How to Take a Day Trip to San Marino

It’s called an enclave: a territory that’s totally surrounded by another one.

The world has lots of enclaves, but only three that are sovereign states.

There’s the Vatican City, of course, which is located entirely within Rome, and there’s Lesotho, in the midst of South Africa.

And there’s San Marino.

San Marino is a tiny nation that’s completely surrounded by Italy, and it makes for one of the best day trips from Bologna and other destinations in north-central Italy.

With three picturesque towers, charming little streets, and plenty of historic buildings, San Marino is a true gem — and it’s underappreciated by travelers to Italy.

From how to get there to what to do, here’s how to take a day trip to San Marino.

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How to Get to San Marino from Italy

It’s possible to take a day trip to San Marino from a number of places in Italy, including Bologna, Florence, and the other cities in this area:

However, it’s important to understand that in order to get to San Marino, you must first travel to the Italian city of Rimini (where you will catch a bus to San Marino). It’s much easier and faster to get to Rimini from cities that have a direct train line there, like Bologna, than from somewhere like Florence, where you will need to make one or more transfers.

So, before you make plans to travel to San Marino, I strongly recommend checking train schedules from your desired home base in Italy to Rimini — make sure that the journey is feasible as a day trip. (Personally, I would say that if it will take you longer than two hours to get from your starting point to Rimini, you should not try to take a day trip to San Marino.)

Here’s how to travel from Italy to San Marino.

Step 1: Travel to Rimini

First, make your way to Rimini, Italy — trains are easiest.

If you travel from Bologna, as I did, the train journey can be as short as 50 minutes or as long as 2 hours, depending on the train you book. (Faster trains are more expensive!)

You can book a ticket in advance or just buy it when you arrive at the train station.

Step 2: Purchase a Bus Ticket

When you arrive in Rimini, walk out of the train station and look for the tabaccheria, or tobacco shop, across the street. In addition to tobacco products, these shops often sell bus tickets — and in this case, the tabaccheria across from Rimini’s train station sells bus tickets to San Marino.

Tell the person inside the shop that you would like a ticket to San Marino. During my visit in 2023, a ticket cost 6 euros for one way or 12 euros for a round trip.

You can also buy a bus ticket in advance on this website. The benefit of this is ensuring you have a ticket in the event that the bus sells out — but the risk is that something goes wrong with your journey to Rimini and you’re late for your intended bus.

Step 3: Ride the Bus to San Marino

After securing your bus ticket, take a left out of the tabaccheria. The bus stop for the San Marino bus is on the same side of the street in front of the Hotel Napoleon. (During my visit, the hotel was under construction, so the stop was moved one block away; signs clearly showed where it was during that time.) There should be signs indicating the stop, but you can ask at the tabaccheria if you have trouble finding it.

When I made this journey, the Bonelli bus pulled up right on time; a screen on the front of the bus said “San Marino.” Passengers lined up, the driver scanned our tickets, and we were off.

The drive to San Marino takes about 50 minutes. It’s most interesting in the last bit of the drive, when you get close to Monte Titano — the mountain on which historic San Marino is perched. You can actually see the city’s famous three towers from the bus. (Sit on the left side of the bus for the best views!)

The bus will drop you off here. There should be a sign listing that day’s schedule for buses returning to Remini — be sure to take a picture of it so you know what time you need to be at the bus stop to catch a bus back to Remini!

Things to Do in San Marino

Here are some of the best things to do during your day trip to San Marino.

Three Towers of San Marino

The very best thing to do in San Marino — and I don’t think it’s a close call — is exploring the city’s three historic towers.

These towers — Guaita, Cesta, and Montale — are in a line across the top of Monte Titano. I recommend starting at the first tower, Guaita, and continuing along the mountaintop from there.

When you enter the site of the first tower, you’ll need to buy a ticket. You have two options:

• A ticket that includes entrance to all of the following museums and monuments: the first tower, the second tower, Public Palace, State Museum, St. Francis Museum, National Gallery, Stamp and Coin Museum. During my visit in 2023, this ticket cost €10.
• A ticket that includes entrance to any two of these museums and monuments. During my visit, this ticket cost €8.

