Day trip from Florence to Pisa by regional train

Outbound 1 hAbout 6 h for your visit in Pisa
Costs for the dayGroup: €129.19 to €149.19, excluding the items marked *2 adults, recommended sights, with AI Tour Guide and food* Not included: Camposanto Monumentale.Work out your costs ↓
Start the Pisa tourSee the day plan
Pisa

Pisa is an easy day trip from Florence: the direct regional train takes about an hour each way and runs all day, so you can leave after breakfast and be back before dinner. That gives you about six hours in Pisa, enough for the cathedral square, the Leaning Tower and a walk through the old town down to the Arno.

Is a day trip from Florence to Pisa worth it?

Yes, and it is one of the simplest days out of Florence. Direct regional trains leave Firenze Santa Maria Novella several times an hour and reach Pisa Centrale in about an hour, so there is no need to book far ahead or fix your return early. The train is the obvious choice: driving means the limited traffic zone inside the walls and a paid car park outside them.

What Pisa gives you that Florence does not is the cathedral square: baptistery, cathedral, monumental cemetery and the bell tower that leans, all on one open lawn. The tower can look smaller in person than in photos, so the ensemble is the real reason to come. Beyond the square, Pisa is a calmer university town on the Arno, with the knights' square, a Keith Haring mural and a tiny Gothic church on the riverbank.

The cost is modest: about two hours on the train in total and the walk from the station to the square and back. If you only go for a photo with the tower, the day feels thin; if you walk the whole route, Pisa fills a relaxed day.

Who this day trip suits

  • First-time visitors to Tuscany who want to see the Leaning Tower without losing a whole day to travel
  • Travellers without a car, because the direct train does all the work
  • Families, since the tour is short on foot and the cathedral square is open and easy to keep an eye on
  • Visitors who want to climb the tower, which is the ticket worth planning the day around
  • Travellers who like a slower town after the crowds of Florence

Go if you want the Leaning Tower and the cathedral square with an easy train ride and a relaxed walk afterwards; pick Siena or Lucca if you would rather spend the day in a whole medieval town than around one great square.

Other day trips from Florence

How to get from Florence to Pisa by train

Take a direct Trenitalia regional train (Regionale or Regionale Veloce) from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale: it is fast, frequent and needs no planning beyond picking a departure. FlixBus and Autolinee Toscane buses also link the two cities, but only a few times a day at awkward hours, so they rarely fit a day trip.

Train: Trenitalia Regionale

Direct regional trains run from Firenze Santa Maria Novella to Pisa Centrale from early morning until late evening, several an hour on weekdays and a little fewer on Sundays. Most take about an hour, some stop more often and take noticeably longer, so look at the journey time in the table and pick a direct train of around an hour. Buy your ticket from Trenitalia, at the station machines or online; the regional fare is shown in the cost tool. On the way back, a few connections change at Empoli, which is fine, but a direct train is simpler.

Operator
Trenitalia Regionale
Route
Firenze Santa Maria Novella → Pisa Centrale
Journey time
1 h
Morning departures
Monday to Friday: 24 departures; Saturday: 22 departures; Sunday: 17 departures
Travel fare
Outward €9.80; return €9.80 (€19.60 return total)

Tickets at Trenitalia ↗

From Pisa Centrale, walk north along Corso Italia, cross the Arno at Ponte di Mezzo and continue through the old town to the cathedral square; plan around 40 minutes including a few photo stops. Keep your bag closed at the station, which has a reputation for pickpockets.

