Holiday apartment in Pisa: culture, urban history and botanical garden

Pisa appeals to you if you would like to combine culture, urban history and nature in one trip. Piazza del Duomo, several museums, the Orto Botanico di Pisa and the medieval city walls offer different themes for shared discoveries. When choosing a holiday apartment in Pisa, you can focus on impressive architecture, the history of water and collections, or botanical features.

Pisa between the Middle Ages and grand architecture

Piazza del Duomo forms a unique group of four masterpieces of medieval architecture: the cathedral, the baptistery, the bell tower, also known as the Leaning Tower, and the cemetery. The monuments of Piazza del Duomo in Pisa are also a point of reference for research into the Pisan Romanesque style. For families interested in culture, this square therefore offers a particularly concentrated introduction to the city's architectural history.

The Museo delle Navi antiche is housed in the Arsenali Medicei and tells more than 1,000 years of Pisa's history and its relationship with water across eight sections. Guided tours focus on ancient ships and archaeological finds from excavations in the Pisa San Rossore area. This makes it possible to combine a museum visit with questions about trade, the river landscape and the past.

Pisa also reveals different sides of its culture beyond Piazza del Duomo. The collection of Palazzo Blu was conceived according to the principle that the works are connected with Pisa and its surrounding area through their creators, commissioners, origins or subjects. The Chiesa di Santa Maria della Spina is an exceptional example of Pisan Gothic architecture and was built on the banks of the Arno in 1230. The Museo nazionale di San Matteo preserves medieval Islamic ceramics, medieval coins and medieval seals. In 1989, Keith Haring created the mural Tuttomondo in Pisa.

Botanical history at the Orto Botanico di Pisa

The Orto Botanico di Pisa was founded in 1543 and is the world's oldest university botanical garden. It is arranged largely according to historical criteria into seven sections: Scuola Botanica, Orto del Cedro, Orto del Mirto, Serre, Piazzale Arcangeli, Orto Nuovo and Orto Del Gratta. The garden covers approximately two hectares and is home to around 3,000 cultivated plants. For a quieter interlude between cultural impressions and urban history, this theme offers a distinct perspective on Pisa.

Planning your days in Pisa

The area around Piazza del Duomo is closed to public and private vehicle traffic. For your individual planning, the city's official free tourism app, Walking in the City, provides eight urban walks. The medieval walls of Pisa had a circumference of approximately 7 km, towers spaced 300 m apart and around 20 gates. These historical details provide a clear framework for walks and explorations of the city without limiting the trip to just one neighborhood or attraction.

For a more precise choice of location, you can also include Marina Di Pisa, Tirrenia, Calambrone and Riglione-Oratoio in your travel plans.

More destinations for your planning: Monteverdi Marittimo, Navacchio, Staffoli, Calcinaia.

For the overarching travel overview: Pisa.