Shop a Review

Pisa is one of the largest cities in the country of Italy.

Shopping in Pisa

If you manage to get home from Pisa defined by AbbreviationFinder without a replica of The Leaning Tower in some form, you are good at resisting the perpetual hassle of souvenir sellers.

The highly-selling vendors will offer you candles, lamps, lighters, pictures, postcards, hourglasses, pots, pens, thermoses and bottles, all shaped like, or with a picture of, the omnipresent tower.

The Tuscany area is world famous for its wine and food tradition, so many tourists take the opportunity to buy Italian ham, cheese, coffee and salami sausages. The food and wine shops in Pisa offer the highest quality products. Look especially for olive oil, which you will not find anywhere else in the world.

Pisa’s main shopping streets are the two north-southbound main streets on either side of the Ponte di Mezzo bridge. Corso Italia south of the bridge is the new and modern pedestrian street, where you will find everything from bookshops, perfumery, ristorantes, clothing stores and pharmacies. There is also a Zara store and Benetton, most other major international chains are shining with their absence.

North of the bridge, Borgo Stretto passes through the city’s old medieval sections, also with shops and newsstands on each side. At Piazza Sant Omobono just west of Borgo Stretto there is always a lively market in progress.

General about shopping in Pisa

The stores are usually open from 10am. From 0930 to 1330 and from. 1530 to 2000, but this varies. Most shops are closed on Sundays, although there are exceptions. On Mondays, some shopping centers and clothing stores open later, but most close early on Thursdays.

Tax Free Shopping in Pisa

Don’t forget that you pay 20% VAT and on all purchases over 155 euros, or approx. 1500 NOK, you can get a refund of the VAT on departure. Not all businesses have this scheme on their sale, so look for the Tax Free Shopping badge at the entrance if you are going to buy some more expensive items and bring a completed and stamped form and receipt.

NB! It might be tempting to buy a copy of a brand from one of the many African illegal immigrants that you are sure to come across. But be aware that in many places Italian police have given up trying and fining the sellers, as they often have neither money nor ID papers.

But it has YOU. Civilian-clad policemen are therefore keeping a close eye on street vendors, and if they see that you are buying a pirate copy of, for example. a Louis Vutton case or Rolex watch at a fraction of the price, you should expect to receive a staggering fine of the order of $ 25,000-30000.

Eating in Pisa

The Tuscan region has a varied kitchen, and traditionally there are simple dishes with the best ingredients. Olive oil, bread and fresh vegetables are solid ingredients.

The top for many is the dish Fiorentina, a piece of meat from the cure chianina, which is world renowned for its great quality. Fiorentina can be purchased at any restaurant in Pisa and Tuscany. Italians eat dinner very late compared to Scandinavians, and many restaurants do not open until about 20 o’clock.

If you get hungry between 7 p.m. 15 and 20, you will struggle to find anything other than fast food. And even chains like McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King are looking for a long time in Pisa.

Italian cuisine

Italian cuisine is both good and exciting and consists of much more than pizza. A meal begins with antipasti, which in short are appetizers. Starters can also be called primi piatti. The next dish is Secondi, which is the main course, either fish or meat.

When you buy a main course, you must order vegetables, potatoes and the like as well. Finally, order cheese or fruit (cheese is called formaggi), before ending it with dolci (dessert). The house wine is called vino de la casa (red wine is rosso, while white wine is bianco). This wine is usually served in liter or semi-liter scaffold, and is good and reasonable.

Please note that most restaurants in the immediate vicinity of Piazza dei Miracoli are a few notches more expensive than the rest of the city, and often intended for tourists. If you walk five to ten minutes southeast toward the city center, you will find several cheaper and better traditional restaurants.

Recommended restaurants in Pisa

If you want to eat real local food (and no, you don’t go to Italy and order cheeseburgers or tacos) you can try one of these restaurants, for example:

Antica Trattoria da Bruno is located in Via Luigi Bianchi, a few hundred meters east of the Leaning Tower, and has served traditional Tuscan cuisine to tourists and residents for 30 years. Recommended in the Michelle guide.

Osteria dei Cavalieri is located in Via San Frediano, just south of Piazza dei Cavalieri, in an old 13th-century tower. Traditional Italian cuisine with moderate price levels.

Of the better and cheaper you have the local favorite restaurant La Tana, right next to Osteria dei Cavalieri. Pizza, pasta, meat, bird and fish, mostly at very nice prices. Simple interior and helpful controls who gladly translate the Italian menu into English.