Mura di Pisa
My daughter and I went on a Mediterranean Cruise in March of 2025. One of our stops was in Livorno, Italy. Rather than purchasing an excursion through the cruise ship, we rode the train from Livorno to Pisa so that we could visit the Square of Miracles and climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
We took a taxi from the cruise ship to the Livorno train station. From there, using the Trainline app, we purchased tickets on the next train headed to Pisa. The train ride from Stazione Livorno Centrale (Livorno Central Train Station) to Pisa Centrale Train Station is only about 15 minutes and costs just over 3 euro each way. It is well worth the money!
From the station it is only about a 25 minute walk from Pisa Centrale to the Square of Miracles where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is. Make your reservations to climb the tower ahead of time so that you can definitely get in. The square is open all the time, but the buildings on the square don't open until 9 or 10 am. You can visit several different buildings in the Square of Miracles. We arrived on the square before the first building opened at 9, and just walked around and enjoyed the outside of the buildings.
After we completed our tour of the Square of Miracles, we went to the far corner of the square where we found the tower to access the ancient walls of Pisa, the Torre Santa Maria. You don't need to leave the square to be able to access the tower to climb up onto the walls. It only costs 5 euro to climb up the tower onto the ancient walls and then you can walk to the left for a short distance to reach one end of the walls, and then turn and walk to the other end of the walls, which is only a 1.93 mile walk all the way to the end. The walls are 36 feet high. Here is their official website, although you can purchase the tickets at each tower except the last one closest to the Arno river:
While the Leaning Tower was my favorite part of Pisa, my daughter's favorite part was walking on the ancient walls and viewing the city from this high perspective. My fear of heights didn't prevent me from enjoying this walk. It is perfectly safe. They do close it during times of rain, but luckily we were able to get up onto the walls during a break in the rain and, although it did sprinkle on us while we were up there, we were fine and completed the walk without incident. This is another MUST when you visit Pisa!
They close the walls of Pisa during times of rain, and it was sprinkling on the day we visited Pisa, but the rain stopped long enough for us to climb onto the walls and walk them without being too affected.
Construction of the Ancient Walls began in 1154. The Porta del Leone was the first gate opened in the wall during the construction period. The Walls are open every day from 10 a.m. until between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. depending on the time of year and daylight hours.
Towers to access the wall are:
* Torre Santa Maria
* Bastione del Parlascio
* Torre Piezometrica Porta Pacis
* Piazza della Gondole
* Torre di Legno
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| view of the Ancient Walls and the Torre Santa Maria from inside the Square of Miracles |
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| You can see people walking on the Ancient Walls of Pisa |
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| access doors for the Ancient Walls |
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| View of the Baptistery from the Ancient Walls |
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| Cimitero Ebraico, beyond the Ancient Walls - a Jewish cemetery |
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| View of the Cathedral from the Ancient Walls |
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| Lion's Gate - the Porta del Leone is below this lion. It was the first gateway built in the wall. |
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| View of the Cathedral and Camposanto from the Ancient Walls - you can also see the Leaning Tower peeking up over the Cathedral |
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| Another view of the Ebraico Cemetery from the Ancient Walls |
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| The Square of Miracles view from the Ancient Walls |
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| The far end of the walls before we turned around and headed to the other side -- a total of 1.93 miles according to my Map my Run app. |
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| Back to Lion's Gate |
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| View of the Tower from the Ancient Walls |
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| View of Lion's Gate from inside the Square of Miracles |
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| Google maps location of Nero's Baths, which is very close to the 2nd access tower for the walls: Bagni di Nerone |
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| Piezometrica Tower and Pacis Gate - a third access to the walls |
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| Church of San Francesco |
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| We walked over this grate which had a view down to the road below |
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| This is where the wall goes over the road with a grate to watch the cars drive by: Porta Calcesana |
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The final tower, where we exited the walls, near the Arno River
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| The full route of the Ancient Walls |
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