Have you ever wondered what you can see in a long weekend in Italy? Here we share our quick getaway to Pisa and Rome, with a sunset you won't forget along the way in Cinque Terre. We left Valencia on Thursday night and by Saturday morning we were already on the train to Rome. Even so, between sunrises without the crowds, a festival we weren't expecting and an Aperol Spritz by the sea, the trip felt like it had lasted a week.
We landed in Pisa on Thursday night, took the train to the main station and walked to the hotel, which was on a street right by the Arno. No big plans that first night: we dropped our bags, went out for a pizza (a must, we were in Italy) and went to bed early, because the alarm was set for five in the morning the next day.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa at dawn, with no one in front of it
If you've been wondering how to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa without the crowds, here's the answer. Setting an alarm for five, we know it sounds crazy for a weekend trip, but it was one of the best decisions of the whole trip. From our hotel window we could already see the Tower peeking over the rooftops, so we set out with that image in our heads and reached Piazza dei Miracoli with the square almost empty.
No lines, no groups with flags, no one asking you to move aside for the photo. Just the Tower, the Cathedral and us with the camera, trying out angles without rushing. The photos from that hour are some of the best of the entire trip, the ones you'll see below. We also took the classic tourist photo holding up the tower lol.
Around eight thirty or nine, back at the hotel, it was time to get serious: we worked remotely until noon, taking advantage of the good wifi in the room and the fact that we had already done the important part of the day before anyone else had opened up.
We know it all sounds rushed, but now we also know how we would spend more time, for example on what comes next.
The afternoon in Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore with Manarola takes the podium
From Pisa, the train to La Spezia takes a little over an hour, and from there the Cinque Terre Express takes you to any of the five villages in a few minutes. We got off first in Riomaggiore, and it was love at first sight, so we ended up spending more time there than anywhere else.
Riomaggiore has those super narrow streets that run straight down to the harbor, colorful houses stacked against the rock and a sunset light that seems designed for Instagram. We climbed up to one of the village's high viewpoints, with the sea in the background, and there we stayed for a good while with an Aperol Spritz in hand, watching the sun slip into the water. There was live music in one of the bars nearby, and that relaxed atmosphere, with the village lighting up little by little, is the kind of thing you don't go looking for but that ends up defining the trip.
We would have loved another full afternoon for Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, which are easily connected by train within minutes of each other. That's left for next time, with more time and without the Rome clock ticking. We only visited Manarola briefly, but it is definitely worth it.
Back in Pisa, stumbling upon the Luminara without looking for it
That night we went back to Pisa not quite knowing what we would find, and what we found was the Luminara di San Ranieri, the festival the city celebrates every June 16 in honor of its patron saint. The entire Arno riverbank, the same one we had been looking at from the hotel window, was covered with thousands of candles placed in wooden frames, outlining the palaces and bridges. The reflection in the water multiplied the effect, and with people everywhere filling the streets and bridges while they waited for the fireworks, that night Pisa stopped feeling like a quiet town on an ordinary night. Honestly, we loved the atmosphere but also felt a bit overwhelmed by seeing so many people together.
We didn't plan it, it just happened, and it was one of those strokes of luck that made this short getaway feel much longer in our memories.
Rome: two days to wrap up the getaway
On Saturday morning we took the train to Rome, where we had two full days before our flight home on Monday. After the pace of Pisa and Cinque Terre, Rome asked for a different speed: this time we did a proper big-city plan, with museums, lines and lots of walking.
We spent a whole morning at the Vatican Museums, which can literally keep you busy for hours, and from there we went straight to St. Peter's Basilica. Michelangelo's dome, Bernini's square with its colonnades embracing the space... no matter how many times you've seen it in photos, going in and seeing it in person hits differently. It was my (Pedro's) fourth time there and Karyna's first, and even so, everything I see there still amazes me.
To take a break from the museum-and-line rhythm, we set aside an afternoon for Rome's viewpoints. We climbed up to the Janiculum Hill, with all of Rome spread out below and the dome of St. Peter's peeking over the rooftops, and another afternoon we went to the Pincio Terrace, above Piazza del Popolo, to watch the sun go down with the city in the background. Both are free and were some of the best sunset plans we had on the whole trip.
And the grand finale was a homemade pasta class, making our own pasta from scratch with a local chef: kneading, rolling out, cutting, and then sitting down to eat what we had made with our own hands. We recommend it to anyone visiting Rome with some free time, because besides eating well, you take the technique home (we haven't made it again lol) and above all the experience of having made your own pasta in Rome.
On Sunday we entered the Colosseum and explored this amphitheater, the most famous in the world without a doubt. It is full of history, and if you go with your ticket already bought in advance, even better. The moment you walk in you'll be surprised by how tall it is, and then by all the history it holds. It seems unreal that a structure of this magnitude has held up so well after so many years.
