Hi! We just got back from cosmopolitan classics on discovery 2 which called in at Piombino.
We had a busy previous day (Naples) so we’re looking for a steady day at Piombino. (Done Pisa before and didn’t fancy the 4 hour round trip to Sienna.) to be honest I wasn’t sure what to expect from this place but was pleasantly surprised.
There was a regular free shuttle bus provided, took about 15 mins to the town. Although not a big town there was enough to explore at a slow pace. There are some pretty narrow streets with restaurants and cafes, a pretty waterfront and some ancient buildings to look at if that’s your thing. The local town council have some tour guides stationed for the day who are more than happy to offer information about the the town and things to see. A very relaxed place with enough to fill a morning or afternoon but not much more. We found the bars and restaurants reasonably priced too.
The port itself is busy with ferry traffic to the nearby islands, we were the only cruise ship in and felt like there wouldn’t be space for another. One side of the port has a lovely view out to the open sea and the islands in the distance, the other far side is very industrial with old factories / power station. Overall I wasn’t expecting much from this stop but we found it to be a nice quieter stop midway through our itinerary.