The two embankments along the Arno that run through the centre of Pisa are called the Lungarno Mediceo (north bank) and Lungarno Galilei (south bank). Continuous lines of pastel-coloured palazzi, four and five storeys high, line both sides; the river itself is wide, slow, and usually green. Cross any of the four central bridges for the view back along the water.
The best stretch is the walk from Ponte di Mezzo west to Ponte Solferino, passing the small Gothic chapel of Santa Maria della Spina perched at the water's edge on the south bank. Time it for sunset, when the south-facing palazzi on the north bank catch the orange light. On the third Saturday of June the city stages the Gioco del Ponte, a costumed tug-of-war over the central bridge that dates back to the 16th century.