We also stopped by the Trevi Fountain, packed with people as usual, but a photo with such a famous fountain was a must.
Two days is nowhere near enough to cover everything Rome has to offer, but it's just enough to leave you wanting to come back. What we took from this getaway was the feeling of having squeezed every hour out of it: a sunrise without tourists in Pisa, an afternoon in a postcard-perfect village in Cinque Terre and two days in the big city of Rome, with a bonus festival we weren't even expecting.
If we had more time
The three destinations have much more to offer than we could cover on this quick getaway, so here's what we would add with a couple of extra days in each place:
In Pisa, besides the Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli, we were left wanting to take our time exploring the historic center and the Lungarni by day, and to visit Lucca, just 30 minutes away by train, a walled city that many people pair with Pisa.
In Cinque Terre, with one more day we could have completed all five villages (Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso were left pending) and tried some of the trails between the villages, like the famous Sentiero Azzurro, to see them connected on foot and not just by train.
In Rome, two days cover the essentials, but the Pantheon, which we only passed by to look at, the Trastevere at night or a day trip to Ostia Antica are left out. If you can stretch it to four or five days, you'll notice the difference.
💡 Tips from Pedro and Karyna
✈️ Flights and trains: how much it costs to get around (and where to buy tickets) The flight from Valencia to Pisa costs around €50-110 round trip with Ryanair if you book in advance, although there are occasional deals from €15-20 one way. For the return, the flight from Rome to Valencia is in a similar price range, between €50 and €110 round trip depending on dates and airline (Ryanair, Vueling and Wizz Air are the ones that operate the route most). For trains, we always buy on the official Trenitalia website: the trip from Pisa to La Spezia (for Cinque Terre) costs between €9 and €13, and Pisa to Rome varies a lot by type: from €13-25 on Regionale or Intercity to €45-80 on high-speed Frecciarossa, with journeys of 2 to 3 hours.
🌅 The Leaning Tower of Pisa at dawn If you can choose your hotel, look for one near Piazza dei Miracoli or with views of the Tower: seeing the monument without tourists before eight in the morning is priceless. The Tower + Cathedral ticket costs €20, and reservations open only 20 days in advance, so if you're going on a summer weekend, book as soon as the time slot opens: the good times sell out fast.
🚂 How to get from Pisa to Cinque Terre Take the train from Pisa Centrale to La Spezia Centrale (between 1 hour and 1 hour and 15 minutes) and there switch to the Cinque Terre Express, which stops at all five villages and runs very frequently. You don't need to book in advance between villages, so you can decide on the go how long to stay in each one.
🍹 Where to watch the sunset in Riomaggiore Head to the rocks by the harbor or the village's high viewpoints at least 15 minutes before sunset, because they fill up fast. With an Aperol Spritz and a front-row spot, you won't need anything else.
📅 When to go If your visit coincides with June 16, you'll get the Luminara di San Ranieri as a bonus: the entire Arno riverbank fills with candles at sunset. You don't need to plan for it, it simply happens every year that night, so if your dates line up, all the better.
❓ Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need to see Pisa, Cinque Terre and Rome? With one full day for Pisa and Cinque Terre together you'll have plenty of time: half a morning for the Tower and Piazza dei Miracoli, and an afternoon for one or two of the Cinque Terre villages. For Rome, plan at least two full days if you want to visit the Vatican, St. Peter's and the Colosseum at a relaxed pace. We did it in just over 36 hours for Pisa and Cinque Terre, plus two days for Rome, and we had time for the essentials of all three. Above, you'll find what we would add with more days in each destination. A week to see everything at a leisurely pace would be ideal.
How do you get from Pisa to Cinque Terre? By train, always by train. From Pisa Centrale there are direct trains to La Spezia Centrale (between 1h and 1h15), and from there the Cinque Terre Express connects the five villages within a few minutes of each other.
What is the best village in Cinque Terre for watching the sunset? For us, Riomaggiore. Its viewpoints and the rocks by the harbor face straight out to the open sea, so the sun literally sinks into the water right in front of you.
Do you need to book Leaning Tower of Pisa tickets in advance? Yes, especially if you're visiting in high season or on a weekend. Reservations open 20 days before the visit, and the morning and sunset slots sell out in just a few days.
What is the Luminara di San Ranieri? It's the festival of Pisa's patron saint, celebrated every June 16 in the late afternoon and evening. The city turns off the regular lighting and places more than 70,000 candles along the Arno, using light to outline the buildings, with fireworks to close the night.
Have you been to Pisa or Cinque Terre? What's your favorite of the five villages? Tell us in the comments 👇
