Visitor Information—The main tourist office is at Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 16 (http://www.turismo.pisa.it/en; tel. 050/42291; daily 10am–1pm and 2–4pm). There’s also an office near the Leaning Tower on Piazza del Duomo (tel. 05/550-100; daily 9:30am–5:30pm), which offers guided tours and luggage storage. Both offer a basically worthless map (with no street names) for free and sell a decent one for 3€.

Festivals & Markets—Since the 1400s, teams from the north and south sides of the Arno have dressed in Renaissance costumes and tried their darnedest to run one another over with a giant 7-ton (14,000-pound) decorated cart on the Ponte di Mezzo, site of the city's old Roman bridge. This inverse tug-of-war, the Gioco del Ponte, is held on the last Sunday in June. Also in June is the Festa di San Ranieri, when Pisans honor their patron saint by lining the Arno with torches on the 16th, then running a boat race on the 17th. There's an excellent food market Monday through Saturday on and around Piazza delle Vettovaglie.

Getting There

Around 25 trains run between Lucca and Pisa every day (25–35 min.); from Florence, 50 daily trains make the trip (60–90 min.). On the Lucca line, day-trippers should get off at San Rossore station, a few blocks west of Piazza del Duomo and the Leaning Tower. All other trains pull into Pisa Centrale station (eventually the Lucca one will too). The baggage deposit office (Deposito Bagali) is open daily 6am to 9pm, and the cost per bag is 4€ for 12 hours, 6€ for 24 hours. This is handy if you want to stop in Pisa on your way to somewhere else—if you're on the way from Genoa to Florence, for instance. For daytrippers, the last fast connection back to Florence departs around 9:30pm, but check www.trenitalia.com for timetable updates.

There’s a Florence-Pisa fast highway along the Arno valley. Take the SS12 or SS12r from Lucca. Parking anywhere near the Duomo is not easy. Best bet is the Pietrasantina lot, in the northwest corner of the city and well-marked as you exit the autostrada at Pisa Nord; it’s free, within walking distance of the Duomo, and also connected by frequent shuttle-bus service (1€ on the bus or at the cafe in the lot). For details on parking locations and charges, see www.pisamo.it.

Tuscany’s main international airport, Galileo Galilei (www.pisa-airport.com), is just 3km (2 miles) south of the center and is served by many European carriers, with service to and from London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and other international hubs. Trains zip you from the airport to Centrale station in 5 minutes; the LAM Rossa bus departs every 9 minutes for Centrale station and then the Duomo. A metered taxi ride costs 10€ to 15€ (drivers accept credit cards). The so-called PisaMover is an automated tram that runs every 5 to 8 minutes between the airport terminal and Pisa Centrale station (2.70€).

Getting Around

CPT (www.cpt.pisa.it; tel. 050/884284 or 800/012773 in Italy) runs the city’s buses. Bus no. 4 and the LAM Rossa bus run from Pisa Central station to the Piazza del Duomo. It’s also an easy and pleasant 20-minute walk from the station to the Duomo on a route that will take you through the heart of the medieval city. Head north from the station on Corso Italia toward the river, and from the other bank, Via Santa Maria into the Duomo.

Taxis can be found on Piazza della Stazione and Piazza del Duomo. Call a radio taxi at tel. 050/541600 or 055/555330.

Parking—Much of central Pisa is a controlled traffic zone. However, the Pietrasantina lot, in the northwest corner of the city (exit the autostrada at Pisa Nord) offers free parking within walking distance of the Campo; there’s also a shuttle bus from here to the Campo (1.50€).

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