Having bagged a bargain flight we arrive in Pisa on 2nd of January for a spur of the moment Italian adventure. On the first night we will most likely stay in Pisa as we don't arrive until late evening. However I'm looking for some suggestions for the next 2.5 days as i'm not sure where would be best to visit given the time of year. We won't have a car so places would have to be feasible by train

There is usually a bus available from the airport to Florence (last one is a little after midnight).
http://www.terravision.eu/florence_pisa.html

possibly a bit controversial but whilst Italy is one of my favourite places I haven't been awfuly keen on Florence on previous visits. Is that the most logical place to go to from Pisa or are there feasible alternatives for a winter visit?

I also got a bargain flight to Pisa (from England on Easyjet, just 36 GBP return each) last July!

Yes, we did take the bus down to Florence (quicker than the train) when we arrived, stayed there overnight then went on to Siena by bus which we loved. I would have like to have gone on to the Chianti area, or San Gimigiano/Volterra but with only a few days did not want to rent a car. However there are good bus links from Florence to all these places, and you can find the relevant links here on fodors with a bit of judicial searching.

After 2 nights in Florence we took the train back to Pisa, and then went on to Lucca for half a day. We wish we'd had longer to spend there. It definitely needed more time.

In Pisa we stayed at the Royal Victoria on the river. It was a wonderful old place, filled with antique furniture, some of it quite tatty) and the walls were lined with old prints and photos and pictures. I felt like I'd stepped back in time. OK, maybe it was old and dated but it had a real charm and a feel of older times, the sort of place you see in films like Room with a View (different city I know, but kind of 'of that time'), the sort of place my grandparents would have stayed at on their honeymoon. The rooftop terrace is wonderful, though maybe not in January! And it was under 100 euros a night!

http://www.royalvictoria.it/

Fiona,

I must be the only other person in the universe that shares some mixed feeelings about Florence stemming from my last visit there. I highly recommend going to Lucca which is about 30 mins by train from Pisa. I have visited there twice and you will find enough do do and see there for two days. It is a lovely, mainly pedestrian medieval city.

Train Pisa - Lucca (1 full day)

Train Lucca - Florence (2 days)

Train Florence - Pisa Airport

Thanks everyone for all this info. I think we'll definately put Lucca on the list

Any thoughts on Siena or Montepulciano or are these really not sensible in winter?

DH and I made Pisa our base for a week and loved it!

If you haven't seen the leaning tower and duomo, it's a must. Also, Pisa itself is a lovely, unspoiled university city.

We trained to Siena (took a cab to the top and arranged for him to pick us up later),