A day in Livorno

I'm looking for advice about a day in Livorno. Most posts are about taking the train out of Livorno, but since we have been to Italy many times, we thought about seeing Livorno - where we have never been. So where to go, for 4-5 hours in Livorno? We are looking for a nice area to stroll around, cafés, a little shopping, old town etc. We will probably not go to a museum.

Thank you.

I'm looking for advice about a day in Livorno. Most posts are about taking the train out of Livorno, but since we have been to Italy many times, we thought about seeing Livorno - where we have never been. So where to go, for 4-5 hours in Livorno? We are looking for a nice area to stroll around, cafés, a little shopping, old town etc. We will probably not go to a museum.

Thank you.

We decided to stay in Livorno and took the port shuttle bus to town and then got the hoho sightseeing bus that stops near the shuttle bus stop. The tourist information office is also near the shuttle stop and you can pick up a hoho bus leaflet and map there.

We got off at Terrazza Mascagni (google it) and walked along the terrace which had wonderful views out to sea and ends with a rotunda. There are a couple of restaurants for refreshment at the start of the terrazza.

Although we didn;t do it, it is also possible to get off the bus at Montenero and get the funicular up to the Sanctuary. The bus leaflet gives details of this and the other stops on the route. It is approx 60 mins circuit and not all of it is attractive but we enjoyed it.

At the end of the tour, we wandered around the town and the ancient canal area before getting the shuttle back to the ship having spent an enjoyable few hours.

Hope that gives you a few ideas. Enjoy your visit.

Have you considered Lucca? It's a short train ride away and very charming. You can walk or bike around the city on top of its walls. It wasn't too crowded which is saying something for August in Italy.

I agree that Lucca is very nice and well worth a trip. Pisa is also an interesting place to visit. It is home to the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

http://travel-europe.ca/italy/index.html