A fantastic afternoon - but no more (Pisa)

Member Name: Alternum

Product:	Pisa
Date:	14/10/00 (56 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: You can take the famous photo where you appear to be holding up the tower

Disadvantages: Random Italians come up to you and try to get you to buy dodgy Sony goods

I won't insult your intelligence by telling you what the main attraction at Pisa is. Well, actually I have to mention it to get some points across..

The tower is, of course, breathtaking. White, leaning over so far you convince yourself it's about to topple, perfectly constructed. Unfortunately, at the moment it also has two enormous steel cables holding it up (which sort of destroy the romantic illusion) plus a building site all the way around. They're trying to stabilise it, and stop it falling over and destroying all the touristy stalls opposite - all of which is well and good, but as I say, it makes for slightly less impressive photos.

What else is there to do? Well, you can look at the cathedral and the baptistery, which along with some museums and the tower occupy the rather too perfect piazza to the north of the town - the Campo dei Miracoli. However, both of these were built in the same vein as the tower. Once you've spent time gazing at that, the cathedral and baptistery seem almost something of a let-down, being fairly standard in their construction. You can pay to go in them, but we thought that almost £4 was rather too much to ask.

Anything else? You can play dodge the tourist (there are, of course, literally thousands of them), and you can wander along the street traders' stalls set up along the opposite side of the road that goes along the front of the piazza.

To be honest, if all you've heard of Pisa is the tower, it's all you're likely to hear. It's a perfectly nice, sleepy Tuscan town, but apart from the one spot, there is nothing there! An afternoon is all you really need.

Summary: