🇮🇹 Italy · Places to discover
What to see in Pise ?
22 places curated by Hozy - landmarks, nature, hidden restaurants and activities. Click to discover each address in detail.
Pise souffre d'une réputation injuste : ville de passage, réduite à une tour et à une photo. Pourtant, la cité toscane a une vraie densité historique, construite sur une ancienne puissance maritime qui rivalisait avec Gênes et Venise. La Piazza dei Miracoli concentre effectivement des monuments romans d'une cohérence rare, mais le centre médiéval autour du Borgo Stretto mérite autant d'attention.
Deux jours suffisent pour voir Pise sans la subir. Septembre et octobre offrent une lumière douce et des foules gérables. Le train depuis Florence prend une heure et reste le moyen le plus simple. Le piège classique : arriver, photographier la tour en faisant semblant de la tenir, et repartir sans avoir traversé l'Arno vers le quartier de San Martino, où la ville vit vraiment.
Landmarks & heritage (9)
Wikipedia (fr) - CC BY-SALandmark
Baptistry of Pisa
Italy's largest baptistry, with phenomenal acoustics—guards sometimes give a vocal demonstration that resonates infinitely. Nicola Pisano's pulpit is a masterpiece of Gothic sculpture.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SALandmark
National Museum of San Matteo
One of Tuscany's richest medieval art museums, housed in a former convent. Cimabue's painted crucifixes and Giovanni Pisano's sculptures share space with Islamic ceramics brought back from the Crusades.
Wikipedia (en) - CC BY-SALandmark
Chiesa di San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno
Nicknamed 'the little cathedral' for its bicoloured marble Romanesque façade, this 11th-century church is almost always deserted. Its Carolingian apse and garden overlooking the Arno make it an absolute sanctuary of peace.
Wikipedia (fr) - CC BY-SALandmark
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Yes, the leaning tower is unmissable – but arrive at dawn before the hordes with selfie sticks. The interior, with its 294 spiral steps, offers views over the Tuscan countryside that are well worth the €18 entrance fee.
Wikipedia (en) - CC BY-SALandmark
Church of Santa Maria della Spina
A tiny flamboyant Gothic church perched on the bank of the Arno like a stone jewel. Its sculpted white marble tracery is a masterpiece of medieval craftsmanship, often overlooked by hurried visitors.
Wikipedia (fr) - CC BY-SALandmark
Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
The true gem of Piazza dei Miracoli, often eclipsed by its leaning neighbour. The bicoloured marble of the Romanesque façade and the gilded coffered ceiling inside are of absolute beauty.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SALandmark
Palazzo della Carovana (Scuola Normale Superiore)
Seat of one of the world's finest universities, this Renaissance palace adorned with sgraffito façade decoration stands on the Piazza dei Cavalieri. The place breathes Medici history and Italian intellectual elite.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SALandmark
Camposanto Monumentale
This medieval cemetery surrounding a Gothic cloister is one of Italy's most haunting places. The 14th-century frescoes, including the 'Triumph of Death', are of rare intensity.
Landmark
Fortezza di Notte (Fortezza Vecchia)
The medieval ramparts encircling the city to the north are accessible on foot and offer an unusual walk above Pisa's rooftops. Locals come here to run or stroll at sunset.
Nature & parks (1)
Viewpoints (4)
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAViewpoint
Ponte di Mezzo at Sunset
Pisa's central bridge offers the best view of both banks of the Arno illuminated at day's end. This is where the Gioco del Ponte, the historic battle between districts, takes place every June.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAViewpoint
Lungarno Mediceo
The northern embankment of the Arno, less crowded than its counterpart across the river, lines beautiful Renaissance palaces with ochre and pink façades. The late afternoon light on the river is a spectacle the people of Pisa savour each day.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAViewpoint
San Zeno Panoramic Terrace
The San Zeno neighbourhood, on the south-east side, offers from its heights a clear view over Pisa's rooftops and the Tuscan countryside. Little frequented, it is the spot of local photographers.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAViewpoint
Piazza dei Cavalieri from the adjacent alleyways
Take time to lose yourself in the gothic alleyways that converge on this medieval square. Away from the beaten path, these narrow streets reveal Pisa in its everyday student and artisan life.
Activities (4)
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAActivity
Luminara di San Ranieri
Each 16 June, the façades of all the palaces on the Arno are illuminated by 70,000 candles. This unique spectacle, celebrated since the 16th century, is the city's most moving annual gathering.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAActivity
Gioco del Ponte - Museo delle Navi Antiche di Pisa
This museum houses the wrecks of Roman ships discovered by chance in 1998 during construction works. One of the 20th century's most important archaeological discoveries, still undergoing excavation and restoration.
Wikipedia (fr) - CC BY-SAActivity
Vettovaglie Market
The covered market in the city centre, active since the 19th century, where Pisans shop each morning. Pecorino cheeses, Cinta Senese charcuterie, vegetables from the plain—an immersion in local commerce.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAActivity
Cycling the Walls of Pisa
The medieval ramparts of Pisa (12 km long) are passable by bicycle around almost their entire perimeter. A unique way to read the city's form and observe hidden private gardens between the towers.
More to discover (4)
Wikipedia (fr) - CC BY-SAPlace
Porta a Mare Quarter
The former neighbourhood of medieval sailors and shipyards, now undergoing cultural renaissance. Old warehouses now house art galleries, luthiers' workshops and a museum of naval history in the making.
Wikipedia (fr) - CC BY-SAPlace
Piazza delle Vettovaglie
The true gathering place of Pisans, surrounded by Renaissance porticoes and bars where students and long-time residents mingle from morning onwards. Evening aperitivos around a Negroni have a particularly local flavour here.
Wikipedia (it) - CC BY-SAPlace
Borgo Stretto
The historic shopping street beneath its medieval arcades, where Pisans have shopped since the Middle Ages. Skip the chains and enter the small craft shops and independent bookshops.
Place
Cimitero Suburbano della Misericordia
A monumental 19th-century cemetery with covered galleries of neoclassical and symbolist sculpture, comparable to Père Lachaise in atmosphere. Pisans come to pay respects and lovers of funerary art find their haven.