April 2016
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is located 900m from Grand Hotel Bonanno. It’s a 4 minutes drive to Garage Cammeo, a private car park just opposite to the grounds of the tower (refer map below). It cost €2/hr if I recall correctly. Otherwise, you can park by the road side at the designated public parking at a cheaper rate.
It’s a short walk then to the tower with plentiful of vendors selling souvenirs. The 1st building you encounter will be the Baptistery of St. John where the lawn is open to public to stroll and rest. The next building will be the Pisa Cathedral & the Leaning Tower shyly peeking from the back. The lawn in-front of the cathedral is cordoned off but at the back, you are free to walk around.
The Leaning Tower has eight stories, including the chamber for the bells. There is a 297 spiral step staircase inside the tower leading to the top. At the top of the tower you’ll enjoy a breathtaking view of the town. For an entry fee of €18, you can walk up to the top, no lift available. Rather expensive compared to St Mark’s Bell Tower of Venice at €8 and has a lift.
Due to the close distance of the tower to our hotel, we went once during the day and once on the next day during the night. Expect NO crowds during the night after 9 pm.

The grounds to the Pisa Cathedral is off limit. Visitors enjoying the sun on the grounds of the baptistery.