Pisa or Lucca

I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

Neither -- I would do Cinque Terre. Definitely not Pisa as it is a 15 minute photo stop.

I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

Better to ask on the port of call forum: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=595.

I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

Pisa in my opinion is a waste of time! All that's there is the tower and vendors selling cheap souvenirs! Lucca hasn't got much to offer either other than shops and a few restaurants.

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I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

Not usually a fan of ship booked excursions...but the one we did (with RCI) was actually a DIY stopping at Pisa and then several hour's in Florence on own..this ended up being a great option for our first visit...no need to worry about transportation and the guide onboard our bus was amazing.

I took friends' unanimous advice to skip Pisa and see Lucca. I did a Lucca / winery tour and had a great day. Lucca is charming and picturesque, the church and its art very interesting and I'm not averse to a little retail therapy. Still, it isn't an all-day stop, so see what you can combine it with. Buy a postcard of the tower while you're in Lucca and you'll have Pisa covered too.

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Unless there is something in Pisa you HAVE to see, I would skip it. It's really disappointing in real life. Looks like a strip mall of photo stops. Agree, 15 minutes at the most.

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Cinque Terre - definitely. The most beautiful area I've ever seen. Pleas do yourself a favour and book a private tour of this area!! ❤️

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Cinque Terre! It's so close to La Spezia. Pisa is a tourist trap.

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I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

No, not Pisa. Cinque de Terre, yes. And Lucca can be fun--rent bikes and ride the

rampart walls.

I can understand why so many are saying to skip Pisa. When my DH and I were there in 2013 ... the guide talked all through the LONG bus ride there. THEN she gathered everyone in a group once there and kept talking for almost an hour! I left. I couldn't take her voice a minute longer. I walked around, I bought apples from a vendor and I fed the horses hooked up to carriages and found a bucket and gave them cold fresh water from the fountain. I bought a bunch of post cards and misc. stuff. Once DH was finished taking is pics, we walked the streets and sat down and had a glass of wine and just a bite of food. Then the bus tour went to a winery with a horrible lunch. I, personally, am really glad I saw Pisa myself, but it wasn't all it was hyped up to be.

I would go to Luca. It is a beautiful town and the wall surrounding it makes it very unique. You can rent bikes and go around the top of the wall or just walk it. There are tons of great little restaurants and lots of shopping.

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I agree with booking a private tour to Cinque Terre well worth the money.

Luca is very pleasant a few nice bars cafes restaurants and shops half a day there would do it.

Pisa I would swerve altogether or at the most allow about fifteen minutes for a couple of photos of the tower.

The consensus from responses so far is to avoid Pisa. I disagree.

It is true that there is not much in the town but if you take the DIY tour then the park which has the leaning tower of Pisa and other monuments is a must visit. Kind of place where you need to go and make up your mind and not rely on other people's opinions.

It's not the kind of place where you need a guided tour so avoid those. The one we went on, you get escorted to the park, get some time to explore on your own and then get escorted back to the bus.

We did Cinque Terre and loved it - that was from our stop at La Spezia. We then did Piza, Lucca and Florence from our stop at Livorno. On a previous cruise we did Piza, Lucca and a vineyard at Tuscany. I'm not sure why Piza is not included with a Lucca tour? Ours was included both times. I would do Cinque Terre again or Lucca :)

I should add that all of our tours were arrange privately with other others guests off the Roll Call here.

Going to Italy and not see the leaning tower is like going to NYC and not seeing the Statue of Liberty. It's not just the tower, but a church complex with a lot of history. Just like any tourist spot, you have vendors.

However if you have a choice, it would not be my first choice to visit. Plus, I would never go back a second time. Once is enough. Now, I did see it on a tour that stopped at Pisa, and than we continued to another city, so it wasn't like on a ship tour, where you have choices.

Going to Italy and not see the leaning tower is like going to NYC and not seeing the Statue of Liberty. It's not just the tower, but a church complex with a lot of history. Just like any tourist spot, you have vendors.

 

However if you have a choice, it would not be my first choice to visit. Plus, I would never go back a second time. Once is enough. Now, I did see it on a tour that stopped at Pisa, and than we continued to another city, so it wasn't like on a ship tour, where you have choices.

