Italy is a great country if your looking for a cultural holiday in order to recharge your spirit, mind and perhaps experience the Stendhal syndrome. If you want to get rid of the stress caused by heavy mass tourism but still you don’t want to give up culture, Pisa is the perfect compromise. Here are ten tips for a low-cost holiday.
1.Travelling
If you are travelling from abroad to Pisa, you won’t find it difficult to book a low cost flight, as a matter of fact, the city has its own airport and you can travel low cost with Ryanair or Easyjet. If you are already in Italy and plan your trip in advance you can find fine offers by Trenitalia – the national railways – or Italo.
But if you really want to save for your travel and, again, you are planning your trip in advance, Megabus is the perfect solution. If you’re either travelling by train or with Megabus, remember that both coaches and trains stop in Florence, but this is not a big issue: a Trenitalia ticket from Firenze Santa Maria Novella – Florence central station – to Pisa Centrale is 8,10 €.
2.Sleeping
It’s true, Italy is not as cheap as other European countries as far as hostels are concerned, but in Pisa you can easily find nice accommodations which suit your budget. My personal advice is Academy, a small, total-white hostel in Via Gramsci: cheap, clean, where there work a lovely and available young personnel and from where you can reach the city centre in a 15-minute walk.
Pappa Up Close | ImipolexG
3.Eating
The city is full of small typical restaurants and taverns, but sometimes their homely appearance hide high prices, therefore always check out the menu or the price list which are exposed outside the restaurants: remember, 10 € for a pasta is not a great deal. Still, you can give yourself a treat for one dinner and choose a restaurant or tavern which serves Tuscany typical dishes, such as Chianina meat, Florentine steak and pappa al pomodoro. For cheap but great salads and extremely nice personnel you can go to L’insalateria, Lungarno Pacinotti, 40.
4.Drinking
If you have already been in Italy, perhaps you know that there is some difference between the North and the South as regard to drinking. In the northern part of the country – especially the north-east – there is a particular habit: drinking wine cocktails before going to dinner. In northern Italy such cocktails are not at all expensive, on the contrary they tend to be in the centre and south. So in Pisa you are likely to find a gin and tonic at the same price as a spritz. But don’t give up your pre-dinner drinks, next to Piazza dei Cavalieri there is a tiny bar which serves delicious wines, such as Vermentino and Centopassi, a biological wine produced by Libera, an association which supports the fight against mafia and organised crime. These wines are really good, pretty cheap and Centopassi contains a minimum part of sulphites, this means that you won’t suffer from headache if you get drunk.
Pisa Tower | Giorgia Damiani
5.Places
What might strike you at first sight is the Arno, the river which breaks the city in two. My advice is to have a long walk on the Lungarno, the street and pavement which run along the river, and enjoy the beauty of the buildings along the road.
Another place which you should see at least from the outside is the building which hosts one of the most prestigious universities in Italy, La Normale. The facade of Palazzo della Carovana, completed in 1564 and built by Giorgio Vasari, is covered in ‘500 graffiti and has a beautiful double marble staircase which brings you to the main entrance and under the top of the staircase you find the entrance to the library.
Last but not at all least, Piazza dei Miracoli, the most famous place in Pisa, where you will enjoy the magical view of the tower, the cathedral and the baptistery. The entrance to the Tower is 18 € but you can as well enjoy your trip there for free simply strolling around this amazing place or relax yourself on the grass on the left side of the cathedral.
Piazza dei Cavalieri | Buzz Explorer
6.Culture
On the Lungarno you can visit the Museum of Graphic which hosts beautiful collections and temporary exhibitions. Tickets are just 3 € per person and in some periods of the year the entrance is free.
In Piazza dei Cavalieri you can find Torre della Muda, the tower where Conte Ugolino was imprisoned with his children and grandchildren and left there to starve to death in the 13th century as it is narrated in the XXXIII Canto of Inferno in the Divine Comedy by Dante.
7.Books
Pisa is full of nice and well-provided bookshops. In La Feltrinelli in Corso Italia or in the bookshop in Borgo Stretto you can also find books in German, English, Spanish and French.
8.Events
The city hosts a number of events all through the year. One in particular is very interesting: the European Night of Research, which in Tuscany is called Bright, takes place in september and hosts a whole range of cultural events all around the city: from Physics to Literature, from Medicine to Cartography, these events are scattered in different parts of the city, giving you the possibility to access places you wouldn’t find in a tourist guide.
9.Surroundings
All around Pisa there is the wonderful country which makes Tuscany unique. You can reach different destinations outside the city – such as Volterra and many others – by bus (CTT Nord).
Lungarno | Buzz Explorer
10.Atmosphere
One of the most important things of a city is the good vibes it gives you and Pisa has a wonderful atmosphere.