Half-Day Excursion to Pisa and the Leaning Tower from Florence
Description
Discover the timeless magic of Pisa and its world-famous Leaning Tower! No trip to Italy is complete without seeing this iconic landmark — and this half-day tour from Florence makes it easy. After a scenic drive through the Tuscan countryside, your guide will lead you through Porta Santa Maria, where the stunning view of Piazza dei Miracoli opens before you: dazzling white marble, lush green lawns, and one of the most breathtaking panoramas in Italy. Explore with a professional guide, hear the stories behind Pisa’s medieval wonders, and step inside the magnificent Romanesque Cathedral. Then enjoy free time to wander among the Baptistery, the Monumental Cemetery, and of course, the legendary Leaning Tower. Before heading back to Florence, you’ll have plenty of time for photos and fun in one of Italy’s most iconic squares.
Tour Options
Itinerary
You cannot miss out on visiting Pisa when you are in nearby Florence! Meet your tour guide at Piazzale Montelungo Bus Terminal to start your tour. Piazzale Montelungo is located 5-10 minutes walking distance from the Santa Maria Novella train station. Hop on the comfortable coach bus, choose your seat, and relax before departing on your journey! The drive to Pisa will take about one hour. During the journey, your guide will entertain you with plenty of interesting information about Pisa and its sights on the way. Upon arrival, your expert guide will make sure you know exactly what to expect, and if you have any questions, your guide will be there to assist you.
Your guide will lead you directly to the entrance of the Square of Miracles, where you can find the fascinating and famous monuments which have made Pisa an iconic city around the world! You will arrive to a breathtaking panorama - white, marble buildings dominating a square of perfect, green lawns. The intricate architecture is unbelievable, and you will not be able to resist immediately taking photos!
A licensed and expert guide of Pisa will meet your group to begin the included walking tour of the monuments. Your guide will take you on a tour through history as you learn all about the monuments and the histories of the buildings are explained in a fun and vivid way. Your certified guide will lead you to all of the buildings in the square - you can admire the exteriors of the large Baptistery and the Monumental Graveyard. Then, follow your guide into the incredible Cathedral to learn more.
Your walking tour of Pisa will continue in the Cathedral with your included ticket. Your local Pisa guide will explain the fascinating history of this Cathedral and all about its unique Romanesque architecture. The interiors of the Cathedral are just as equally beautiful with unique frescoes and masterpieces by Nicola Pisano. As the natural light shines into the cathedral, it has a heavenly, unforgettable atmosphere.
Your walking tour of Pisa will end in front of the world-famous Leaning Tower! Your guide will share what makes this tower so special (and why it is leaning!), and then you will have some independent time to explore Pisa. If you choose to enhance your experience with a skip-the-line entrance ticket to climb the Leaning Tower, you will be able to quickly enter and make your way to the top! Then, admire the stunning and diverse views of Pisa from above the rooftops of these ancient buildings. Enjoy the breeze from the top of the Leaning Tower and take some fun photos before heading back down! In case you do not select the option including the Leaning Tower ticket, you will only admire it from the outside.
Grab any last minute souvenirs from Pisa before meeting back with your guide! Then, board back on the bus and you will be back to Florence in about an hour. Don't miss out on this incredible journey to a unique piece of Italian heritage - Pisa!
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please note that the Cathedral of Pisa is now free and in most crowded days it can become impossible to visit its interior due to long queues. In such cases, we will offer a tour of Piazza Cavalieri instead
- A dress code is required to enter places of worship and selected museums. No shorts or sleeveless tops allowed. Knees and shoulders MUST be covered for both men and women. You may risk refused entry if you fail to comply with these dress requirements
- May be operated by a multi-lingual guide
- Kids under 8 years old are not allowed to climb the Leaning Tower and must be accompanied by an adult
- Kindly note that the Semi independent tour option does not include the local guide in Pisa and Leaning Tower tickets
- LOW SEASON (From November, 1st until March, 31st): English and Spanish languages are always guaranteed. In order to confirm the excursion in French, Italian or Portuguese a minimum of 4 pax is required
- HIGH SEASON (From April 1st until October 31st): this tour is always available in English and Spanish. Other languages are confirmed as follows: FRENCH: Monday, Saturday - min 2 pax PORTUGUESE: Friday - min 2 pax ITALIAN: Sunday - min 2 pax
- Kindly note that if you select Chinese, Korean, or Japanese, the historical explanations and tour commentary will be provided exclusively via audio guide (via App) in your chosen language. You will not be left alone: a professional Tour Leader will accompany the group throughout the trip. The Tour Leader will manage the group and provide logistics, meeting point details, and emergency assistance in English, while the cultural insights will be delivered via the app in your language.
Reviews(1,340)
The tour of Pisa and Leaning Tower was great and I actually climbed to the top of the Leaning tower.
Cecelia was our bust guide. She is Warm, patient, and great with kids—explains Pisa’s history in simple, engaging ways.
The guide Cecilia was professional kind warm helpful and her English language speaking was excellent. She made sure all our needs were met and shared some local Florence tips for eating too! Thank you - most memorable day in Pisa!
The half day Pisa tour is fabulous. Only 70 minutes from Florence. Ciao Florence does an excellent job. Tour Guide, Gianmarco, is a true professional. Very caring and kind. Extremely helpful when my wife experienced a medical emergency due to extreme heat. Local guide, Ricardo, was informative and entertaining. I highly recommend this tour.
The tour guide, Daisy was magnificent, professional, and clearly stated information necessary for the Pisa .
The guide, Daisy, was very knowledgeable and informative.
This was an overall good half-day trip. The meeting spot was a little out of the way, quite the walk from city center but easy enough to find. There were multiple tours meeting there so it took a minute to find the right guide. I highly recommend taking a snack because there's not much time in Pisa to eat once the tour is complete, we only got about 20-30 minutes of our own time outside the tour. We would have liked a bit more time than that. We did the church tour and climbed the tower. If you're not doing those then you will have plenty of free time.
This tour was run efficiently. Ultimately a standard bigger group tour. You get shuffled to a local guide who tours through the cathedral and then you climb pisa yourself and meet the chaperone back the designated meeting spot.
The experience with the tour itself was good, but when booking with Viator, it said it was free admission but then we needed to add the ticket to the Leaning Tower of Pisa but never provided next steps on how to do it from the beginning. This caused some confusion and of course we missed the window and we had to stat on schedule. While we understand it is hard to see everything in one day, it was disappointing to miss walking up the tower.
Ciao Florence was very accommodating. Due to time restrictions, especially coming off a cruise, we unexpectedly needed to join at a different meeting point. The customer service within Ciao Florence sprang into action and did a wonderful job communicating quickly and giving us options. We really enjoyed our tour guide Ana as well as the guide who took us around Pisa/Miracoli Square. Her engagement with the group, while at the same time providing historical facts was fun to watch watch. Thank you Ciao Florence and team.