Timetable

departures by weekday
DaysDepartureArrivalDuration
Monday to Sunday08:2809:281 h
Show all departures (26)
departures by weekday
DaysDepartureArrivalDuration
Monday to Sunday05:3506:351 h
Monday to Sunday06:0807:321 h 24 min
Monday to Sunday06:5308:061 h 13 min
Monday to Sunday07:0007:5151 min
Monday to Sunday07:2808:281 h
Monday to Saturday07:3809:001 h 22 min
Monday to Sunday07:5309:041 h 11 min
Monday to Friday and Sunday08:0509:221 h 17 min
Monday to Sunday08:2809:281 h
Sunday08:5010:041 h 14 min
Monday to Saturday08:5310:041 h 11 min
Monday to Sunday09:2810:281 h
Monday to Saturday09:3810:591 h 21 min
Monday to Saturday09:5311:041 h 11 min
Monday to Sunday10:2811:281 h
Monday to Sunday10:5312:041 h 11 min
Monday to Sunday11:0011:5151 min
Monday to Friday11:2812:2557 min
Saturday to Sunday11:2812:2658 min
Monday to Sunday11:3812:591 h 21 min
Monday to Saturday11:5313:041 h 11 min
Monday to Sunday12:2813:281 h
Monday to Sunday12:5314:041 h 11 min
Monday to Saturday13:0013:5151 min
Monday to Friday13:1614:451 h 29 min
Monday to Saturday13:2814:281 h

Timetable: Trenitalia, as of 22 October 2026

departures by weekday
RouteDaysDepartureArrivalDuration
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia16:3217:331 h 1 min
Show all departures (33)
departures by weekday
RouteDaysDepartureArrivalDuration
Pisa (Pietrasantina car park) → Florence (Villa Costanza)Monday and Thursday · FlixBus12:0013:051 h 5 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Saturday · Trenitalia12:0113:231 h 22 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia12:3213:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Saturday · Trenitalia12:5414:071 h 13 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia13:0914:0152 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia13:3214:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia13:5415:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia14:0115:251 h 24 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia14:3215:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia14:5416:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Saturday · Trenitalia15:0916:0152 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Saturday · Trenitalia15:3216:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia15:5417:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Friday and Sunday · Trenitalia16:0117:251 h 24 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia16:3217:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia16:5418:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia17:0918:0152 min
Pisa (Pietrasantina car park) → Florence (Villa Costanza)Monday to Thursday · FlixBus17:1018:101 h
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia17:3218:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia17:5419:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Friday and Sunday · Trenitalia18:0119:231 h 22 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia18:3219:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia18:5420:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia19:0920:0152 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia19:3220:331 h 1 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia19:5421:081 h 14 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Friday · Trenitalia19:5821:231 h 25 min
Pisa (Pietrasantina car park) → Florence (Villa Costanza)Monday · FlixBus20:1522:051 h 50 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia20:3221:391 h 7 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Saturday · Trenitalia20:4221:571 h 15 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia21:0122:261 h 25 min
Pisa Centrale → Firenze Santa Maria NovellaMonday to Sunday · Trenitalia21:3222:321 h
Pisa (Pietrasantina car park) → Florence (Villa Costanza)Monday and Thursday · FlixBus22:0023:001 h

Timetable: Trenitalia, as of 22 October 2026

Timetable: FlixBus, as of 22 October 2026

Florence to Pisa day trip itinerary: one relaxed day

Day plan for: Mon–Sun

Leave Florence after breakfast on a direct train, start the tour at the Baptistery around a quarter past ten before the square fills up, eat after the tower and be back in Florence in the early evening.

  1. Morning08:28 – 09:28

    Take the direct regional train at around half past eight from Firenze Santa Maria Novella, arrive at Pisa Centrale around half past nine and walk up through the centre to the cathedral square.

    An early but unhurried train puts you on the square while the sights have just opened, and the walk shows you the town on the way.

  2. Tour10:15 – 12:45

    Open the tour in the browser at the Baptistery. The AI Tour Guide greets you and leads you around the square: from the Baptistery to the Camposanto Monumentale, then the Cathedral and finally the Leaning Tower, telling the stories of each and asking what you want to know more about. The Camposanto and the tower are the two tickets of the day, so allow time to go inside the cemetery and for the climb.

    The square holds four of the seven stops close together, and doing them in the morning means you see them before the midday crowds and still have the afternoon for the old town.

    1. Baptistery of Pisa, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour1Baptistery of Pisa
    2. Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour2Camposanto Monumentale
    3. Pisa Cathedral, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour3Pisa Cathedral
    4. Leaning Tower of Pisa, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour4Leaning Tower of Pisa

    Start the Pisa tour

  3. Lunch12:45 – 13:45

    Eat after the Leaning Tower and before heading to Piazza dei Cavalieri: a sandwich at L'Ostellino or a sit-down meal at Osteria In Domo on Via Santa Maria or Ristorante Allabona near the tower.

