the city and each of them will have its own charm, because they are also very different from each other. While in Lucca you will see a perfectly preserved medieval wall that guards the local history, in Livorno you will come across one of the most effective warrior ports in Italy.

In Cinque Terre you will get to know the particularities of each of the sites, from the central importance of Monterosso al Mare and its Cathedral, to the beauty of Corniglia, the only one of the five villages that does not have a direct connection with the Ligurian Sea and that you will have to access by a staircase of more than 300 steps.

If you opt for Florence, instead, you will not only be able to get to know the main Renaissance city, but also one of the main destinations of the most outstanding Italian works of art.

From the Leaning Tower to the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and from the Baptistery to the monumental Camposanto, Pisa has many attractions to offer, but because of its location, it is also the ideal place to use as a base to get to know the best nearby cities, so if you plan to make the most of your Pisan tour, you won't want to miss out on the surrounding activities as well.

Moreover, from Pisa, being one of the main destinations in Tuscany, you will have a greater number of offers and options to visit the nearby sites, something that might not happen if you use as a base Lucca, Livorno or even Cinque Terre, which are a bit further away from the heart of the region.

You can rent a car or use public transportation and tour the sites around Pisa on your own, but you will waste time and you won't get the most out of your visit either, as you won't learn details along the way that will be made available to you by the local expert guide, so I recommend that you opt for a guided tour.

In addition, if you choose a guided tour, you will not have to worry about the itinerary and organization and you will also be able to count on recommendations about the best restaurants to eat, the shopping areas of each place and the main attractions that are not included in the tour, but that you can visit during your free time.