San Marino, the small mountain country surrounded by Italy

I visited quite a few new countries this summer and the first one on the long list was the tiny nation of San Marino. San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe and the fifth smallest in the world. It’s an enclaved microstate on the northeastern side of the Apennine Mountains, surrounded completely by Italy, making it one of only three countries in the world to be completely surrounded by another country (the other two being Vatican City, also surrounded by Italy, and Lesotho, surrounded by South Africa). That the country is surrounded by Italy is evident through a number of cultural aspects. They eat Italian foods and watch Italian tv channels. There is no native Sammarinese language, so the official language is Italian, although they do have a special dialect with certain unique words and phrases. But don’t make the mistake of calling them Italians. The Sammarinese are proud of their heritage, history and status as an independent nation.

The name of the country derives from Saint Marinus, who in 301 AD, according to the popular legend, founded a small Christian society and built a monastery on Monte Titano, where the capital, City of San Marino, is located today. For this reason, San Marino claims to be the oldest extant sovereign state as well as the oldest constitutional republic. Together with Monaco, Liechtenstein, Andorra and Malta, San Marino is a relic from the time when Europe consisted of hundreds of small, independent units.

To get to San Marino from Milan, I had pre-booked a bus to Rimini, where I could then catch a local bus to San Marino… Or so I thought! It turned out that my bus didn’t go to Rimini, but the neighbouring city of Riccione instead (which was not noted on my ticket… thanks Flixbus!). It wouldn’t have been a big problem if the bus had dropped me off at the station, but of course it didn’t. Instead it dropped me off at a restaurant in the outskirts of the city, two kilometers from the train station. After asking around for a bus, I realized that I’d have to walk there in the burning heat with my luggage in order to catch a train to Rimini. A very kind local couple did offer to drive me to the station, but they were in the middle of their dinner, so I didn’t want to disturb them. So, I sucked it up and walked. I got to the station and bought a ticket for the next departure to Rimini which was an hour away… typical! Thankfully, I’d set off early from Milan, so it was still only early afternoon, so with a bit of luck I’d still have some time to explore San Marino before sunset.

The train to Rimini only took a few minutes and the bus to San Marino left 20 minutes later. 45 minutes after that, I finally entered the small country. No border control or anything, in fact I didn’t even notice when we crossed the border.

Of course, silly me got off at the wrong stop and then had to walk 30 minutes to get to my hostel. It definitely wasn’t my day in terms of transportation! But at least the detour gave me some wonderful first views of the beautiful country.

The capital city of San Marino is located on top of Monte Titano (749 meters above sea level), and so are all the main sights in the country. Unfortunately, accommodation up there is very expensive, so I opted for a cheaper option in Cailungo, a village located way below the mountain.

Once I got myself settled at the hostel, I decided to go for a sunset stroll in the capital. But first I had to get there… I decided to cheat and take a bus – otherwise it would’ve been an hour-long hike uphill, and it was already getting late. The bus was a bit late, but otherwise this journey went surprisingly well.

The views only got better the further up I went on the bus. San Marino truly is beautiful. The views from the capital go on forever across the low-lying parts of the tiny nation, Italy and out to the Adriatic Sea.

I only had a few hours before sunset, but the capital is tiny, so it was actually enough to see most of the important sights. I explored the Piazza della Libertá, the main square with the Palazzo Pubblico, the town hall and official government building, and enjoyed the magnificent view from there. The narrow cobbled streets of the capital are full of small souvenir shops and jewellery shops, which was quite uninteresting to me. Despite being the least visited country in Europe, there were many tourists around – it was high season, after all.

Golden hour was quickly approaching, so I decided to climb to the three towers that remain from San Marino’s medieval fortress. Most of the day trippers had left by now, so I had it all to myself. The walk was tough as I had to climb hundreds and hundreds of steps, but it didn’t take long. The first tower that I got to was Rocca Guaita, the oldest of the three towers, built in the 11th century. This is the one you know from all the Instagram pictures of San Marino!

