Tuscany · Pisa
Pisa
Maritime republic on the Arno, twelve kilometers from the Ligurian Sea, with the leaning bell tower at the center of a single UNESCO-listed walled compound.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 13.
The letter
Pisa got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- Airport
- In the comune (PSA)
- By car
- 1 h 19 min from Florence
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 89,422
- J12°
- F14°
- M16°
- A19°
- M23°
- J28°
- J31°
- A32°
- S27°
- O22°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 29° and coldest in February at 13°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
The Arno reaches the Ligurian Sea twelve kilometers past the city, and the river is what built it: an Arsenal on its banks built galleys for the Crusades, and Mediterranean trade paid for the walled compound northwest of the centro. That compound, inscribed by UNESCO as one of the first Italian sites in 1987, gathers four buildings of the same Pisan Romanesque school in one field, the cathedral, the baptistery, the cemetery cloister and the bell tower, close enough to read as a single composition rather than a set of monuments visited separately. The city has a second center away from that field.
Piazza dei Cavalieri became the Medici political seat after the republic fell, and the university founded in 1343 keeps both squares populated with people who live and work there rather than pass through. The Lungarni tie the two halves together physically, two quays following the river on both banks, lined with palazzi spanning the twelfth to the nineteenth century. What this adds up to is a town built in two unequal pieces: a religious and civic compound frozen at its medieval peak, and a working river city around it that never stopped adding centuries to its banks.
How to get there
Pisa has its own airport (PSA), about 25 min from the middle of town.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 2 h away.
By car from the center of Florence 1 h 19 min or Genoa 1 h 57 min.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Pisa, Florence or Genoa?
Coming by train into Livorno Centrale? Pisa is about 20 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Pisa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Torre Pendente
Finished 1372, two centuries after it began, the lean is visible from ground level without needing to climb it, south of vertical against the other three white buildings of the square.
Duomo di Pisa
Pisan Romanesque cathedral begun 1064 by Buscheto, financed from the Mediterranean trade, with bronze doors by Bonanno Pisano and a pulpit by Giovanni Pisano.
Battistero di San Giovanni
Largest baptistery in Italy at 54.86 meters tall, begun 1152, Romanesque base and Gothic upper level, with a pulpit by Nicola Pisano.
Camposanto Monumentale
Walled cloister begun 1278 around soil said to have been brought back from Golgotha, 43 blind arches, with damaged Trecento frescoes including the Triumph of Death.
Piazza dei Cavalieri
Vasari-designed square at the political center of Medici Pisa, with Palazzo della Carovana, headquarters of the Scuola Normale since 1810.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
ErbaluigiaTrattoria
Two Gambero Rosso prawns for Erbaluigia, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Caffè dell'UsseroCaffè
Caffè dell'Ussero holds a place on Italy's historic-locali register.
Ristorante PoldinoRistorante
A place on Italy's historic-locali register, at Ristorante Poldino.
2 more places the guides name in Pisa
Vicolo diVinoWine Bar
Vicolo diVino has a Gambero Rosso listing to its name.
Royal Victoria HotelHotel
A place on Italy's historic-locali register, at Royal Victoria Hotel.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Pisa is a city.
- A city of 89,422 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
- A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 89,422, up 0.2% since 2015
- Train station in the comune
- A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,900 to €2,950 per m² to buy, €8.10 to €12.40 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- A local hub
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Pisa airport (PSA), 25 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 1 h 19 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
14% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from the Philippines, Albania and Romania, against 9% across Italy. 388 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United States. There are 255 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 19% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Pisa province ranks 29th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
There is a major emergency department in the comune. The nearest children's emergency room is in Camaiore, 25 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Florence, 70 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Bilingual School Lucca, 16 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Working from here
Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.5% and 0.8% to your income tax, depending on your income. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 31% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 47% in a high or medium one. They show no residents in a high landslide zone.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
TORRE PENDENTE
Bell tower of the Duomo begun 1173, leaning four degrees after subsidence on alluvial soil, stabilized by engineering work concluded in 2008.
MARITIME REPUBLIC
One of the four Italian maritime republics from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, with a fleet that took Sardinia, the Balearics and Mediterranean trade routes.
UNIVERSITY
Università di Pisa founded 1343, Scuola Normale since 1810 at Piazza dei Cavalieri, both still central to the working city beyond the tower.
Common questions
- What is Pisa known for?
- Maritime republic on the Arno, twelve kilometers from the Ligurian Sea, with the leaning bell tower at the center of a single UNESCO-listed walled compound.
- Where is Pisa?
- Pisa is a comune in the province of Pisa, in Tuscany, at 4 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Pisa?
- Pisa has its own airport (PSA), about 25 min from the middle of town by car.
- Can you get to Pisa without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Florence to Pisa?
- About 1 h 19 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Pisa?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 17 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Pisa?
- Grosseto, Livorno and Pozzuoli.
- How many people live in Pisa?
- 89,422 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Pisa a good place to live?
- Pisa is a city of 89,422 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 4 m
- Population: 89,422
- Surface area: 185.07 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Pisa appears in
- The 6 best coastal towns inside a nature park in TuscanyTuscanycoastalinside a park6 towns · smallest 12,301 residents
- The best coastal towns within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencecoastalwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 6,666 residents · closest 78 min away
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of PisaPisa provinceserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 2,192 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site that are worth a night in TuscanyTuscanyworth staying overnightWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 1,928 residents
- The best towns with a World Heritage site within 90 minutes of FlorenceNear Florencewithin 90 minWorld Heritage6 towns · smallest 7,452 residents · closest 39 min away
- The 7 best towns inside a nature park that have a serious restaurant in TuscanyTuscanyinside a parkserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 2,898 residents
Instead of Pisa: hill towns and coastal towns within 90 minutes
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 15.
San Giuliano Terme
Province: Pisa
A thermal spa ten kilometers from Pisa, where the springs were bathed since the Romans called them Aquae Pisanae.
21 min by car
- Written about. No. 16.
Livorno
Province: Livorno
Tuscany's working port and Medici-planned 'New City', a 16th-century planned town built on reclaimed coast, with a Venice-like canal quarter, the Quattro Mori monument, and a 1.5-km seafront promenade that locals call the world's most beautiful balcony.
24 min by car
- Written about. No. 12.
Lucca
Province: Lucca
The provincial capital ringed by four kilometers of intact sixteenth-century walls, birthplace of Puccini and the only fully walled Italian city of its scale.
16 km away
The letter
Pisa got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.