Road Trip to Pisa Italy – How to spend 4 hours in a city of Tuscany

Pisa Italy, one of the famous cities of Tuscany. Famous for its fascinating history including plundered loot, impressive hundreds of years of engineering missteps, one proud Italian dictator, and many more.

Though the Leaning Tower is one of the world’s most famous buildings, there are loads of other architectural and artistic attractions in Pisa.

Before unfolding our story in Pisa, let me share first our road trip experience. A 7-hour drive from Lausanne to Pisa Italy, a plan that should normally work, still, things get trembles to worsen.

Roadtripping is something that we thought would be easy to do. However, once we started the car’s engine and get to the freeway things change all of a sudden.

7-hour Road Trip

After our quick city trip in Lausanne, Switzerland our opted destination after that is Pisa, Italy. We have planned for a one day stay in this Tuscany city with a one night stay in a Bed and Breakfast.

As we check out from our luxurious hotel early in the morning, We directly drive to our next stop which is Pisa Italy. Best Western Plus Hotel Mirabeau Lausanne (our hotel) was obviously the best hotel in town.

It was early before sunrise when we hit the freeway. The most overwhelming part was watching the scenic views on the road.

Witnessing the sunrise was epic, the Swiss road was truly a keeper. I have seen beautiful mountains especially the Alps. Some of the mountains peek were even covered by snow.

For a 7-hour road trip, normally the ambiance is quite boring since we are limited on doing activities inside the car. But with this road trip, I was super really occupied on taking photos because of the fabulous views.

Arriving in Italy

Finally, after more than 3 hours on the road, we lastly crossed the Italian border. However, there were some weather changes. Suddenly, it was all dark, misty, and foggy.

The majestic mountains that I’ve followed disappeared, all I can see that moment was drizzle and fog. We are obviously in another country as I have discerned.

Despite the hideous weather, I was able to detect some exceptional views. I captured this unusual site, to be honest, I’m not even sure where it was all I know is that we were somewhere in Turin to Genoa. It must be someplace there.

As we arrived in Genoa, we faced some unexpected road dilemma. One of the Italian freeway roads was closed due to road constructions. It was around 1:30 pm we were still stuck in Genoa, Hubby drove back and forth to find the way to Pisa using the GPS.

But we still keep on coming back on the same spot 4 times. I swear it was the most exhausting part of the trip.

At last after finding out the problem that it was the GPS (unconnected on 4G or mobile roaming) we, at last, find our way out of Genoa city and proceed to Pisa Italy.

Finally, Pisa Italy!

We arrived in Pisa at 3:30 pm the most challenging moment is yet to come. The search for a parking space, the battle of which we struggled and wasted a lot of time again. (what a day!)

We manage to park the car in a residential parking area temporarily. Well, we didn’t know it was until I asked the BnB’s personnel. I quickly told Hubby to wait and let me check in for us first then we’ll move to the car to the parking lot that the hotel has.

After arranging our stuff at the hotel, we headed to the parking lot and directly started our tour in Pisa. We were both fatigued after more than 7-hour road trip.

Our hotel was only 1.5 km away from the Leaning Tower of Pisa Piazza del Duomo. It was about 17-20 minutes walk, based on experience it was obviously nearer than we expected.

We were both starving, but we went to see the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy first since that’s one bucket list places to visit.

Spending 4 hours in Pisa Center

First time in Pisa Italy, first thing in my mind is to go to the famous square. The first interesting place to see was the famous Ponte Solferino overlooking the other bridge Ponte Di Mezzo. We stroll at the Via Santa Maria Street were lots of Italian restaurants everywhere.

The Piazza dei Miracoli filled with tourists. It was hard to find the perfect shot without any people on it. In the Piazza, you’ll get to see the Putti Fountain first. Then there’s Sinopie Museum, Cathedral Museum, Cattedrale di Pisa, Lupa Capitolina, and Pisa Baptistery.

This beautiful marble fountain called La Fontana dei putti (The Fountain with Angels) is one of the marble fountain treasures which can be found at famous Square of Miracles in the historic center.

Cattedrale di Pisa is a Grand marble-striped cathedral known for its ornate Romanesque bronze doors & carved 1300s pulpit.

The cathedral is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, in the Piazza dei Miracoli in Pisa Italy. It is a striking example of Romanesque architecture, in particular, the style known as Pisan Romanesque. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Pisa.

Battistero di San Giovanni is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical building in Pisa, Italy. It is the largest baptistery in Italy, it is 54.86 m high, with a diameter of 34.13 m. The Pisa Baptistery is an example of the Romanesque style to the Gothic style.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Tower of Pisa located next to the Cathedral of Pisa, in Piazza dei Miracoli in the city of Pisa, Italy. The tower is mostly known as Leaning Tower of Pisa, or Bell Tower of Pisa. (Torre Pendente di Pisa)

Its original height was 60 meters and the actual height: 56.67m highest side; 55,86m lowest side. The tower weighs 14,500 tonnes and consists of 251 steps.

According to some facts, Pisa got its name in 600 BC from a Greek word meaning “marshy land.” The cathedral and baptistery are also sinking.

There are several other towers in Pisa that also lean: the bell tower at the church of St. Michele dei Scalzi, and the bell tower at the church of St. Nicola.

Discovering Italian Food

For about 2-hour stay in Pisa Italy, all we did was wandering and exploring the city. If you asked me I went on the top of the Leaning Tower? well no I didn’t. I have a choice, but I didn’t want to.

So our next step is to search for a good Italian restaurant cause we are craving for pizza. We have spotted this restaurant not far from the famous square.

After looking into the menu list of each restaurant in the street, we settled for Trattoria Toscana. Located just a few minutes walk away from the square.

I ordered a glass of rosé and Hubby got a glass of an alcohol-free beer. For our dinner, we decided to get 2 Pizzas one with seafood and the other with ham and veggies.

The food was really good, and the prize wasn’t that expensive either. So we also get a little dessert and coffee to end the night.

Let’s call it a day!

Such a quick but memorable visit in Pisa, our short tour has ended here. Pisa Italy was indeed wonderful, and now it’s time to call it a day.

We went back to our hotel to rest, and get ready for the next day. We still have another route to take. The next stop is Naples Italy. 

Other interesting places to visit: National Museum of Palazzo Reale, Verdi theatre, Ponte di Mezzo, Piazza dei Cavalieri, National Museum of San Matteo and many more.

Road Trip to Pisa Italy