The second tower, Rocca Cesta, built in the 13th century, is located on the summit of Monte Titano. It houses a museum which showcases over 1,500 weapons dating from the Medieval era to modern times. The third tower, Rocca Montale from the 14th century, was built on the ridge of the mountain. Although this tower is closed to the public, and the view from there isn’t great as the tower itself is blocking it, it is worth walking there anyways as incredible views of the other two towers and the countryside are found en route to Rocca Montale!

I stayed up there for a while watching as the setting sun coloured the sky pink, but then decided to walk back to the city to see the last bit of the sunset as I couldn’t see the sun from where I was standing.

I did not regret this decision, and it was also wonderful to experience San Marino by night. It was in the middle of the summer, so the streets were swarming with people. I really enjoyed the atmosphere there!

The next day, I had a full day in the country, but I decided to take it easy as I had many days of travel ahead of me. I walked from the hostel to the funicular, which connects the village of Borgo Maggiore with the capital.

It’s one of those things that you must do while you’re in San Marino, and for just 2,80 euros for a ticket, it was definitely worth it to spare my legs for more uphill walking!

I walked around the center for a while and visited Basilica di San Marino, a beautiful Catholic church from the 19th century, which is the main church of the City of San Marino. Afterwards, I sat down on a bench in a quiet spot to enjoy my lunch and to figure out what to do with the rest of the day.

I had originally planned to visit the small village Faetano in the countryside, but the busses to and from the capital don’t run very frequently and I wasn’t able to locate the bus station, so I ended up knocking that one on the head. It was lucky I did, as the heavens opened while I was eating my lunch, and it started thundering and lightning soon after. Not the best day to be stuck in the countryside!

I decided to make my way back to the hostel in the rain, still a 40-minute walk away – although downhill, which was nice!

But despite the rain, I took a small detour to the quaint center of the village Borgo Maggiore, which I’d spotted while coming up in the funicular earlier that day. Borgo Maggiore is the second largest village in the country with just over 6,800 inhabitants. It lies at the foot of Monte Titano in an area that was previously called ‘Mercatale’ (‘marketplace’), which is quite fitting as Borgo Maggiore is the most important market and shopping village in San Marino today.

I spent the rest of the day inside, hiding from the stormy weather, before going for a sunset stroll when it had finally cleared up. It was lucky that I’d explored most of the capital the evening before!

San Marino was just as beautiful as I had expected, if not even more. It’s a mystery to me how it can be the least visited country in Europe! If I were you, dear reader, I would be planning a trip to San Marino right now – do it before everyone else does!

Travel info on San Marino

HOW TO GET THERE: There is no airport in San Marino, so the country can only be reached by rental car or bus from Rimini in Italy. The bus runs every day all year round, and tickets are available on the bus. A one-way ticket costs 5 euros and travel time is approximately 50 minutes. You can find the timetable here.

ACCOMMODATION: Accommodation in the center is very expensive, so those on a budget would probably choose to stay in Cailungo or Borgo Maggiore, which is at least 40 minutes of uphill walking to the center – or a 10-minute bus ride. I stayed in the cheapest hostel I could find, Hostel San Marino, which was still pricey. I paid 20 euros per night + 4,5 euros for bed linen and towel (who does that???), and it honestly wasn’t worth the price. There is only one toilet and one shower room for all guests to share, and only one plug per eight beds. There is a large communal area which is great, although all the sofas were dirty, so it wasn’t exactly a nice place to hang out. I recommend trying someplace else, but for one or two nights this one isn’t too bad if the alternative is more expensive.

GETTING AROUND: Getting around San Marino is – apart from to and from the capital from the main road – difficult. Busses run along the main road for most of the day – your accommodation will be able to help you with the timetable. Busses to the rural areas are infrequent, and I had no luck locating the bus station in the capital. Your best bet is to rent a car, if you want to explore more than just the capital and the villages along the main road. You can also catch the funicular between Borgo Maggiore and the capital. It runs every 15 minutes during the day, takes just 2 minutes and costs 2,80 euros for a single ticket, and 4,50 euros for a return ticket.

WANT MORE INFO?: Download a city guide for San Marino with GPSmyCity here!