Pisa/Florence or Florence only

 

So, we will go Pisa, and most likely Lucca as well. Such is life, and another reason to visit Italy in the future!

It is off-topic, but I think this would make a perfect day trip. Lucca is charming.

It is easy to do by train, but it makes sense to go to Lucca first. When we were travelling back from Lucca I noticed that the train stop before Pisa Centrale was right beside the tower, you could get out there and then walk back to Pisa Centrale for your return to Livorno.

I love Pisa - On our first trip we went up the Tower which was fun. On our second trip we had a lazy day and did some shopping on the way to the 'Field of Miracles' and I just loved sitting on the lawn looking at the architecture and visiting the Baptistery.

I wonder if some of the differences of opinions depend on the weather - when it is hot it can be overwhelming. When you have kids at school (or if you are married to a school teacher which was my situation until he retired two years ago) you are stuck with the summer which does make touring a little more tiring.

It is off-topic, but I think this would make a perfect day trip. Lucca is charming.

 

It is easy to do by train, but it makes sense to go to Lucca first. When we were travelling back from Lucca I noticed that the train stop before Pisa Centrale was right beside the tower, you could get out there and then walk back to Pisa Centrale for your return to Livorno.

 

I love Pisa - On our first trip we went up the Tower which was fun. On our second trip we had a lazy day and did some shopping on the way to the 'Field of Miracles' and I just loved sitting on the lawn looking at the architecture and visiting the Baptistery.

 

I wonder if some of the differences of opinions depend on the weather - when it is hot it can be overwhelming. When you have kids at school (or if you are married to a school teacher which was my situation until he retired two years ago) you are stuck with the summer which does make touring a little more tiring.

Interesting. will have to look at the train map closely and see the stop you are referring to. '

For us, this will be a leisurely day of taking in Pisa, having never been there, climbing to the top, and lally gagging around, then taking the train to Livorno and maybe a bike ride around the wall and lunch before heading back to the ship.

We are going mid to end of October, so weather could be beautiful in the mid 70's or cold and rainy. We shall see!

For those of you about to leave, I wish you a lovely trip.

Since I'm trying to make the same decision for next summer, please report back how your Livorno port day was! :)

We've been to both Florence and Pisa on a land trip. I'd definitely vote for as much time as you can get in Florence and forget Pisa. If you want to see the Uffizi and/or the Academia make sure you get skip the line tickets in advance. Also be sure and see the baptistry in front of the Duomo in Florence. Personally we found Florence wonderful and Pisa pretty skippable by comparison.

As a child growing up in the 60s and 70s the leaning tower of Pisa was my symbol of Italy. For me to miss it while I was in Livorno would be like missing the Parthenon while in Athens or Lady Liberty while in NYC. The ships excursion is outrageously priced but a company called TuscanyBus will take you to Florence for 3 hours and stop at Pisa for 30€. We did Lucca and Pisa for 28€ while friends did the Florence option. We had spent 3 days pre-cruise in Florence. 3-4 hours in Florence won’t really allow you to see much as the museums (inside) are the highlights in Florence.

Check out Italy Tours EU. Just got back and had a wonderful tour with them. Went to Florence and Pisa. Got the skip the line passes to see the David. Our driver George and our tour guide Sabrina were excellent! It was 8 of us in a mini van. The cost was 99 Euros per person. We were back in plenty of time for all aboard. I recommend them highly.

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