Best Day Trips from Pisa

Pisa is world famous for the leaning bell tower of the Cathedral, but it also boasts other notable 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 for discovering other nearby attractions.

Some of the best things to see and do to discover Pisa and the surrounding towns include a full day tour to Cinque Terre, a visit to Florence, a trip to Livorno, an excursion to Lucca and a wine tasting experience in Tuscany.

On these full day excursions to Cinque Terre from Pisa you will get to know one of the most emblematic places in Tuscany and also some of the most beautiful landscapes in Liguria. By bus 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 trip on the Ligurian Sea to see from the water a different profile of the region characterised by its colourful buildings perched on the cliffs like balconies overlooking the sea. From there you can also visit the seaside town of Porto Venere and, if you plan to travel in summer, you will have time for a swim.

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

Details of interest

• Price: the tour to Cinque Terre from Pisa has an initial cost of approximately 130 euros per person, including return transfer with hotel pick-up.
• Duration: approximately 9 to 10 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions: you will get to know one of the most important places in Tuscany and Italy.
• Disadvantages of these excursions: although they include 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 things to do during your visit to the city of the Leaning Tower. On these tours you can travel by train with your expert local guide and see the birthplace of Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo and Sandro Botticelli.

These tours usually take you through the old town of Florence, which was also the birthplace of the Renaissance. During the tour you will visit the picturesque Cathedral of Santa Maria dei Fiori, the Piazza della Signoria, the Palazzo Vecchio and take a walk along the banks of the Arno River, which is the river connection that Florence shares with Pisa. Moreover, from Ponte Vecchio you will be able to contemplate 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.

Useful details

• Price: the tour to Florence from Pisa by train and with the assistance of an expert local guide starts at approximately 79 euros per person.
• Duration: approximately 11 hours.
• Advantages of these excursions: you will get to know the capital of Tuscany and one of the main centres of the Italian Renaissance.
• Disadvantages of these tours: no bus transfer is included, which can be tiring. Also, if you choose to complete the tour with visits to the galleries, you won't 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 Tuscan seaside towns, especially for its harbour, which is an ideal place to take a stroll, but also to learn about the warrior 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 flavours, 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.

Moreover, if you plan to visit Pisa during Christmas time, you will find that Livorno also gets into the festive spirit, mainly in its flea markets, which are filled with decorative stalls, children's activities 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 a return 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 entrance tickets to the attractions, so you will have to buy them on your own.

Due to its geographical proximity and the similarity of some of its historical buildings, Lucca is considered by many to be the younger sister of Pisa, so if you plan to make an excursion to the surroundings of the city, you cannot miss to visit this small Tuscan city which was declared World Heritage Site by Unesco.

In Lucca you will be able to visit the Torre delle Ore, the Gothic Cathedral of San 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 over the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre, and also the Mura di Lucca, which is the set of the ancient medieval walls surrounding the city and which have remained intact since the 16th 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 an initial cost of approximately 80 euros and includes return 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 place in Tuscany which is very close to Pisa and which 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 an excursion that combines a full day tour with the flavours of Tuscany, then you can opt for this alternative which 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'll be able to relax as you travel by coach along the winding country roads of Tuscany and enjoy the scenery, with stops to take some of the best photographs of your trip. You will also be assisted by an expert local guide who will tell you about the history of the towns you visit and their main attractions.

In Volterra, you can also visit the Roman Theatre, the fortified Palazzo dei Priori and the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum, as well as the alabaster workshops, where you can meet the craftsmen who mould this traditional material of the town.

These excursions are an ideal combination of a tour of the Tuscan countryside and a gastronomic tour, although they will take 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 get to know 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 the local wine cellars.
• Disadvantages of these excursions: although it is a full day excursion, you will not have the chance to see as many sites.

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

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

Note also that by booking in advance, you will be able to organise an itinerary for your trip, which will be more effective in saving time and money on tours and optimising your trip around the city.

All tours from Pisa will take you to the main sites around the city, although in each city you will visit different attractions. If you visit Cinque Terre, you can tour 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 centres.

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

Pisa is one of the most visited destinations in Tuscany, just like Florence and Cinque Terre, so be aware that no matter what time of the year you choose to visit, you will encounter many tourists, although if you want to optimise your tours, save money and avoid the crowds, you can organise your itinerary during the winter months or low season.

Also bear in mind that if you're travelling during peak season, it's best to book in advance to secure your spot and avoid last-minute surcharges. 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 very different from each other. While in Lucca you will see a perfectly preserved medieval wall that preserves 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 choose Florence, on the other hand, you will not only get to know the most important 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 for exploring 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 activities in the surrounding area as well.

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

You can rent a car or use public transport and tour the sites around Pisa on your own, but you will lose time and you will not be able to get the most out of your visit either, as you will not learn details along the way from the local expert guide, so I recommend that you opt for a guided tour.

Also, if you choose a guided tour, you won't have to worry about the itinerary and organisation and you will also be able to get recommendations on the best restaurants to eat at, the shopping areas in each place and the main attractions that are not included in the tour, but that you can visit during your free time.