Visiting Pisa with Kids

During our month-long family vacation to Italy, we knew we had to visit Pisa to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa with our kids. After some research, we determined the limited number of additional things to do in Pisa with kids made a daytrip to Pisa ideal for our family.

Still working on your Italy Itinerary with kids? Here is our 4 week itinerary for Italy with some suggestions for a 2 week Italy Itinerary and a 10-day Italy Itinerary with kids.

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Getting to Pisa with Kids

The Pisa International Airport is the largest airport in Tuscany. PSA is conveniently only a 10-minute drive from the airport to Central Pisa.

If you are like us and like to leave your car seats at home, we recommend getting a private transfer. Your personal driver will meet you at your arrival gate, walk you to your car which contains your pre-booked child seats. Private transfers typically don’t cost much more than a taxi – they are an affordable luxury for parents traveling with kids.

Flying to Pisa makes a lot of sense if Pisa is your first stop in Italy. But if you already in Italy, traveling by train to Pisa is a really fun experience. After a week of hiking in Cinque Terre with kids, we took the train from Monterosso to Lucca, with a change of trains in Pisa.

Our hour-long Cinque Terre to Pisa train ride arrived in Pisa at 10:17am. Our Pisa to Lucca train departed at 3:30pm, giving us approximately 5 hours in Pisa. I mean, how could you be at the Pisa Centrale station and not see the Leaning Tower of Pisa with your kids? 

Most people will visit Pisa as an easy day trip from Florence, but we were fortunate the train route from Cinque Terre to Florence stopped in Pisa and Lucca. Thankfully, the Pisa Centrale station has luggage storage facilities, so we dropped off our larger bags for a few hours. 

Tip: Look for “deposito bagagli”, located to the right at the far end of Platform #1, close to the police office. Have your passport ready for identification.

Browse Train Tickets to Pisa

Getting to the Leaning Tower of Pisa with Kids

The walk from the Pisa Centrale Station to the Leaning Tower of Pisa is approximately 22 minutes (longer with little legs walking, obviously) and is a nice walk for families with small kids. The walk to the Leaning Tower of Pisa was nearly car-free the entire way so we could let the kids safely wander the streets and look in all the shop windows. 

Visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa with Kids

Our priority was to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa with our kids right away. Afterwards, we could choose from the remaining things to do in Pisa with kids depending on how much time we had left.

It’s always an interesting experience to go and see a world-famous tourist attraction. We often wonder if we’ll be less impressed because of this, but that rarely happens. I mean, they are famous for a reason, right? Our visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa with kids was amazing – it did not disappoint! 

As you’d expect, getting good pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is really difficult. It’s very busy, so if getting the classic picture of you or your kids holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa is important to you, get there very early.

Can Children Climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa?

We love climbing towers when we travel, so we were sad to discover the Leaning Tower of Pisa does not allow kids under the age of 8 years old to climb the tower. No matter… simply walking around the stunning monuments while the kids chased pigeons (of course) was worth the visit. 

Leaning Tower of Pisa Skip-the-Line Tickets

If you plan on visiting the Leaning Tower of Pisa with your children, do yourself a huge favor by purchasing reserved time, skip-the-line Leaning Tower of Pisa tickets.

Additional Things to Do in Pisa with Kids

Campo dei Miracoli

The Leaning Tower of Pisa (which is a bell tower) is one of four monuments in the cathedral complex called Campo dei Miracoli or Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles). Also included in the complex are the Cathedral of Pisa (Duomo di Pisa), the Baptistery and the Monumental Cemetery. 

Tip: There are big, clean pay bathrooms behind the cathedral – it’s worth the small fee.

A visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa with kids is quite impressive, both in beauty and in its angle of leaning, but the Duomo and Baptistery are nice surprises as well. 

Pisa Playground – Parco Don Bosco

We hadn’t really planned to see anything else in Pisa because we weren’t sure how long our visit to the Square of Miracles would take. Despite having an Italy Lonely Planet, we planned our afternoon in Pisa with kids by looking at a cartoon tourist map over lunch.

We spotted a drawing of an aqueduct with a playground approximately a 20-minute walk from the Leaning Tower of Pisa. We had a great time at the Aqueduct park in Rome, and we knew our kids would love a visit to a Pisa playground, so we checked it out.  

Parco Don Bosco, was a large treed park with a big playground, a bike path running past it and the aqueduct running the length of it. When we travel, we try to give our kids time to play, but was a home run to find a Pisa playground with an amazing piece of history right next door!

Only in Italy…

Giardino Scotto Park

Our last stop in Pisa with kids was at a park near the Pisa Centrale train station. The Giardino Scotto Park has an interesting history, having been a fortified 15^th century citadel, a fortress and a private garden at various times.

In the early 1900’s it was donated to be a park for the citizens of Pisa. Today Giardino Scott Park is a perfect spot for a picnic in Pisa. You’ll enjoy sitting in the shade of the towering trees on a sunny day, while your children burn off some energy at the playground. 

Where to Stay in Pisa with Kids

We visited Pisa with children in 5 hours, but if you decide to stay a night or two in Pisa with your children you should stay in Central Pisa, north of the River Arno. It’s close to the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the other things to do in Pisa with kids. The tourist area of Pisa is reasonably small, so you can walk anywhere in a short amount of time.

We stayed at vacation home rentals (like Airbnb or VRBO) for most nights on our Italy family vacation. We enjoy the family-friendly amenities like separate bedrooms, a kitchen to cook our own meals and laundry facilities.

There are plenty of Pisa vacation home rentals for your family vacation. Find a great place to stay in Pisa with these great tips on finding a family-friendly Airbnb.

If you would prefer a kid-friendly Pisa hotel for your Italian family vacation, we personally use and recommend Booking as their “Top Picks for Families” search filter makes it easy to find good family-friendly accommodation.

Pisa with Kids – Summary

Even though our visit to Pisa with kids was only for a few hours, I’m really glad we made the effort. A visit to the Leaning Tower of Pisa with kids is a gift they will carry with them, after all, it is one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. Even a year later, if we randomly see a picture of it our 4-year old knows exactly what it is. There’s the influence travel has on kids!

Next stop on our Italy tour… Lucca with kids! If you are going the other way and heading to Cinque Terre, read this guide to Cinque Terre.

Skip-the-line Leaning Tower of Pisa tickets

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