Pisa & Lucca Day Trip: Leaning Tower & Renaissance Walls

Two Tuscan towns in one day: Pisa's marble square and Lucca's walled medieval streets

A full-day tour from Florence covers Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli and the Leaning Tower, then moves to Lucca for a guided walk through Renaissance walls, Piazza dell'Anfiteatro, and the Cathedral of San Martino. The guide leads you through both cities' histories over nine hours, with skip-the-line entry to Pisa Cathedral and a tasting of Buccellato, Lucca's traditional sweet cake. You choose whether to climb the Leaning Tower or explore Pisa independently.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time spent at each5 stops

1. Piazza dei Miracoli1h
2. Pisa CathedralEntry included15m
3. Leaning Tower of Pisa15m
4. Piazza dell'Anfiteatro15m
5. Lucca Cathedral5m

Explore Pisa and Lucca from Florence

• Meet guide at Piazzale Montelungo
• Travel by coach to Pisa
• Enter Piazza dei Miracoli
• Guided walking tour of Pisa monuments
• Visit Pisa Cathedral with skip-the-line
• See Leaning Tower of Pisa
• Travel to Lucca
• Walking tour of Lucca city and walls
• Visit Piazza dell’Anfiteatro
• See Lucca Cathedral exterior
• Free time to explore Lucca
• Return to Florence by coach

The experience

You start at Piazzale Montelungo Bus Terminal, a five-to-ten-minute walk from Santa Maria Novella train station. A coach with air conditioning and Wi-Fi carries you toward Pisa over two hours, and your guide fills the drive with context about what you're about to see. When you arrive at Piazza dei Miracoli, the Square of Miracles, the white marble buildings and perfect green lawns come into focus all at once. Your guide walks you through the square's monuments: the Baptistery exterior, the Monumental Graveyard, and then inside Pisa Cathedral itself, where Romanesque arches frame ancient frescoes and works by Nicola Pisano. The skip-the-line ticket means you step past the queue at the door.

After the Cathedral, you reach the Leaning Tower. Your guide explains why it tilts and what makes it matter. At this point the day splits: you can wander Pisa on your own, or pay the optional fee to climb the tower, ascend past the interior columns, and stand at the top with views across the city's rooftops. Either way, you have time to move at your own pace before the group heads to Lucca, a thirty-minute drive away. Lucca's entire medieval center sits inside Renaissance walls built in the sixteenth century. A local guide meets your group and leads a two-hour walk through the city's streets, stopping at Piazza dell'Anfiteatro: a square that began as a Roman amphitheatre in the first century AD, then became a market, and now holds restaurants and cafés. The guide explains each transformation. You also walk along the city walls themselves, where you can see across Lucca's rooftops and gardens from above.

The tour ends at Lucca Cathedral, where your guide covers its Roman-era origins and the architecture outside. You have time to explore the city on your own before the drive back to Florence, which takes about an hour and gets you back in the early evening. Somewhere in Lucca you'll taste Buccellato, the city's famous traditional sweet cake: a small, concrete moment that stays with you. The guide speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian or French depending on the option you choose at checkout. Some language options run on specific days and need a minimum number of travelers.

What’s included

• Expert multilingual tour leader guiding you through Pisa's Piazza dei Miracoli and Lucca's Renaissance streets.
• skip-the-line entry to Pisa Cathedral.
• fully-fitted coach with air conditioning and free Wi-Fi for the journey from Florence.
• Buccellato cake tasting in Lucca.
• two-hour guided walking tour of Lucca including the city walls and Piazza dell'Anfiteatro.

Options for this experience

9 options

Semi-independent tour in French09:00Included: round-trip transportation and expert tour leader. Not included: Pisa guided tour, Lucca guided tour, and Leaning Tower tickets.

Semi-independent tour in Spanish09:00Included: round-trip transportation and expert tour leader. Not included: Pisa guided tour, Lucca guided tour, and Leaning Tower tickets.

