Day trip from La Spezia to Pisa by train

Is a day trip from La Spezia to Pisa worth it?

Yes, for most people staying in La Spezia or the Cinque Terre. Pisa sits on the main coastal rail line, so there is no car, no bus and no change of train: you board at La Spezia Centrale and step off in Pisa a little over an hour later. On the way the line runs along the foot of the Apuan Alps, and the white marble quarries above Carrara are visible from the window. The town itself is flat and compact, so the whole day happens on foot.

What Pisa gives you that La Spezia does not is the Piazza dei Miracoli: the Baptistery, the Camposanto, the cathedral and the leaning bell tower standing together on one lawn of white marble. Even travellers who expect a tourist trap find the scale and the strange angle of the tower striking in person. The tour then leaves the square for the old town, with the knights' square, a Keith Haring mural and a tiny Gothic church, which is the part of Pisa most day visitors never see.

The cost is modest: about two hours on the train in total and a morning start. If you already know the cathedral square, or if you have only one day in Tuscany and care most about Renaissance art, the time is better spent elsewhere.

Who this day trip suits

• First-time visitors to Italy who want to see the Leaning Tower without planning a complicated day
• Cinque Terre guests looking for a calm, flat city day between hiking days
• Travellers on a budget: two regional train tickets and a walk cover most of the day
• Architecture lovers who want to see the Romanesque buildings of the cathedral square up close
• Anyone moving between the Cinque Terre and Florence, since Pisa lies on the same line

Go if you want the Leaning Tower and a relaxed, easy city day from La Spezia; choose Florence instead if you are after the great art collections, or Portofino if you would rather spend the day by the sea.

Other day trips from La Spezia

• Florence2 h 21 minFlorence is the choice if art museums matter more to you than a single great square: the Galleria dell'Accademia, the cathedral and the Ponte Vecchio need a full day. The train ride is about twice as long as to Pisa, so the day is longer and busier, while Pisa leaves room for a slow lunch.
• Portofino1 h 40 minPortofino swaps Pisa's marble monuments for the sea: a small harbour piazza, Castello Brown and a walk out to the lighthouse. Pick it if you want a coastal day in Liguria rather than another city, and accept that getting there combines more than one means of transport instead of Pisa's single direct train.

Your La Spezia to Pisa day trip itinerary

Day plan for: Mon–Sun

The day hangs on the direct train out shortly after eight and the train back just after four, with the walking tour, a booked slot for the tower climb and a visit to the Camposanto in between.

1. Morning08:21 – 09:40

   Take the direct regional train shortly after eight from La Spezia Centrale, arriving at Pisa Centrale just after half past nine. Walk north through the centre to the Piazza dei Miracoli and be at the Baptistery around a quarter past ten.

   This train runs every day and gets you to the square in the morning with the whole day ahead; later departures cut into your time on the cathedral square, and on weekdays there is a long gap after the mid-morning trains.

2. Tour10:15 – 12:45

   Open the tour in your browser at the Baptistery. The AI Tour Guide greets you, tells the stories of the square and asks what interests you as it leads you from the Baptistery, seen from outside, to the Camposanto around a quarter to eleven, where you go inside, the cathedral a little after eleven and the Leaning Tower shortly before noon, where you climb in your booked slot.

   All four buildings stand on one square only minutes apart, so the whole cathedral complex fits into the morning. The square fills with tour groups from late morning, which is why a timed tower ticket booked in advance matters.

   1. 1Baptistery of Pisa
   2. 2Camposanto Monumentale
   3. 3Pisa Cathedral
   4. 4Leaning Tower of Pisa

   Start the Pisa tour

3. Lunch12:45 – 13:45

   Have lunch after the Leaning Tower and before Piazza dei Cavalieri, in the streets of the old town on the way between the two.

   The cathedral square is busiest around midday, and the souvenir stalls in front of it are not where you want to eat; a few streets towards the knights' square it is already quieter, and the old-town half of the tour follows straight after.

4. Afternoon13:45 – 15:30

   The guide picks up again at Piazza dei Cavalieri around a quarter to two and leads you on to the Tuttomondo mural and then Santa Maria della Spina, all seen from outside. The tour ends there around a quarter to three, which leaves about three quarters of an hour spare for a coffee or a slower second look at any place you liked.

   The second half of the tour is open streets and squares, so it runs on your own pace and does not depend on ticket slots or opening times.

   1. 5Piazza dei Cavalieri
   2. 6Tuttomondo
   3. 7Santa Maria della Spina
5. Return15:30 – 17:20

   Leave Santa Maria della Spina by half past three at the latest and walk back to Pisa Centrale. Take the train just after four, which arrives at La Spezia Centrale in the late afternoon.

   The walk to the station plus a quarter hour of buffer fits comfortably, so you can buy and validate your ticket without rushing.

Arrival to return departure: 6 h 26 min. Time for your visit: about 5.5 h.

Arrival 09:40, tour start 10:15: 35 min to walk to the start.

Realistically you get over five hours in Pisa; if you arrive late, shorten the end of the tour by leaving out Santa Maria della Spina and then Tuttomondo, and keep the cathedral square in the morning as planned.

A Pisa walking tour in one day, from the Baptistery to Santa Maria della Spina

Opening hours as of 8 October 2026.

1. 
   1Stop 1

   Baptistery of Pisa

   The round Baptistery was begun in 1152 by the architect Diotisalvi, who signed and dated his work, to replace an older baptistery on the same square.

   Website

   opapisa.it ↗

   Price

   Seen from outside on the tour; going inside is optional and not included in this total.

   Location

   Baptistery of Pisa on Google Maps ↗

2. 
   2Stop 2

   Camposanto Monumentale

   The Camposanto, the old monumental cemetery, closes off the northern edge of the cathedral square with its long marble walls.

   Hours

   Daily: 09:00–20:00

   Website

   opapisa.it ↗

   Location

   Camposanto Monumentale on Google Maps ↗

3. 
   3Stop 3

   Pisa Cathedral

   The medieval cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the reason the whole square exists, and its tower, baptistery and cemetery all belong to it.

   Hours

   Daily: 10:00–18:00

   Price

   Free

   Website

   opapisa.it ↗

   Location

   Pisa Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

4. 
   4Stop 4

   Leaning Tower of Pisa

   The Leaning Tower is the freestanding bell tower of the cathedral, and climbing it lets you feel the tilt that you only see from the lawn.

   Hours

   Daily: 09:00–20:00

   Website

   opapisa.it ↗

   Price

   €20

   Location

   Leaning Tower of Pisa on Google Maps ↗

5. 
   5Stop 5

   Piazza dei Cavalieri

   The Knights' Square was the political centre of medieval Pisa and is still the city's second main square.

   Price

   Free

   Website

   turismo.pisa.it ↗

   Location

   Piazza dei Cavalieri on Google Maps ↗

6. 
   6Stop 6

   Tuttomondo

   Tuttomondo, painted by Keith Haring in 1989 on the rear wall of the church of Sant'Antonio Abate, is one of the last public murals he made before his death.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Tuttomondo on Google Maps ↗

7. 
   7Stop 7

   Santa Maria della Spina

   This small Pisan Gothic church from around 1230, enlarged after 1325, was first named after a bridge that once stood nearby.

   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

   Website

   comune.pisa.it ↗

   Location

   Santa Maria della Spina on Google Maps ↗

Getting back from Pisa to La Spezia