Mediterranean Port Week: Livorno, the Gateway to Florence & Pisa

When looking at Mediterranean Port itineraries it can be a bit confusing: where are the famous cities of Italy that everyone wants to see? Florence? Pisa? Rome? Since these places are all in-land, the ship will actually dock in a lesser known port, & then passengers can take transportation into the city.

Livorno, a rather dreary port city, is the gateway to the iconic towns of Florence & Pisa. An excursion from the ship will take you by charter bus to one or both of these locations. We chose a charter bus “on your own” excursion (certainly not our usual cup of tea) that gave us an hour of free time in Pisa (plenty of time to take holding-up-the-leaning-tower-with-one-finger photos) & four hours of free time in Florence (it won’t be enough, I know…).

The drive to Pisa from Livorno is through beautiful, rolling Tuscan countryside. The view makes being wedged on a charter bus a little easier to deal with!

When we arrived in Pisa, you’ll walk as a group to the famous Field of Miracles & then had time to explore on our own. I regret not actually heading into the town of Pisa – it looked old & romantic, but we were anxious to get on to the real star of the show, Florence.

The bus was giddy with excitement as we drove on to Florence. We knew that four hours in this beautiful city would only be enough to barely scratch the surface over a small area, but we hoped it would give us a good feel of the destination & help us decide if it was somewhere we wanted to return in the future.

We were dropped us off in Piazza Santa Croce, one of the beautiful main piazza’s in Florence. For the next four hours we just wandered. Up & down alleyways & side streets, in & out of gelato shops, up & down stairs in magnificent churches.

A tip: if the line is long to go up in the famous Duomo dome, consider climbing the bell tower instead. It’s 414 steps will give you a heck of a cardio workout with half the crowds. Plus, you get a view from the top of the actual Duomo, which is an added bonus. The sweeping views of Florence are enough to melt even the most skeptical hearts.

Even at the end of October, Florence was packed with tourists – I absolutely cannot imagine visiting during the height of tourist season. Our brief time in Florence left us with a deep love of the city. We’re eager to return one day to have several days of exploring the piazza’s, churches… & gelato shops.