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Pisa Italy is worth a visit while enjoying your Europe travel tours…. yep, as in \”The Leaning Tower of…\” That\’s why every tourist puts this Italian city on their itinerary isn\’t it? There is more to Pisa than that tower, but come on… how much more iconic can you get? And if all you have time for is to see the tower…. well why not?

If you haven\’t been, you might not even realize that there is much more just in the compound of the Campo dei Miracoli, or the Field of Miracles. Also known as the Piazza del Duomo, this green expanse is where the cathedral is… Duomo in Italian…. And the Leaning Tower is the campanile (the bell tower) for the Duomo.

You\’ll also see the beautiful Baptistry and the Camposanto Monumentale, the Monumental Cemetery. The whole complex is a dazzling architectural display in white marble. OK, maybe that tower was an architectural project gone wrong, but it does draw tourists.

The Piazza dei Miracoli (another name you may find on maps!) is a wide walled area at the heart of the city. If you\’re driving in, you will drive through the city.

The city was in its heyday during the 12th and 13th centuries when it was a maritime power. There are many piazzas and churches dating from that time that are interesting to visit if you have time. It\’s crammed full of historical monuments and buildings dating back hundreds of years.

The city declined after its fleet was defeated by the Genoese, and the River Arno started changing course, causing the harbor to silt in. Much of the center of the city has maintained its medieval appearance.

Pisa is also known as a lively university town. Along this academic train of thought, the city was the birthplace of Galileo Galilei, and though he moved with his family to Florence at a young age, he was a professor of mathematics at the university at one time in the late 16th century.

There are plenty of ways to get to the area. You can fly into the International Airport Galileo Galilei from most European cities. I think most tourists would take the train from Rome or Florence… or opt to drive as we did.

There are tourist shops and places to eat around the edges of the piazza… These are tourist places, but they can be expedient if you\’re just passing through to see the Leaning Tower and Duomo. It\’s a bad joke, but we still say we had pizza in the Pisa piazza…. Sorry (really, I am!) You can find more information about the area at the main tourist information office at the Piazza dei Miracoli.

If I seem to be concentrating on the Leaning Tower… that\’s what most tourists do… and what we did. One trip we were taking friends on a whirlwind tour of France and Italy. We didn\’t want them to miss this, so we drove into town, parked and told them they had two hours to see the Leaning Tower.

That\’s an extreme… and somewhat embarrassing example, but our point is, whether your time is long or short, we think you should see Pisa and its Leaning Tower.