Tuscany - Italy - page 154

By the time of the first wave of tourists to Italy in the 1800s, Pisa was a deso-
late, half-empty city teeming with beggars camped around its monuments. But
the city's university, founded in 1343, remained open during all those years, and
has maintained Pisa's reputation as a progressive, activist city. Native son Galileo
Galilei was one of those over-educated troublemakers; at the Leaning Tower and
the Duomo, he conducted experiments disproving Church-endorsed “science,”
and, in turn, got in trouble with the authorities.
LAY OF THE LAND
Pisa's nearby Galileo Galilei Airport ( % 050-500707; www.pisa-airport.com)
receives many international as well as regional flights. A 5-minute,

€

1 train trip

or an € 8 cab ride is all you need to get to the center of the city.
Pisa is a convenient 90-minute train ride from Florence. Over 40 trains a day
connect the two cities on a high-speed rail line. Rome is a 3-hour train journey.
Lucca is a half-hour commute, with trains on that line stopping at the San
Rossore station, closer to the Campo di Miracole than Pisa's Centrale station,
where most of the inter-city trains stop. The Centrale station is nearly a mile away
from the Campo, so consider a taxi (about € 6) or a bus (no. 1, 3, or 11).
It's about a 1-hour drive (depending on traffic) to Pisa from Florence via the
autostrada . Lucca is a half-hour trip via the ASS12. Parking in the historical dis-
trict is restricted, but meters can be found just outside the walls for 1

per hour, or at nearby lots for the same rates. Hotels will often let visitors use
(either free or for a charge) an overnight permit which allows for street parking in
the historical district.
Pisa's main tourist office (Piazza Duomo, 1; % 050-560464; www.pisa.turismo.
toscana.it; daily 9:30am-5pm) is on the north side of the Campo, next to the
Leaning Tower ticket office. It has some limited information and pamphlets, but
on the whole it isn't too helpful. The lockers for the Tower (no bags allowed) are
behind the ticket counter, so the place can get pretty packed with people either
waiting for their tour, or coming back to grab their stuff. Another tourist office
with similar brochures is at the train station.
ACCOMMODATIONS IN PISA
It's unlikely that you'll spend the night here, but if you do, consider the following
places.

€

.50 to

€

5
(Via Don G. Boschi, 31; % 050-553084). Its very simple rooms begin at a mere
€ 35 for a single with shared bathroom, € 62 for a double with bathroom, and
€

€ - €€

If you must lodge in Pisa, a good cheap option is the Hotel Helvetica

100 for a four-person room; all rooms contain overhead fans and TVs. For an
additional € 5, you can enjoy breakfast in a colorfully painted side room, and then
check out the hotel's small interior garden, which has a Thai temple.

€€ - €€€

Just outside the walls, behind the Baptistery, is the pleasant Hotel Il

5 9

(Via della Cavallerizza, 12; % 050-562101; www.pisaonline.it/
Giardino). This conveniently located three-story building contains 16 basic but
clean rooms; doubles range from

Giardino

€

80 to

€

115, while one four-bed room can be