    The square is done, you have been on your feet all morning, and many restaurants close between lunch and dinner, so midday is the time to sit down.

  4. Afternoon13:45 – 16:00

    The guide continues to Piazza dei Cavalieri, then south across the river to the Keith Haring mural Tuttomondo near the station, and from there turns back north to end at Santa Maria della Spina on the Arno, all seen from outside. If you have time left, browse Corso Italia on the way back to the station.

    After lunch the walk turns into the quieter part of town, and the route ends on the river, on the station side of the Arno.

    1. Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour5Piazza dei Cavalieri
    2. Tuttomondo in Pisa, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour6Tuttomondo
    3. Santa Maria della Spina in Pisa, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour7Santa Maria della Spina
  5. Return16:00 – 17:33

    Leave Santa Maria della Spina by four at the latest, walk back to Pisa Centrale with some buffer and take the direct train at around half past four, arriving in Florence around half past five.

    The walk from the river to the station takes about a quarter of an hour, and the buffer keeps the train relaxed; you are back in Florence in time for dinner.

Arrival to return departure: 7 h 4 min. Time for your visit: about 6 h.

Arrival 09:28, tour start 10:15: 35 min to walk to the start, 12 min spare.

You get about six hours in Pisa; if you arrive late, keep the cathedral square and shorten the end of the tour by the river.

Best day to visit Pisa from Florence

  1. Monday: recommended
  2. Tuesday: recommended
  3. Wednesday: recommended
  4. Thursday: recommended
  5. Friday: recommended
  6. Saturday: recommended
  7. Sunday: recommended

Pisa walking tour in one day: from the cathedral square to the Arno

The walking tour is how you see Pisa on this day: it starts at the Baptistery on the cathedral square, crosses the old town to Piazza dei Cavalieri and on to the Haring mural near the station, then turns back to end at Santa Maria della Spina on the river, about 2.7 km and under 40 minutes of pure walking. The AI Tour Guide leads the walk as a conversation, so the stops become stories rather than a checklist.

The Pisa tour: your guide leads you from stop to stop.
  1. Baptistery of Pisa
  2. Camposanto Monumentale
  3. Pisa Cathedral
  4. Leaning Tower of Pisa
  5. Piazza dei Cavalieri
  6. Tuttomondo
  7. Santa Maria della Spina

Start the Pisa tour

Opening hours as of 8 October 2026.

  1. Baptistery of Pisa, stop 1 on the self-guided walking tour
    1Stop 1

    Baptistery of Pisa

    Begun in 1152 under Diotisalvi, who signed and dated his work, the round Baptistery replaced an older one and opens the square.

    Price
    Seen from outside on the tour; going inside is optional and not included in this total.
  2. Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa, stop 2 on the self-guided walking tour
    2Stop 2

    Camposanto Monumentale

    The old monumental cemetery closes the northern edge of the cathedral square with its long marble wall.

    Hours
    Daily: 09:00–20:00
  3. Pisa Cathedral, stop 3 on the self-guided walking tour
    3Stop 3

    Pisa Cathedral

    The medieval cathedral of the Assumption is the building the whole square was laid out around.

    Hours
    Daily: 10:00–18:00
    Price
    Free
  4. Leaning Tower of Pisa, stop 4 on the self-guided walking tour
    4Stop 4

    Leaning Tower of Pisa

    The famous tower is the cathedral's freestanding bell tower, and climbing it is the highlight of the day.

    Hours
    Daily: 09:00–20:00
    Price
    €20
  5. Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa, stop 5 on the self-guided walking tour
    5Stop 5

    Piazza dei Cavalieri

    Pisa's second main square was the political centre of the medieval city.

    Price
    Free
  6. Tuttomondo in Pisa, stop 6 on the self-guided walking tour
    6Stop 6

    Tuttomondo

    Keith Haring painted this mural in 1989 on the rear wall of Sant'Antonio Abate, one of the last public works before his death.

    Price
    Free
  7. Santa Maria della Spina in Pisa, stop 7 on the self-guided walking tour
    7Stop 7

    Santa Maria della Spina

    This small Pisan Gothic church from around 1230 sits right on the Arno and was first named after a bridge that once stood there.

