A step-by-step guide to making the most of your time exploring the monuments within Piazza del Duomo, AKA the Square of Miracles or Piazza dei Miracoli, in Pisa, Italy.
The star of the show at the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa is undoubtedly the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or simply the Tower of Pisa. Like Giotto’s Campanile in Florence, the Tower of Pisa is the freestanding Campanile, or bell tower, of the Cathedral of Pisa. While it is the most photographed monument within the square, there are actually many other monuments that are just as stunning and spectacular as the Tower of Pisa, even if they aren’t leaning at an angle.
The monuments housed within the complex include the Cathedral, the Tower, the Baptistery, the Camposanto, the Sinopie Museum and Opera del Duomo Museum (closed for renovation until further notice) – together, this group of monuments was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987.
Pisa is a popular day trip destination and can be easily reached by train from Florence in an hour. There are also plenty of trains throughout the day so you don’t have to book in advance or worry about missing a train and waiting around for hours before the next one. The Piazza del Duomo is a 20-25 minute walk away from the train station or you can take bus number 4 to get there.
Visiting Florence, Italy? Check out my travel guide to the Duomo in Florence and where to go for the best views!
Much like the Duomo Complex in Florence (read my guide here!), the visiting process is streamlined and efficient and you can easily visit all the monuments within a day if you know what you’re doing! If you want a hassle-free visit, read on for how to get the most out of your time at the Piazza del Duomo in Pisa!
What you should know before you visit Pisa
Ticket Options for Pisa’s Duomo Complex
Tickets can be purchased online between a maximum of 20 days and a minimum of 1 day prior to your visit. There are a number of ticket options available – tower only (€18), 1 additional monument (choose between the Baptistry, Camposanto or Sinopie Museum – €5), 2 additional monuments (€7) or 3 monuments (€8). Entry to the Cathedral is free, but you will need to be dressed appropriately – covered shoulders and knees.
Make sure you print out your ticket as it contains bar codes for each monument that will be scanned for entry.
Pisa Duomo Complex Opening Hours
Entrance to the monuments is allowed up to 30 minutes before closing time, and specific opening and closing times can be found here. The monuments tend to close earlier at 6/7 PM during the winter, and later at 8/9/10 PM during the summer months.
Pisa Duomo Complex Dress Code
No bare shoulders and short skirts/shorts are permitted in the Cathedral. Bring a shawl or scarf if you’re planning to wear a tank/spaghetti top so you can cover your shoulders as people do get turned away, especially from the Cathedral and Baptistry. Wear comfortable shoes or sandals if you plan to climb the Tower.
Planning a trip to Italy? Click here for 14 things you should know before you go to Italy!
Where to stay in Pisa
If you stay overnight in Pisa instead of doing a day trip, I would recommend staying at B&B Relais Paradise, a short 10 minute walk away from the square. Our room was spacious and newly renovated, the wifi was great and the owners will gladly prepare a takeaway breakfast for you if you’re leaving early the next day. One thing to note is that the check-in time is relatively late at 3 PM. Click here to book your stay at B&B Relais Paradise!
If you are doing a day trip to Pisa from Florence, stay at Hotel Calzaiuoli , a 2 (yes, TWO!) minute walk away from the Duomo Complex. The staff were extremely friendly and accommodating, rooms were bright, comfortable and spacious, and the breakfast spread was amazing. Click here to book your stay at Hotel Calzaiuoli!
Another option in Florence is La Tana Dei Leoni, an amazing guesthouse right in front of the Ponte Vecchio. It was an amazing room and great value for money – I would highly recommend this over Hotel Calzaiuoli for anyone with a slightly lower budget! Click here to book your stay at La Tana Dei Leoni!
The Monuments of Piazza dei Miracoli
1. Visiting the Leaning Tower: one of the 7 Wonders of the World
The lean on the Tower of Pisa is actually much more significant when you see it in person. The inclination is currently approximately 5.5 degrees and was caused by the soft ground below it – the structure wasn’t actually stabilized until the 20th/early 21st century and was reopened to the public in 2001.
