An avid traveler, guest contributor Dhara Nargundkar has explored Italy extensively. Here, she shares why you might want to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa (even if you think it’s not worth a stop).
There are many beautiful places in Italy to visit.
Like Venice. Venice is just so romantic!
But there are are other great Italian cities to explore too.
Pisa – famous for the Leaning Tower of Pisa – is one of them.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
Is Pisa worth visiting?
There are actually quite a few things to do in Pisa. (For example, it has a great Natural History Museum, which is one of the oldest museums in the world.)
But, for us, Pisa was a “by the way” stop on our first visit to Italy. It wasn’t really on our list when planning our Italian vacation.
We already had a full calendar in Tuscany, and we didn’t want to add more towns and then not be able to do justice to the ones already on our itinerary.
And we’d read time and time again that Pisa gets the short shrift from travelers who regret not devoting the time to really experience everything on offer – we didn’t want to make that mistake.
But then we learned that our train from the Cinque Terre region to Florence would actually stop at Pisa.
My husband and I looked at one another and said, “Let’s go for at least one look!”
Our B&B hosts in Florence were gracious and agreed to allow us to arrive really late in the evening, so we arranged our train tickets to accommodate a brief stop at Pisa.
We wouldn’t have the luxury of spending one day in Pisa.
But we could at least have a few hours in the small city.
Field of Miracles
We deposited our bags at the Pisa Centrale train station.
Then we quickly walked through the town to the Piazza dei Miracoli (sometimes called the “Field of Miracles”), arriving just as the sun was setting.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the piazza is home to four masterpiece monuments, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
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Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?
It’s a funny thing… The Pisa tower started tilting even as it was being built.
So why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?
The earth was very soft on one side of the build site, and the builders failed to take note of this fact when they created the foundation for the tower.
Little did they know that their error would cause Pisa’s campanile to become a famous landmark, recognized instantly all over the world!
Taking Leaning Tower of Pisa photos
The magical light of the golden hour had bathed the white buildings in a mellow glow.
We watched, enthralled, as Mother Nature put on a special show for us that evening, turning the skies above into fiery orange and then flashy pinks and purples.
It was the most spectacular sunset we would have the good fortune to witness on the entire trip.
Not even the hundreds of tourists milling about, taking selfies, could detract from the drama of the scene.
The gracious white tower looked stunning as it reached up to the sky against the made-for-photography backdrop.
Just like the tower’s unintended tilt, visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa at sunset was unintended.
But it resulted in my most memorable photo from that trip.
Mille grazie, Pisa. We will be back!
So, yes, is the Tower of Pisa worth visiting. Absolutely!
If you visit Pisa and its iconic leaning tower, you may just want to time your visit for sunset…
More information
See the official website for Pisa’s leaning tower.
Explore more of Italy
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Photo credits: 1 Dhara Nargundkar
About the author
A bean counter by profession who loves photography, Dhara Nargundkar blogs about her home state of California and beyond at Not About the Miles.
Victoria
Monday 9th of April 2018
Most certainly it is! I'm of the opinion that any building of architectural value is worth far more! I've been to Pisa quite a few times, and it amazes me even now. Of course, Florence is the Queen here, but whenever I've been in the region, I've always stayed at least a night or two in the town of Pisa, because why not?
But try telling my husband that!
p.s. Lovely photo!
Janice and George
Tuesday 10th of April 2018
Yes, Florence gets all the love... But Pisa should be seen, because, as you say, why not! And who knows, once might get an Instagram-worthy pic of the tower at sunset too :-).
Irene S Levine
Wednesday 4th of April 2018
What a lovely story and smashing picture of the sunset. My husband lived in Pisa for a year so we know the city well. There is more than meets the eye:-)
Janice and George
Wednesday 4th of April 2018
Wonder what stories your husband could tell about Pisa! Would be interesting to know :-)