Where is San Marino?
You might be forgiven for never having heard of it. San Marino is a so-called “micro-state” in Europe. It is surrounded by Italy and is land-locked. It is located in the north east of Italy. The official language is Italian.
The nearest town is Rimini, a resort on the Adriatic coast of Italy. It survives mainly from tourism, with many day-trippers bussed in from Rimini.
San Marino is the third smallest country in Europe after the Vatican City and Monaco and is the fifth smallest country in the world. It is one of only 3 countries completely surrounded by another country.
The country is basically a big hill with an old town and fortress featuring three towers. Each tower offers panoramic views of the surrounding countryside, i.e. Italy.
How to get there?
I rented a car from Bologna. The round trip was easily doable in a day. There are plenty of paid car parks. You can take an elevator from one of the parks and arrive in the centre of San Marino City.
As you enter the city, you will find a square with the the Palazzo Pubblico (Public Palace), the seat of government. San Marino is guarded by a special unit of the military called the Guard of the Rock. They are also responsible for guarding the palace.
From there, you meander up the winding alley to eventually arrive at one of the towers. You have to pay to enter and each tower has some kind of museum inside. From the first tower, you then take a trail to the other towers.
Shopping
San Marino is also some kind of duty free zone to encourage tourism. Every second souvenir shop is selling fancy watches. Like Rolexes I guess. I didn’t really pay attention as I am not into watches. But the most bizarre thing is, weapons are openly available for sale. Japanese samurai swords. Hand guns. Automatic rifles. Very strange.
Postage stamps are also a thing. Philatelists come to San Marino especially to buy stamps, which is another source of income for the country.
Conclusion
That’s it. You’re done. You can go home now. So, is it worth it? In this case I would say yes. But I am biased as I am in a quest to knock off every country in Europe. If I would do it again, I would stay overnight, as the atmosphere is supposed to be completely different in the evening when all the day-trippers have left. I can confirm reports of bad service in the restaurants. It seems the locals are not concerned about repeat business. I often find it bizarre that locals treat tourists badly when their livelihood depends on tourism.
