Car Hire: Take advantage of the special easyJet inflight rates. Visit the Europcar desk on arrival or call +39 (0)27 039 948. Open from 8am-midnight seven days a week.

Airport Transfer: Pre-book your door-to-door transfer with easyJet’s transfer partner, Holiday Taxis—from home to the airport, then city or resort (easyjet.holidaytaxis.com).

Taxi: The fare to the city centre is about €7.

Bus: Compagnia Pisana Trasporti (CPT) buses go to the centre every 20 minutes. Route 3 stops at Pisa Central, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, Riverside and Santa Chiara Hospital. Tickets: €0.77 (at the airport).

L'Antico Vicoletto
( Vicolo del Tinti. Tel. 055 971 1450 )
Tasty and hearty traditional Tuscan fare. Ribollita (barley and bean soup) is a good starter, followed by pork roast with rosemary-flavoured potatoes.

Osteria La Toscana
( 39 Via Carducci. Tel. 050 554 557 )
Wild boar is prime game in Tuscany—in this cosy little trattoria, try pappardelle or polenta with wild boar in tomato and olive sauce.

Ristorante Emilio
( 44 Via Cammeo. Tel. 050 562 141 )
Porcini mushrooms play a major role in this refined and elegant restaurant. Stand-out dishes include risotto with mushrooms scented with nipitella, porcini and rocket salad, and juicy steak topped with roasted porcini caps.

Le Repubbliche Marinare
( 8 Via Riccardi. Tel. 050 20506 )
This restaurant pays homage to Pisa's past as a great maritime republic. The fish-based menu is rich: start with seafood antipasti, proceed with fish soup or risotto and follow that with baked bass with potatoes.

Salza
( 46 Borzo Stretto. Tel. 050 580 244 )
On a cool winter's night opt for a creamy hot chocolate and a slice of semolina cake in this time-honoured bakery.

Leningrad Café
( 5 Via Silvestri. )
A hip place to spend the evening listening to punk, indie, rock 'n' roll, swing and soul music. DJ and cabaret on Saturday.

Kinzica Pub
( 30 Lungarno Galileo Galilei. Tel. 050 40239 )
Named after Kinzica de' Sismondi, the heroine on horseback who alerted the Pisans from the invading Saracens. Tasty sandwiches and international beer.

Bread is the stuff of life and you'll find it at Paradiso del Pane (Bread Paradise) at the central market. Pizza slices, focacce, sandwiches, cookies and bread of all shapes and sizes (32 Piazza delle Vettovaglie).

The Palazzo Giuli Rosselmini Gualandi, also known as the Palazzo Blu, is a beautiful building that's blue in hue, dramatically standing out from its neighbours in yellow and red ochre. It is now a museum and cultural centre that's open to all (Lungarno Gambacorti. Tel. 050 50017)

January sales are in full swing in Pisa's smartest shopping districts, Borgo Stretto and Corso Italia, on opposite sides of the Arno River. Now's the time to buy the best stuff that's made in Italy.

Leggere in Bianco e Nero is a black-and-white photography exhibition that immortalises daily life on the streets of Pisa. It's on at the Bilblioteca Comunale, Palazzo Pretorio (until 20 January. Lungarno Galileo. Tel. 050 910 615).

Abetone – In the Pistoiese Mountains, Abetone (Pistoia) was made famous by ski champion Zeno Colò. It's the best-equipped ski station in the Apennines and skiers can enjoy scenic runs along wonderful valleys. A bus from the train station takes you to the slopes.

In September 2008, researchers at Pisa's Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari Sant'Anna set a world WiFi record, transmitting data via wireless at the velocity of 1.2 terabits a second.

Compiled by Silvia Falsaperla