Leaning Tower of Pisa Travel Tips
Getting Good Pictures, Tourist Warnings & Climbing the Campanile
Beat the tour buses to the best photo spot outside the famous tower in the Campo dei Miracoli, Tuscany, Italy - but beware of fake designer merchandise and rip-off cafes.
Leaning Tower of Pisa tour buses
The famous Leaning Tower is by far and away the biggest tourist attraction in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy – as is ably demonstrated by the swarm of tour buses that flocks towards it every day. Many only stay for a short while before disappearing elsewhere.
What is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
The Leaning Tower is a bell tower (or campanile), found in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles). It is right next to Pisa’s Duomo (or cathedral), which is arguably a more spectacular sight. Construction of the tower was built way back in 1173, although it took centuries to be completed.
Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa lean?
There is a combination of reasons for the Leaning Tower’s famous lean. The main one is the soil it is built on – it’s really crumbly and not ideally suited to having large structures plonked on top of it. A local joke is that it is called the Field of Miracles because it’s a miracle that anything’s still standing on it. It didn’t help matters when the builders, seeing the lean, decided to build the campanile higher than originally planned in a hare-brained attempt to correct it. During the 1990s, expensive repairs were undertaken, including the removal of plenty of soil underneath the tower to straighten things up a little. The Tower has now been declared safe for the time being.
Getting good pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa
It’s sad, it’s pathetic, but the main reason that people visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa is to get a picture of themselves holding it up or pushing it down. The first piece of advice for those wanting to get the traditional tacky shot is to get there early before the hordes arrive. The light will be more conducive to photography, and there is more chance of getting a shot without other wannabe Tower-pushers getting in the way. The best spot is between the Duomo and the huge line of souvenir stalls opposite – it’s possible to precariously balance on the pillars there, making it look like the subject of the photo is holding the top of the tower, not the bottom.
Climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa
A limited number of visitors are allowed to climb the Leaning Tower every day. It’s expensive to do so – EUR15 – and it is advisable to book online in advance. Opening hours are 8am to 8.30pm, although they can be reduced depending on the times of sunrise and sunset.
Leaning Tower of Pisa: Tourist Warnings
There is a wealth of souvenir stands around the Leaning Tower. Most of them are selling utter tat, which is fine, as that’s what most people want (an apron of Michaelangelo’s David anyone?). However, shoppers should be more wary of vendors selling from sheets on the street. Often these vendors are selling fake designer merchandise, and most of the shoppers know it. What most of the shoppers don’t know is that they can be fined a small fortune if caught buying illegal merchandise. It is part of a government crackdown – fining the salesmen hasn’t worked, so it’s targeting the buyers instead.
The other thing to be wary of is the propensity of those selling food and drink to rip customers off outrageously. Do not buy anything from any café, stall or restaurant that hasn’t got individual items clearly marked. The café outside the gates to the Campo has been known to shamelessly charge EUR4.70 for a bottle of Sprite, for example.
