How about a visit to Pisa in the beautiful region of Tuscany? Here’s our selection of the best places to stay in Pisa!
Emblematic of the famous leaning tower – la torre pendente – Pisa is the fifth largest city in Tuscany, located between Florence and the Mediterranean Sea. An ancient commercial and maritime power from Antiquity to the Middle Ages, the Pisan city is home to 90,000 inhabitants and boasts an impressive historical and cultural heritage compared to its small size: Piazza del Duomo – including the famous leaning tower -, numerous squares, churches and buildings erected in the Middle Ages. It was here that a certain Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was born. As elsewhere in northern Italy, accommodation can be expensive, especially during the summer months when millions of tourists come to take pictures of themselves in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Split in two by the River Arno, the city comprises four historic districts: Santa Maria, San Francesco, Sant’ Antonio and San Martino.
Santa Maria
Photo credit: Flickr – Marlon Dias
To sleep in Pisa, we recommend the Santa Maria district, very central and peaceful. It’s not far from the Piazza dei Mira coli, where you can visit the Leaning Tower and the imposing Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. This is the ideal district in which to stay in Pisa, as everything is within easy reach: historic monuments, the bustling center where you can shop at the market – Piazza delle Vettovaglie – during the day and party in the evening, with its narrow cobbled pedestrian streets dotted with small boutiques for shopping. Scattered throughout this picturesque old town are a number of quiet little bars, and of course restaurants where you can sample Tuscan specialties: pici (a kind of spaghetti), zuppe (fish dishes), and the famous bruschetta with olive oil.
San Francesco
Photo credit: Flickr – Jean-Paul Navarro
San Francesco is less noisy than Santa Maria. If you’re looking for a very quiet place to stay in Pisa, you’ll love it. In the evening, take an evening stroll along the banks of the Arno, and enjoy a meal at one of Pisa’s restaurants: Italian gastronomy is one of the best and most renowned in the world! A quiet area to sleep in Pisa, with small squares nestling in the narrow streets.
San Martino
Photo credit: Flickr – Pom Angers
San Martino is a lively neighborhood on the southern banks of the Arno. You can stroll peacefully between the quays and the Scotto garden. Shows are staged here all summer long. Here, too, you’ll find charming, centuries-old alleys and churches, including Keith Haring’s « Tuttomondo », a work of street art that illuminates this district of Pisa.
Sant’ Antonio
Photo credit: Flickr – Renato Torii
This district has the advantage of being very close to Pisa’s main railway station. It’s the ideal place to set down your luggage and sleep in Pisa if you arrive late at night or early in the morning by train. Numerous stores line the city’s main shopping street, adjoining Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II: Corso Italia.
Main photo credit: Flickr – Herbert Frank