Read our first two posts here: Day 1 and 2, Day 3.
Today we docked at Livorno, Italy, which is close to Pisa and Florence. There are many excursion opportunities here and if you just want to walk around Livorno, you could do that without an excursion too. This is an overnight port, which means you can stay out as late as you like. For today’s excursion, we chose the Pisa Tower Climb. This is a pricy excursion but I think it’s worth it because it is such a unique experience that not many people get to do. It’s also not always available – the Leaning Tower of Pisa isn’t the most solid structure so the climb was closed from time to time. Do it while you can!
We boarded the bus at the port. The tour guide told us stories about the area and the stories behind the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Once we got off the bus, there were quite a few amazing structures to see.
The marbled cathedral is free to go inside (with your Tower of Pisa ticket). We did not do it but now kind of wish we did. We were given some free time but we tried to walk the fortress wall instead but couldn’t find the entrance to go up the wall. The cathedral is free if you have the Tower of Pisa ticket, but since we were on a group tour, I’m not sure if we could have entered for free? It was definitely very beautiful from the outside.
Did I mention, the line is very long? The whole area was very crowded when we went, and it didn’t seem like most people came by cruise ships. After all, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is very famous and the area is easy to reach for European travelers.
As mentioned earlier, we wanted to climb the fortress walls because we could see people walking up there and it seemed the view would be awesome, but we couldn’t find the entrance. We did ask some people, who told us to keep walking, but by then, we had already walked a bit and time was limited so we gave up. It’s called Walls of Pisa, and it really seemed awesome. It’s 5 Euros a person but seems to be well worth the cost. The hours are limited though, so be sure to check that before you go. Next to the walls, there’s a Jewish cemetery. You have to be Jewish to enter, but we didn’t realize so we entered by mistake.
If you like to post pictures on Instagram, then Tower of Pisa is definitely the right place to go.
Climbing the Tower of Pisa was actually quite difficult. The inside of the tower had steps that were marble-like and slippery. There was no rails to hold on to. And of course, since the tower leans to one side, the steps aren’t even or flat. I didn’t expect the climb to be so thrilling but it was fun.
There is an amazing 360 degree view at the top of the tower.
There’s also a bell at the top of the tower.
Last but not least, let me leave you with another picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa to give you an idea how leaning it is.
After our time was over at the tower, we were back on the bus and taken back to the ship. What an amazing opportunity to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This is definitely a bucket list item and I was not disappointed. If you have trouble with heights, this can be a little dicey. Between the lean and the height, this was quite more challenging than I expected but so fun!! After we came back on the ship, we were so tired that we didn’t tour Livorno at all even though we were docked all night. Tomorrow, we will have another excursion to see more of this area.