The Cinque Terre region is full of hiking trails that criss cross its mountains and coast lines. Our second day in the region would have us traversing the vineyards of Cinque Terre and descending to Corniglia. On this trail, we would be treated to some more spectacular coastal views, interspersed with vineyards clinging to the sides of mountains amid pristine landscapes.

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This post is one chapter on a trip to the South of France and Cinque Terre, Italy. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For information on how this trip was booked, please see our introduction. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

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The Leaning Tower of Pisa in a Day: Day Tripping from Cinque Terre, Italy

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During our stay in Cinque Terre – Italy, we ended up staying for five days and four nights. We pretty much captured everything that we wanted to see during this time period, including day treks on the Cinque Terre Monterosso – Vernazza Coastal Trail, and the Cinque Terre Manarola / Volstara – Corniglia Vineyard trail.

In addition to trekking between the five towns, we set out to explore our first visit to Pisa, Italy. The town of Pisa is most famous for it’s leaning tower that has made architectural headlines worldwide for it’s slanting tower that has leaned for just over six hundred years.

About The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy:

The leaning tower of Pisa was constructed over “a few” hundred years in 1199. The tower is most known for it’s four degree lean off centre that occurred as a result of an unstable foundation. It was decided to built the tower on an area of weak and unstable soil that was unable to carry the weight of the tower.

The leaning tower of Pisa has represented one of Italy’s most famous tourist attractions.

Arriving to Pisa by Train:

We departed from our accommodation at La Toretta Lodge Manarola. We took a TrenItalia train from Manarola to Pisa Centrale. The tickets on second class regional trains was approximately 12.45€ per direction, booked a day before travel.

The Pisa Centrale train station dropped us off in the centre of Pisa. From there, it was a short and pleasant walk into town towards the leaning tower of Pisa.

We eventually came to the Amo River, which dissects the town of Pisa through the middle in a West – East orientation.

Pisa is home to several universities. As a result, it’s got a variety of terrific and inexpensive take away restaurants. We stopped at L’Ostellino Panineria Vinera Sandwich bar for some tasty take way snacks.

I came away with a sandwich of horse meat, stracchino cheese, dried tomatoes, rocket salad and oil. Along with the unique tastes, it was priced right at 7.50€.

Locating the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

It was a short walk from lunch to the leaning tower of Pisa. We had a gentle walk down the pedestrian oriented Via Santa Maria towards the tower.

The leaning tower of Pisa is an impressive sight. Seeing the tower for the first itme is similar to seeing the Parthenon in Athens, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or Big Ben in London. It’s an iconic European attraction that has graced postcards, school books and travel books for years over.

The surrounding square of the leaning tower of Pisa consists of the Piazza del Duomo, the Bassitero di San Giovanni and several other attractions consisting of the Portero del Leone. The space compliments each other nicely as a feature period of buildings from the twelfth century.

On arrival, it is worth visiting the ticket office. Many of the entries into each feature are on a timed ticket allotment basis. During our visit, some entries were as far as three hours out. As a result, if you want to see everything, you’ll likely want to purchase in advance, or arrive to the ticket booths early in the day.

Any trip to the leaning tower of Pisa also allows you to get some silly photographs of the site. There’s always something for the scrapbook when you can take as many photos as you’d like with your smartphones.

After the day at Pisa, we returned by train to the La Toretta Lodge, Manarola for the night.

My Thoughts on Visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa:

The town of Pisa surprised me. There was actually more there than I had originally anticipated.

Between the youthful student vibe, excellent take away restaurants, the iconic leaning tower of Pisa and a host of other historical attractions, the city was well worth our time for a day’s break from Cinque Terre.

Connections to and from the city are easy through Pisa Centrale by Tren Italia, making this city an exceptionally easy one to visit.

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If you’ve visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa – Italy, did you enjoy your visit ?

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