    Hours (optional interior visit)
    Mon, Tue: closed
    Wed–Fri: 15:00–18:00
    Sat, Sun: 10:00–13:00, 15:00–18:00
    Price
    Free
AI Tour Guide in Pisa

Your guide for the Pisa tour

The AI Tour Guide leads this walk from the Baptistery to Santa Maria della Spina as a spoken conversation: it tells you why the tower leans and who ruled from the knights' square, asks what you want to hear more about and remembers it for the stops that follow. You start it in the browser at the Baptistery, and the route with navigation between the stops is free.

stops
7
route
2.7 km
walking only
37 min
with visits
3 h 22 min
  • 100 free credits to start
  • €19.99 once for the whole group
  • Travel and admission tickets are not included
Start the Pisa tourSee the whole tour →

Florence to Pisa day trip cost

The day costs you the regional train both ways, two entrances on the cathedral square, the Leaning Tower climb and the Camposanto Monumentale, and lunch. The Baptistery and the stops in the old town are seen from outside, so the cost tool leaves them out, and you can drop the Camposanto if the tower is all you want to climb or go into.

Adults
Children

* Not included: Camposanto Monumentale.

One device is enough for the whole group: two people listen on two connected headphones, larger groups use the phone speaker.

Cost breakdown

Costs for 2 adults · planned visits

Travel there and backTrenitalia Regionale2 adults × €19.60€39.20
SightsLeaning Tower of Pisa (tower climb) and Camposanto Monumentale2 adults × €20€40
AI Tour Guide touronce for the whole group€19.99
Food (estimate)€15 to €25 per person€30 to €50
Total*Group: €129.19 to €149.19, excluding the items marked *
Sights
  • €20
  • Camposanto Monumentale
Buffer and private guide

A sandwich from one of the sandwich shops instead of a restaurant table next to the tower is the easiest way to save on lunch.

Prices as of October 2026.

Getting back from Pisa to Florence

Direct regional trains leave Pisa Centrale for Firenze Santa Maria Novella roughly every half hour through the afternoon and evening, so the way back is flexible. Allow about a quarter of an hour on foot from the river to the station plus a quarter of an hour of buffer, and check the journey time of your train, since some take much longer than an hour.

If you run late, drop the end of the tour first, Santa Maria della Spina and then Tuttomondo, and keep the cathedral square. If you miss the last convenient direct train, one later direct train still runs but only reaches Florence close to midnight.

Recommended returnTrenitalia: departs 16:32, arrives 17:33Leave the last stop of the tour by 16:00

Latest return that fits the day: 21:32

  • Trenitalia from Pisa Centrale, Tuesday to Wednesday and Friday to Sunday: departs 21:32, arrives 22:32
  • FlixBus from Pisa (Pietrasantina car park), Monday and Thursday: departs 22:00, arrives 23:00

Questions about the day trip from Florence to Pisa

Can I drive from Florence to Pisa instead?

You can, but you cannot drive inside the city walls because of the limited traffic zone, so you park outside, for example at the Via Cammeo car park, and walk in. The train is simpler and drops you in the centre.

Is there a station closer to the tower than Pisa Centrale?

Pisa San Rossore is closer to the cathedral square, but it is a small station without assistance and most connections from Florence need a change. A few direct trains do stop there, so look up San Rossore in the Trenitalia timetable if you want to save the walk.

Can I stay in Pisa for dinner?

Yes, trains run late. Many restaurants close between lunch and dinner and only reopen in the evening, so plan a walk along Corso Italia or a drink by the river in between.

What should I watch out for around the tower?

Street vendors around the cathedral square can be persistent with souvenirs; a firm no is enough. Keep valuables close at Pisa Centrale as well.

More day trips from Florence

Rome in a day 1 h 25 min Venice in a day 2 h 14 min Siena in a day 1 h 15 min Bologna in a day 37 min Lucca in a day 1 h 20 min San Gimignano in a day 1 h 30 min Assisi in a day 2 h Perugia in a day 2 h Orvieto in a day 2 h 10 min

Sources

Timetables, fares and opening hours come from these operators:

Image credits
AI Tour Guide
Researched and curated by the AI Tour Guide team
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