The whole piazza is a surreal place, so much beauty in one place is unreal. I think it's ideal to spend there at least a half-day , if not longer. If the weather is nice you can just sit on your perfect lawn and enjoy the view, and perfection. The fact that the individual buildings (Leaning Tower, Duomo, Baptistry, Camposanto) occurred in the period 11-14 century without intending to make a complementary set of buildings that now make Campo dei Miracoli further brighten the atmosphere. The combined ticket for all atractions, including the ticket to climb on Leaning tower is 25 eur. Be aware that if it is a tourist seasson, you need to buy ticket for the Leaning tower well ahead, due to the fact that you have only supervised group visits in 30 min.

I am not certain how one arrives at this location on one's own as I was part of a tour group. The staging area for the various buses is some distance away from the Piazza and during our walk in, the guide let it be known that there was at least one group of beggars/pickpockets about whom we should be aware. Fortunately, I think we were a big enough group that they didn't bother us.

We also got to see one of the local Italian trains which, since I am a train fan, was interesting. Italian railways, like the Spanish, appear to use concrete rail ties/sleepers rather than wood...

We then walked around the walls of Pisa to the gate into the Piazza.

The minute you walk through the old gates of Pisa you will likely notice two things. The first are the Baptistery, Duomo and the Campanile (the famous Leaning Tower) across a velvety expanse of lawn.

The second is a sea of people either walking around or posing in front of the tower (most using forced perspective to seem like they're holding it up, a few like they're pushing it down. I did neither). There are also a number of stalls all along the street selling various kinds of souvenirs: always fun to look at and even occasionally to buy from.

The various religious buildings in the Piazza are all made from the same white or white-grey stone which gives them a unified look. They're very pretty from the outside, but unfortunately we didn't have time to investigate the insides, except for the Tower. Having done some research prior to the trip, I do know that the Duomo is free to enter, the Tower has a separate ticket price and there are four other attractions in the complex that can be seen alone (single ticket) or together (combination ticket) and if I'm ever back in Pisa I may just check them out.

My husband and I took a tour bus however the walk to get to the Field of Miracles from the Bus lot is very long. Its relatively flat but still long. Be prepared to ignore "hasslers" trying to sell you fake purses and other knick nacks. Just look straight ahead though or say no thank you and you'll be fine. Once we arrived the field itself was very green and well kept however it was very crowded. The line to go up the tower was too long for us to wait in for the half day timeframe but we got some great pictures "holding the tower up" as the classic tourists do. We were shocked however to see on the ride to the site that it is literally in the middle of nowhere. Our bus driver was "friends" with a restaurant owner so we were allowed to use his bathroom which was basically a hole in the dirt, but better than nothing. This was probably in exchange for our driver bringing so many people into his place to buy drinks but at least we had something! :).

obviously everyone comes to pisa to visit this square and the monuments, but it is beautiful, and peaceful (since you can't walk on the grass so everyone gets good photo shots!) shame about all the sellers but they keep to their huts!