I agree with you. Got to see it for yourself.

I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

We did a tour with Dany from Tuscan Heart, visited Pisa then onto Lucca, some good architecture and a visit to St Zeta.

We then visited a Vineyard in Monte Carlo for Lunch and wine tasting.

On the way back to the ship a stop for great Gelato. A very relaxed day travelling through some stunning countryside.

We are on Brilliance debarking as you get on. Have you visited the roll call there are usually people who want to share tours.

Have a look at Tuscan Heart, if you like it get someone from the roll call to share the cost with you.

Another vote against Pisa from me and I strongly recommend Lucca.

I can see why people might say you have to see Pisa at least once, but it´s really true that it´s not more than a 15 min. Photo op and it´s about an hour drive from La Spezia. Personally I wouldn´t feel it´s worth it and I was disappointed about Pisa.

I loved Lucca. It´s a really nice little town with nice shops and restaurants and of course gelaterias. :cool: It´s a nice unique place and I´d chose Lucca hundreds of times over Pisa and I´d even chose it over Florence.

We just returned from the Med a few weeks ago and stopped at La Spezia.

Have been to Pisa, years ago, and it's not worth using up a day to see. We did it with Florence and that was a great day. Have never been to Lucca.

La Spezia was a port I was excited about because it is so close to Cinque Terre. Through advice on CC and some research, we spent the day there on our own, mostly exploring the first town Riomaggiore and then the last Monterosso. It was an inexpensive train ticket that was good for the day. Simply breathtaking! Can't wait to return there someday and spend more than just a day.

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I am trying to decide if we should visit Pisa or Lucca in the La Spezia port. I have not been to Italy before and would like to know if you had one day at this port, which one would you choose? :D

The most efficient use of your time from La Spezia is to visit the villages Cinque Terre. I will be visiting all 3 places on my upcoming vacation but on my first visit to Italy I had to see the leaning tower. I'm 60 and the tower represented Italy when I was a child. DW couldn't wipe the grin off my face.

Seeing how you are minutes from Cinque Terre, I recommend you go there. I'm going in a weeks time by land as I'm afraid they'll eventually limit the hikers on the trails. See it while you can and go back for the tower on another visit.

From La Spezia our normal recommendation would be to visit the villages of Cinque Terre. Otherwise, Lucca is certainly a nice walled town. Pisa is not a place we normally recommend unless it is coupled with another place (such as Lucca).

Hank

I recommend cinque terra also. We did this on our own a few years ago when we were docked in La Spezia. We were in Lucca a few days ago and while it was nice, it is filled with restaurants and shops.

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We did Cinque Terre and loved it - that was from our stop at La Spezia. We then did Piza, Lucca and Florence from our stop at Livorno. On a previous cruise we did Piza, Lucca and a vineyard at Tuscany. I'm not sure why Piza is not included with a Lucca tour? Ours was included both times. I would do Cinque Terre again or Lucca :)

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I agree about taking advantage of stopping in La Spezia and going to Cinque Terre. I loved it even though we had the trek from Livorno.

Despite that I have to give Pisa a cheer. The first time we went was a rushed tower climb after a wine tasting (not a good combo for one of our group!), the second time we made Pisa a half-day DIY tour by train from Livorno. The walk from the station to the campo dei maracoli - it has a good young, student, vibe. Visiting the cathedral was great, it is a stunning building. We had a timed ticket and had a half hour wait. I just soaked in the architecture rather than trying to do a silly photo of the tower. It was beautiful.

This time we are taking the train to Lucca for the day. We don't like to rush (we are on vacation) and given the time it takes to get from Livorno port to the train station, I think we will have plenty to do. It will be my wedding anniversary and so I think a nice lunch will be on the itinerary.

You can easily do both if you so wish. Take the train from Pisa Centrale and get off at the first stop (I think). it is about four blocks from the Tower areas. In the University area so you will see lots of students with back packs disembarking.

Spend a hour. Go back to the station and get on the train to Lucca. Short ride. The trains run frequently.

We spent a few days in Luca and enjoyed. We also spent several days in Cinque Terre and enjoyed that very much.

They are different destinations and both have a great deal of appeal.

I would not spend any time in Pisa other than at the tower. Nothing unique about it. Luca and CT are far more attractive.