Pisa, verdict by verdict

Pisa is more than its tower, but the tower is worth the trip: Piazza dei Miracoli is one of Europe's most improbable ensembles, a leaning campanile, a striped marble cathedral and the largest baptistery in Italy on a lawn that still stops first-time visitors. Beyond the square it is a working university town, where the Lungarni riverbanks, Borgo Stretto and the market piazzas hold a local texture most day-trippers never see.

The straightforward caveat is depth: the core sights cluster in one square and fit in a morning, the area around it is a souvenir funnel, and the square itself is packed from ten to four in season. Travelers expecting Florence's museum depth will find it thin, and anyone with one Tuscany day and Florence still unvisited should do Florence first.

The play is timing and basing: climb the tower on a short timed visit, then see the city at evening when it empties and shows its best side. Half a day covers the square; one night lets the Lungarni and dinner happen, two nights if Lucca, the coast or the Cinque Terre trains are on the plan. The PisaMover links the airport in five minutes and trains reach Florence in about an hour, which is what makes Pisa the easy gateway into Tuscany it is.