Semi-independent tour in English09:00Included: round-trip transportation and expert tour leader. Not included: Pisa guided tour, Lucca guided tour, and Leaning Tower tickets.

See 6 more options

Tour in Spanish09:00Included: round-trip transportation, expert tour leader, Pisa guided tour, and Lucca guided tour. Not included: Leaning Tower tickets.

Tour in French09:00Included: round-trip transportation, expert tour leader, Pisa guided tour, and Lucca guided tour. Not included: Leaning Tower tickets.

Tour in English09:00Included: round-trip transportation, expert tour leader, Pisa guided tour, and Lucca guided tour. Not included: Leaning Tower tickets.

English tour with the Leaning Tower09:00All-inclusive tour: round-trip transportation, expert tour leader, Pisa guided tour, Lucca guided tour, and Leaning Tower tickets.

Spanish tour with the Leaning Tower09:00All-inclusive tour: round-trip transportation, expert tour leader, Pisa guided tour, Lucca guided tour, and Leaning Tower tickets.

French tour with the Leaning Tower09:00All-inclusive tour: round-trip transportation, expert tour leader, Pisa guided tour, Lucca guided tour, and Leaning Tower tickets.

You'll see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates and prices

Information

Lasts 9h, runs Thursday at 09:00, from € 52 per person, with live guides in 5 languages and with free cancellation up to 24 h before.

Days and timesThursdayDeparts at 09:0011 on other days ›

Book up toStart time

AgesAdult (13 and older) · Youth (8 to 12 years) · Child (4 to 7 years) · Infant (under 4): free

GroupUp to 40 · max 9 per booking

Live guideEnglish, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated today

Good to know

Low physical effortStroller-friendlyInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot recommended with heart problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Ciao Florence Tours Srl

Is this one for you?Choose the option with the Leaning Tower if climbing to the top and seeing Pisa from above matters to you. The semi-independent option skips the local guides in both cities, giving you more freedom to wander at your own pace but less context on what you're seeing. The standard tour with a guide works best if you want the stories behind each site and prefer a structured itinerary.

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Top questions

What languages is the tour guided in?

Live guide in English, Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (8 to 12 years); Child (4 to 7 years); Infant (under 4): free.

What is Piazza dei Miracoli and why do people come to see it?

Piazza dei Miracoli is a square in Pisa that holds four white marble monuments from the medieval period: the Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Monumental Graveyard, and the Leaning Tower. The square is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most recognizable architectural ensembles in Italy. Your guide walks you through all of them and explains their history and design.

Can I climb the Leaning Tower, or is it just a photo stop?

Climbing the Leaning Tower is optional and costs extra at checkout. If you choose it, you skip the line at the entrance and climb the interior staircase to the top, where you see views across Pisa's rooftops. If you don't add it, you have time to explore Pisa independently and take photos from ground level.

How long do I spend in each city?

You spend the morning and early afternoon in Pisa, with roughly two hours for the guided tour of Piazza dei Miracoli and the Cathedral, plus time at the Leaning Tower (climbing it or photographing it). After a thirty-minute drive, you arrive in Lucca for a two-hour guided walking tour of the city center, then free time to explore on your own before the one-hour return drive to Florence.

What makes Lucca different from Pisa?

Lucca is known for its intact Renaissance walls that encircle the entire medieval city. Instead of a single monumental square, Lucca's appeal is walking through narrow streets, along the walls themselves for panoramic views, and discovering sites like Piazza dell'Anfiteatro (a square built inside the footprint of a Roman amphitheatre), and the Cathedral of San Martino. The pace is slower and more intimate than Pisa's famous landmarks.

Do I need to book the Leaning Tower in advance, or can I decide on the day?

You choose the Leaning Tower option (or a semi-independent tour without a guide in Pisa) when you book. The tour itself includes skip-the-line entry to Pisa Cathedral, but climbing the tower is a separate paid upgrade you select at checkout.