If you want to climb the Tower of Pisa, then you will need to select a specific time slot as tickets for the Tower are at set times and limited in number; I would highly recommend that you do so rather than trying to purchase a ticket on-site. Make sure you are on time, because if you are late you will not be allowed in and you will not be refunded! I would also recommend finding out when the sun is setting and timing your visit to coincide with the sunset so you can watch it from the top of the tower.
Unlike visiting the Duomo in Florence, the Tower has strict security measures in place and any hand bags, backpacks and luggage must be left at the cloakroom before the visit (free of charge) and you will be wanded before entry (scanned with a handheld detector). You are pretty much only allowed to bring your phone, ticket and pamphlet/brochure with you.
The visit takes about 35-45 minutes and you will need to climb 251 uneven and slippery steps up to the top, so wear appropriate footwear. Whilst it’s not a very physically strenuous climb, this was honestly one of the most vertigo-inducing experiences I have ever gone through because of the lean, and in some sections you will feel extremely off-balance.
Related post: Looking for other incredible day trips from Florence? Click here for a guide to exploring Siena on foot in 1 day!
2. Visiting the Pisa Cathedral
I am ashamed to say that the dress code completely slipped my mind and I wasn’t allowed to enter the Cathedral! Nevertheless, it is an incredible stunning piece of architecture and I’d love to visit the interior next time.
3. Visiting the Pisa Baptistery
The Baptistery of Pisa is the largest baptistery in Italy – it is absolutely humongous. Because it sits on the same unstable sand as the tower and cathedral, the Baptistery also leans slightly by 0.6 degrees. Once you are inside, you can walk up the second story and look up at the dome and out towards the rest of the square.
4. Visiting the Camposanto in Pisa
The Camposanto is actually a beautiful cemetery housing sarcophagi, graves, frescoes, statues and chapels. It is a peaceful space with a long, lush internal garden. There is a legend that bodies buried in the ground here will rot in just 24 hours!
5. Visiting the Pisa Sinopie Museum
The Sinopie Museum hosts the big preparatory drawings recovered beneath the frescoes decorating the Camposanto. It is worth a visit as they also play a fascinating educational video on the history of the Tower and efforts to stabilize it.
Prego!
You have visited all the amazing monuments that make up Pisa’s Square of Miracles! I hope this guide is able to help you to plan a stress-free and enjoyable visit! For those of you who have explored the monuments in Pisa, do you have any other tips that I missed? Share them below in the comments section!
Heading to other destinations in Italy and need some travel tips and recommendations? Head on over here!
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Great tips and gorgeous pictures, Flo! Is the storage room safe? I don’t know how I feel about leaving my valuables in there 🙁
Yes I think it is! There’s an attendant who has to go in and unlock each locker 🙂
Hello and thank you for the article!
I was wondering – can I enter the site (Tower, Baptistery, Cathedral) with a small suitcase? Is there a place where I can leave it? If there are lockers in the storage room, I guess it won’t fit in there.
Thanks!
Hi Merija,
No – I don’t believe you can bring large items into the site. You’re probably better off leaving it at your hotel.
Best of luck!
Great post! I ve been in Piza once, but only for few hours and it was a night time, when I was driving to Rome from Berlin. I didnt get to chance explore it more but at least I took quick photo 🙂
You’ll have to go back one day to explore the Piazza, Ada! 🙂
Great write up. It will be really a helpful guide if I go there. Thanks for the post.
The leaning tower of Pisa always grew curiosity in mind but your post answered some of the questions.Would love to go to the top as well and am going to keep your valuable suggestions about the timing in mind.There’s so much more to visit apart from the Leaning tower as well which can be seen in the pictures as well.A climb to the top of the tower is definitely going to be a unique and once in a lifetime sort of a thing.
It’s an unique experience, that’s for sure Arnav! I felt like I was falling over the whole time and was very tempted to crawl around on all fours haha!
After all the times I’ve been to Italy, I’ve never actually made it to The Leaning Tower of Pisa… kinda shameful! This is a really helpful guide though, when I eventually do make it there haha. Good tips on when to go though, I’ll keep that in mind!
Thanks for taking the time to read this, Kristina! Let me know if you make it to Pisa 🙂
We were om Pisa a couple of years ago and loved it. A walk around the town is also an amazing experience. OC course the Leaning tower and the Baptistry are spectacular.
I wish we had the time to explore the city beyond the Piazza – what did you think of the city itself?
