Don’t get me wrong, the leaning tower of Pisa was cool and all, but it was kind of a waste of time.

1. The crowds are crazy and the people in them look even crazier.

The amount of people surrounding the leaning tower is insane. Everyone is packed into a small radius, trying to take the famous “leaning tower photo.” And it’s not just the amount of people, it’s what they’re doing. Hundreds of people were contorting their bodies and posing in strange positions, just to get a good photo.

2. It’s nearly impossible to take a good photo if you’re traveling alone. 

I traveled to Pisa alone. This wasn’t the best decision, seeing as how the whole point was to get the leaning tower of Pisa photo. I had to ask strangers to take my photo. This normally wouldn’t be such a big deal, but I had to trust them to say that the pose I was in was lined up properly. You’d be amazed at how many terrible photographers are out there.

3. The tower looks exactly like it does in photos.
It was cool to see, but if you’ve seen a photo, you’ve seen it all. I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting when I went to see the leaning tower. I guess I just thought it would have more wow factor to it. But it looked exactly like every single photo I’d ever seen of it. I didn’t climb up each level, so maybe that would have been cool, but just looking at it was basically a 5 minute affair and then I was done.

4.There’s nothing else to do in Pisa. Literally.

I traveled to Pisa for roughly $20 and made it a quick 3-4 hour day trip from Florence. If you have an extra day and are coming from Florence like I did, it may be worth it to make a short trip out of it. But if you are are pressed for time or are thinking of traveling far just to see the monument, it’s not really worth it.

5. It’s hot hot hot.

I’m not sure about the winter weather, but if you are visiting in the summer, it’s hot. This might not otherwise be a big deal, but if you are walking from the train station to the leaning tower, you will do so with the sun beating on your back. There is little-to-no shade on the walk there. Also, very little shade while you’re there hanging out.  To make it a little more bearable, I went to a nearby restaurant to cool off.

The leaning tower was beautiful and I’m glad I got to see it. But if I had to do it all over again, I probably would have spent the day seeing more of what Florence had to offer or go on a wine tasting tour.

If you’ve seen the leaning tower of Pisa, share your experience or photos in the comments below!