---
title: "How many steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa? 251"
description: "251 steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy. Open to climb. What that count reaches, the height climbed, the average rise per step, and how it compares."
url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/leaning-tower-of-pisa/
site: "At One Place"
---

# How many steps to the top of Leaning Tower of Pisa?

**Steps to the top of Leaning Tower of Pisa: 251**

Reaching the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m · open to climb

Published counts range from 251 to 296 because the tower has two staircases in its upper stages and the bell chamber can be counted or not — the commonest figure for the main climb is 251, and 294 or 296 including the final flights to the top of the bell chamber. The lean makes the climb genuinely strange: the spiral feels steep on one side and almost flat on the other, and the effect reverses as you circle. Access is timed, capped at around 45 people, and children under eight are not admitted. A stabilisation project between 1990 and 2001 reduced the lean by about 45 cm and closed the tower for eleven years.

## The numbers

- **Steps:** 251
- **Reaches:** the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m
- **Public access:** Open to climb
- **Where:** Pisa, Italy
- **Height climbed:** 56 m — 184 ft
- **Average rise per step:** 223 mm

## What the climb is like

About 30 minutes including the timed queue. No bags allowed; the disorienting lean is the main difficulty.

> Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.

## How it compares

*Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.*

- Batu Caves: 272 steps
- Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade: 262 steps
- Cape Hatteras Lighthouse: 257 steps
- Leaning Tower of Pisa: 251 steps
- Milan Cathedral rooftop: 251 steps
- Christ the Redeemer: 220 steps
- Statue of Liberty (pedestal): 215 steps

*Leaning Tower of Pisa ranks 49 of 56 here by step count.*

| Structure | Steps | Reaches | Access |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Batu Caves | 272 | the Temple Cave, in a limestone hill above Kuala Lumpur | Open to climb |
| Saint Isaac's Cathedral colonnade | 262 | the colonnade walkway around the dome, at 43 m | Open to climb |
| Cape Hatteras Lighthouse | 257 | the gallery below the lantern room, at 63 m | Open to climb |
| Leaning Tower of Pisa | 251 | the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m | Open to climb |
| Milan Cathedral rooftop | 251 | the roof terraces, at 70 m among the spires | Open to climb |
| Christ the Redeemer | 220 | the statue's viewing platform, from the upper station of the Corcovado railway | Open to climb |
| Statue of Liberty (pedestal) | 215 | the top of the pedestal, at 47 m — the observation level below the statue itself | Open to climb |

## Common questions

### How many steps to the top of Leaning Tower of Pisa?

251, reaching the bell chamber at the top, at 56 m.

### Can the public climb Leaning Tower of Pisa?

Open to climb. About 30 minutes including the timed queue. No bags allowed; the disorienting lean is the main difficulty.

### How high is that climb?

56 m, about 184 ft, which averages 223 mm per step.

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## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)