Leaning Tower of Pisa

Address Piazza del Duomo, 56126 Pisa
Admission €20 (timed entry, booked online)
Opening Hours Daily 09:00–20:00 in summer; shorter winter hours

The cathedral's freestanding bell tower, 56 metres of Pisan-Romanesque marble in eight ringed storeys, leans 3.97 degrees off vertical. The lean is the famous bit, but the architecture is the better story — every arcade is a small masterpiece, and the whole thing is far more beautiful than the postcards suggest. Climb if you can; the 294 steps spiral up an inner staircase, and the dizzying sense of slope under your feet at the top is unforgettable.

Tickets are timed and booked online in advance. In high season they sell out a week ahead. Children under eight are not allowed up. You will have to leave bags at the cloakroom before climbing, and the climb itself takes about half an hour including the slot at the top.

things to do sight architecture
A story
Construction began in 1173 and the tilt started before the third storey was finished — the soft alluvial soil on the south side was giving way. Work stopped for nearly a century while Pisa fought Genoa, which probably saved the tower: the long pause let the ground settle. By the 1990s the lean had reached 5.5 degrees and a closure was ordered. Engineers spent eleven years extracting soil from the high side until the tower had been straightened by 45 cm. They kept the lean intact.

Other places in Things to Do