The Tower of Pisa is one of Italy’s most famous attractions. With its height of 58 meters and an inclination of 5.5°, it is certainly the most famous leaning tower in the world.
If you are planning to visit Pisa and its tower and don’t know how much time to spend inside this attraction, you have come to the right place.
I am Andrea from thepisatower.com and in this post we find out together how much time is needed to visit the Leaning Tower and all the other attractions in Piazza dei Miracoli, including the Baptistery, the Camposanto, the Museo delle Sinopie, the Museo dell’Opera and the Cathedral of Pisa.
Are you ready? Let’s get started!
Before you begin your Tower of Pisa adventure, there is one important thing to keep in mind: tickets may sell out quickly, leaving you without a chance to visit at the desired time. To avoid inconvenience, we strongly recommend that you buy your tickets online in advance. This way, you will guarantee your access to the Tower and avoid long lines at the ticket office. Don’t waste time, secure your Leaning Tower ticket now!
The Leaning Tower of Pisa: Reserved Entrance
Purchase online. Choose the time of your choice. Visit the famous Tower of Pisa, the Duomo and the Piazza dei Miracoli.
You can cancel for free up to the day before the visit.
Tower of Pisa: visit duration
Table of content
Visiting the Tower of Pisa takes about 30 minutes.
Upon arrival at the entrance to the Tower, don’t be put off by the line: visits are scheduled every half hour, and if you have purchased your ticket online, you can gain access without having to wait.
Once your turn has come, the guide will welcome you at the base of the Tower and take you on a short journey through its history, trivia, and legends (and also unravel the mystery of the tilt). Then, it will be time to go inside.
The visit is free, so you can explore the steps of the Tower at your leisure. You’ll feel the tilt when, at some point, it looks like you’re going down instead of up.
Once you reach the top, you will be rewarded with a breathtaking view of Pisa, its historic center and attractions. A view that alone is worth the price of the ticket.
Photo by alexey turenkov on Unsplash.
Now you may be wondering, “why is a 30-minute time slot allocated?”.
The time slot is assigned mainly for two reasons:
- To allow more tourists to visit the tower: the entrances are quotaed and regulated by time slots (e.g., 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., 10:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m., and so on), so that when you come down from the tower, other tourists will come up, and so on;
- It is not necessary to spend more time inside: the tower is hollow inside, and the only things to admire are its countless steps (over 250), its columns, bells, and the breathtaking view from the summit.
However, if you are planning to visit the Leaning Tower, my advice is to book tickets in advance. Although you might get lucky and find some still available on site, they are often sold out. If you also plan to visit the other attractions in Miracle Square, you might consider the option of discounted cumulative tickets (find more details here).
Tickets for Miracle Square
Purchase online. Choose the time of your choice. Visit Piazza dei Miracoli and its attractions: the Baptistery, the Camposanto, the Cathedral and the famous Tower of Pisa.
You can cancel for free up to the day before the visit.
How long to visit the other attractions in Miracle Square?
But how long does it take instead to visit the other attractions in Miracle Square? Let’s find out together.
- How long to visit the Baptistery of Pisa? The visit to the Baptistery lasts about 20 minutes.
- How long does it take to visit Pisa Cathedral? Visiting the Cathedral takes about 15 minutes on average.
- How long to visit the Museo delle Sinopie in Pisa?Here it depends a lot on your interest in delving into the works. If you are an art enthusiast, you might consider wanting to spend more than 1 hour inside the museum; alternatively, a 20-minute visit might be sufficient.
- How long does it take to visit the Monumental Cemetery? A visit to the Monumental Cemetery in Pisa has an average duration of about 15 minutes.
Some useful info for visiting the Tower of Pisa and other attractions
Below are some tips that will allow you to visit the Leaning Tower and other attractions in Cathedral Square without any worries:
- Visit attractions at the best time: mornings until 10 a.m. and afternoons from 4 p.m. onwards are the best times to access different attractions while avoiding crowds of tourists. These are mostly concentrated in the lunch hour and early afternoon. If you can get there early in the morning, you will be able to visit all the attractions in Miracle Square more leisurely.
- Purchase Priority Ticket: To avoid the long lines at the ticket office (or to avoid the risk of running out of tickets), it is strongly recommended that you purchase your priority “skip-the-tail” ticket directly online. You can do so by clicking here.
- Recommended dress code and attire: Since it is a sacred place, appropriate attire is required to enter Pisa Cathedral: this means that wearing skimpy, beachwear with bare shoulders and belly is not recommended. We therefore recommend that you bring a shirt that covers your shoulders and belly in respect of the silence required by the sacred place.
- Bans on access to the Leaning Tower: People with cardiovascular or motor conditions are advised to avoid visiting, as it is necessary to tackle more than 250 steps on an uneven and slippery floor. All visitors are screened with metal detectors, which do not interfere with pacemakers. Children under 8 years of age are not allowed to enter.
- Bags and Suitcases: It is prohibited to bring large bags and suitcases inside the Cathedral, Baptistery and Cemetery. Only small backpacks or bags will be allowed, with a maximum allowed size of 20x30x38 cm.
- Recommended minimum time for the visit: The recommended minimum time for an exclusive visit to the Tower of Pisa is 30 minutes, to which must be added 30 minutes of waiting time and the time of the guide’s exposition. For a combined visit to the Tower and Cathedral, it would be ideal to devote about 2 hours.
Frequently asked questions
The visit to the Tower lasts 30 minutes. Once you get to the entrance of the Tower, don’t let the line discourage you: visits are scheduled every half hour and if you have an online ticket, you can skip the line at the ticket office.
The guide will welcome you at the base of the Tower, briefly telling its history and unraveling the mystery of the tilt. The tour is free, so once the explanation is over, the guide will allow you to go inside the tower and climb to the top. Once you reach the top, enjoy the breathtaking view of Pisa and its sights. Once the tour is over, you can descend from the tower on your own.
Once you arrive at the station, you should walk about 20 minutes to reach the Leaning Tower. Considering that it is recommended to show up 30 minutes before the access time, and that the visit takes about 30 minutes, consider another hour to visit the attraction. Finally, it will take another 20 minutes to walk back to the station. Overall, doing things rather hurriedly, you will need at least 2 hours from when you arrive at the station to when you have to leave.
For safety reasons, children under the age of 8 (completed or to be completed in the current year) are not allowed to enter. Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult. An ID card certifying the age of visitors may be required.
The ticket to access the Tower has varying costs: the one with reserved entrance costs 25€, while the one with audioguide costs 34€. If you would like to participate in a guided tour you need to budget about 60€ per person, while if you would like to purchase combination tickets you have different options viewable on this page.
A visit to Pisa requires at least two days. On the first you have the chance to explore the sights of the Piazza dei Miracoli (which alone take more than half a day to visit) while on the second you can immerse yourself in its historic center and end the day with a walk on the beach, about 15 km away from the center.
Conclusions
Here we come to the end of this post on the length of time to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Baptistery, the Cathedral, the Museo delle Sinopie, and all the other attractions located in the Piazza dei Miracoli.
If you have any doubts or questions, leave a comment below, or read our article on where the Tower of Pisa is located and how to get there.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa: Reserved Entrance
Purchase online. Choose the time of your choice. Visit the famous Tower of Pisa, the Duomo and the Piazza dei Miracoli.
You can cancel for free up to the day before the visit.
