Pose At Pisa
Ticked off
A marble bell tower leaning nearly four degrees off true, still standing after 850 years of everyone expecting it to fall.
The adventure
The first glimpse comes through the gate of the Piazza dei Miracoli: a bright green lawn, a white marble cathedral, and behind it a tower that looks as if it has had one drink too many. It is genuinely odd to see in person, a 56-metre stack of arcaded marble that leans further than any photo suggests.
Climbing it is stranger still. The 251 worn steps spiral up inside the hollow core, and as you go round you feel yourself pulled towards one wall, then the other. At the top, among the seven bells, the whole of Pisa spreads out in terracotta roofs, with the Apuan Alps on the horizon. Back on the grass, everyone lines up to prop it up for the camera, and somehow you will too.
Why it’s epic
- Construction began in 1173, and the tower was already leaning by the third storey because of soft ground on one side.
- Engineers closed it from 1990 to 2001 and pulled it back by more than 40 centimetres so it could safely reopen.
- The Piazza dei Miracoli, with its cathedral, baptistery and cemetery, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987.
- Legend has Galileo, born in Pisa, dropping balls from the top to test how objects fall.
What it is
The Leaning Tower of Pisa began tilting during construction in the 12th century.
How to do it
Visit as a day trip from Florence, about an hour by train. Book a timed ticket to climb the tower.
Top tip
Everyone takes the holding-up photo, so walk round to the other side for a quieter view.
Need to know
- Tower climbs run in timed slots of around 30 minutes and sell out in summer, so book online ahead.
- Children under eight can't climb, and bags must be left in the cloakroom.
- Pisa airport is a few minutes from the centre, and Florence is about an hour away by train.
Plan this trip
- Rough cost
- £750 to £2,000 per person, including flights from the UK
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Best time to go
- April to June, September to October
- Fly into
- PSA airport
Cheap flights into Pisa keep it affordable; the tower climb ticket is the main extra.
Do it yourself
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My experience
Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.
Over to you
Is “Pose At Pisa” on your bucket list, or have you already done it? Tell me in the comments, and if you've got a question about it, ask away and I'll answer.