We visited Pisa as part of Italy trip on the way back to Switzerland. The architecture around Leaning tower and the Baptistry are spectacular is amazing we did not visit interior of Camposanto but it sure does look beautiful
The Camposanto may have been my favorite! It’s such a peaceful space and completely devoid of the crowds.
Great post! I have still not been to Italy, but once I go, I’ll definitely make a day trip to Pisa 🙂
Thanks for checking this article out, Kristine!
That is one of the most pro travel blog posts, you sound like a shorter version of NYT travel section 🙂 I love all the significant info you included, like the footwear, appropriate dres and even the technical details about tickets. As you said, I was late for my tower trip 2 years ago, it was devastated and furious 😉 Sorry to hear you weren’t allowed to the cathedral happened to me quite a few times too! Now I have a special compartment in ma backpack where I keep a huge shawl for occasions for these ‘special occasions’ 😉
Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, Marta! I should definitely carry a shawl with me next time – I normally do but it completely slipped my mind!
After seeing so many photos, seeing the leaning tour in person was actually quite startling. Aside from the famous lean (which seemed so much more pronounced than I expected), the architecture of the whole area was beautiful. I didn’t get a chance to go inside anywhere (we were waiting for a connecting train out of Pisa), and from your pictures it looks like I missed out on something very much worth seeing!
I was shocked when I saw the lean in person, Sara! Like you said, it looks a lot more pronounced than in photos. I would definitely recommend seeing the rest of the monuments if you get a chance to go back to Pisa!
I missed Pisa when I visited Italy the first time. It is definitely on the list for next time though and I’ll be sure to use your guide. I didn’t even realise you could climb the tower!
Great tips! Being part Italian I have a ton of family there but I’ve never been to Pisa (the shame!). I’ve even flown from Pisa airport when I left Florence but I didn’t have chance to visit the City. Hopefully in the future!
Hope you make it to Pisa soon! I wish we had explored the city a bit more beyond the Piazza.
I almost made it to Pisa two years ago when I did a road trip through Tuscany. I never understood the fascination with the leaning tower, though…If I do get to visit Pisa, I will definitely want to see more. Great info btw :).
wow, what a practical and useful guide to exploring the square in Pisa. I’m one of many who associated the city with just the leaning tower. Great photos by the way! 🙂
As was I, Ro! Didn’t realize there were other monuments until we started booking our entry tickets 🙂
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is in my bucket list! I love sunsets and definitely catching one would be the highlight of my trip. Thanks for this detailed description.
I hope you make it soon! It’s such an easy day trip so you do’t have to stay in Pisa itself if you don’t want to.
Italy is beautiful! The Leaning Tower of Pisa is in my bucket list! I love sunsets and definitely catching one would be the highlight of my trip. Thanks for this detailed description.
Ah wow Pisa looks like such a lovely place. I love how you’ve detailed how to get there precisely and with prices, really useful. I actually had no idea that you could climb the leaning tower, I’d be a little scared it would like… topple over haha.
The climb up and being at the top of the tower is one of the most unsettling experiences ever! It feels like you’re so off balance
My husband and I are planning to the Leaning Tower of Pisa next year! How nice to have your post about it before our trip. I have bookmarked your post for me to go back later for our final planning. It awesome that you added suggestions on where to stay and other important about visiting Piazza del doumo 🙂 Cheers!
I hope this helps, Sara! 🙂 Have a great trip!
The camposanto looks so good! I wish I knew about it on my visits. Haha I must admit the dress code slips my mind a lot in Italy and sometimes I am actually allowed in anyway!
They’re super strict in some places, not so strict in others! I find that the cathedrals always take the dress code super seriously!
I tried to help someone in line once because she wasn’t dressed properly. She scoffed at me like I was bothering her. She wouldn’t look me in the eye when she was turned away. I remember climbing the Tower and feeling the “lean” around every turn. That’s something I will always remember.
The lean is seriously trippy. Too bad she didn’t listen to you – likely that she didn’t get into the Cathedral without the proper attire!
Great compositions, love the clarity of the pictures. Mine wasn’t planned properly.
I stayed in Pisa for a night but couldn’t climb the tower… we had to book in advance we were told. There was so much rush that day. This one is a very organized list.