Since there’s little difference in price, the more expensive ticket is a no-brainer if you plan to visit any of the museums in addition to the first two towers. (As I’ll discuss in a minute, you can’t go inside the third tower, so there’s no admission fee associated with that one.)

However, if you plan to visit only San Marino’s towers, and none of its other museums, the less expensive ticket might be the right call for you.

Prima Torre | Guaita

Guaita is the largest and most impressive of San Marino’s three towers. Dating back to the 13th century, Guaita was the main defensive bulwark of San Marino and Monte Titano. It still looks great today — largely because it was extensively restored in more recent centuries.

There are some informational signs and exhibits about the tower and about San Marino, but if you’re anything like me, the main attraction is the views.

You’ll find the best views at the very top of the tallest section of the tower. Warning: the staircase to get up to this viewpoint is very steep and goes through a narrow section of stone at the top. As someone who isn’t crazy about heights, I nearly chickened out of climbing it, but I was of course glad I did in the end — the climb is absolutely worth it.

In particular, Guaita has the best views you’ll find of the second tower, Cesta.

SECONDA Torre | CESTA

The second tower is just a few minutes’ walk from the first tower.

Inside, Cesta is most notable for its many exhibits of old weapons — but once again, the highlight is the views from the top.

Most notably, Cesta has the best views of Guaita. In fact, the views from Cesta — where you can clearly see how Guaita towers on top of a cliff, with the rooftops of San Marino spilling down a hill below it — are my favorite views in all of San Marino.

In the opposite direction, Cesta also has the best views of the third tower.

TERZA TORRE | MONTALE

The third tower, Montale, is considerably smaller than the other two towers.

Montale is not open to the public — though you can walk around its base.

Palazzo Pubblico

San Marino’s Palazzo Pubblico, or Public Palace, is the country’s town hall and government building.

The Palazzo Pubblico is generally open for visits during ordinary business hours, but it is often closed for the work of government (which was, unfortunately, the case during my visit).

Even if the building is not open for tours, be sure to visit Piazza della Libertà, where the Palazzo Pubblico is located, and admire the building from the outside.

Museums

For a tiny city, San Marino has plenty of interesting museums to occupy your time. They include:

• The State Museum has a wide variety of exhibits, including art, archaeological finds, antique coins, and more.
• The Museum of Curiosities offers a kitschy experience with exhibits about all sorts of unusual objects and humans (such as the longest fingernails, largest tattoo, etc.)
• The National Gallery contains San Marino’s premier collection of modern and contemporary art.
• The St. Francis Museum, which is attached to the church of St. Francis, displays historic art and liturgical objects.
• The Stamp and Coin Museum exhibits — you guessed it — coins and stamps from the history of San Marino and other European nations.

Basilica of Saint Marinus

San Marino’s most notable church, the Basilica di San Marino, is a 19th-century building that holds relics of Saint Marinus — the country’s patron saint.

Shop for Souvenirs

San Marino has no shortage of little shops selling mass-produced trinkets or more authentic antiques.

I’m not generally wild about buying cheap souvenirs, but I do collect Christmas tree ornaments from each country I visit, so I snagged one of those from a stand outside the first tower.

Soak in the Views

San Marino’s historic center is a special place — perched entirely on Monte Titano, 2400 feet in the air, you’ll find unparalleled views just about everywhere you look.

In addition to the first and second towers, which easily have the best views in San Marino, here are a few of my favorite viewpoints:

• The Il Cantone area, where you’ll find a cable car station, has gorgeous views to the west, north, and east.
• The Giardino Panoramico scenic spot has excellent views of Rimini and the sea to the northeast.
• From the Rimini bus stop, there are actually really beautiful views looking out to the west.

Returning to Italy

To return to your home base, just retrace your steps: go back to the bus stop where you were previously dropped off and take the next bus to Rimini. There, get off at the train station and buy a ticket back to Bologna, Florence, or wherever you are staying.

Final Thoughts

I loved my visit to San Marino — I think it’s a really charming and unique little place. It’s also the perfect spot for a day trip, although I would love to return and stay overnight!

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