San Marino
Travel Guide > Europe > San Marino
In this Article
- Introduction
- Brief History
- Geography
- Regions
- Cities
- Sights and Activities
- Events and Festivals
- Weather
- Getting There
- Getting Around
- Red Tape
- Money
- Work
- Study
- Language
- Eat
- Sleep
- Drink
- Health
- Safety
- Keep Connected
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Quick Facts
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- Capital
- San Marino
- Government
- Independent Republic
- Nationality
- Sammarinese
- Population
- 28,000
- Languages
- Italian
- Religions
- Christianity (Catholic)
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Calling Code
- +378
- Time Zone
- UTC+1
- Daylight Saving
- UTC+2
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Introduction
Nestled in Itlay a few miles off the Adriatic Coast, San Marino owes much of its modern tourism industry to the distinctive capital (bearing the same name), which rises proudly above the Italian landscape atop Mount Titano. The city is vertically built, making for some tough walking, but is well worth it: stunning vistas of the Adriatic Sea, or the Po river valley are only half the attraction. Within the city itself, a medieval castle and three fortresses make this a one-of-a-kind sort of place.
While it is the world's second smallest republic, San Marino is a proud nation, with a distinctive identity. Named after the saint who is said to have first settled the area, the Sammarinese remain devoutly religious. Holy days fill up the calendar. A less religious, yet wholly entertaining festival is the Medieval Days with Antique Crossbow Competition, which acts as an enjoyable reinforcement of the city's medieval image.
San Marino is completely surrounded by Italy.
Brief History
Geography
Regions
San Marino is divided into nine municipalities, known locally as Castelli (singular: castello), literally castles.
Sights and Activities
Three Towers of San Marino
Built on the three peaks of Monte Titano, which is the tallest mountain in the republic, the Three Towers of San Marino are stunning hanging off the tops of these peaks. The towers were originally built as look out towers in order to protect the republic. Guaita is the oldest tower on the three peaks and overlooks the city. This tower was originally built in the 11th century and was briefly a prison at one time. Cresta is the highest of the three towers and museum to honour Saint Marinus is located in the tower. This tower was constructed in the 13th century. Montale is the smallest of the three towers and was constructed in the 14th century. Montale is not currently open to the public.
Palazzo Pubblico
The Palazzo Pubblico (Public Palace) is the city hall for the City of San Marino. This fortress like building is the site of all public ceremonies and seat of the Republic's main institutional and administrative bodies. After hundreds of years of abuse the building under went a massive restoration process recently.
Hiking
With many mountains and some nice green space San Marino has some great hiking. Explore the mountains around the area or go on an urban adventure.
Other Sights and Activities
- Mount Titano - Is the highest peak in the country and stands at 749 m.
- Monastery of Santa Clara
- Sports - Check out one of the two local football teams in action.
Events and Festivals
Weather
The climate in San Marino is comparable to the area in the central northern parts of Italy, with warm summers and relatively mild winters, though occasionally frost is possible. Also, summers nights are colder compared to the coastline. Summers are dry, while most of the precipitation falls during the months of November to March. Expect temperatures between 25 and 30 degrees in summer, around 10 degrees or slightly less in winter.
Getting There
By Plane
There is no airport in San Marino. The nearest airport is Federico Fellini International Airport (RMI) in Rimini, Italy, located 16 km away. Bus services connect the airport to San Marino. Air Berlin has flights from Amsterdam and Berlin. Ryanair has connections to East Midlands, London and Stockholm.
There is also an international heliport located in Borgo Maggiore.
By Train
A train station, tunnel and train line were built in the 1930s to link the city with Rimini but it was closed after the war and never reopened. There have been some proposals to reopen the line but it never seems to happen.
By Car
Crossing from Italy is fast and straightforward and there are no border controls. Just have your papers in order in case you need to show driving permit or insurance for the car.
By Bus
There are regular buses to Rimini from San Marino.
Getting Around
By Car
You can enter San Marino from Italy without any hassle and there isn't even a border control. Once you are in San Marino, it is best to park your car in Borgo Maggiore at the foot of the moutain and take the cable railway up the moutain to San Marino town itself. If you really want you can travel to the city by car as well but you have to leave your car outside the walled city and the fee to park your car here is much higher than in Borgo Maggiore.
By Bus
No buses travel around San Marino, but bus number 72 takes you here from Rimini at the Adriatic coast in Italy.
By Foot
Once in the city of San Marino itself, everything can be explored easily on foot although some small roads can be steep in places.
Red Tape
In general, the same rules apply as for Italy. Though noticed that San Marino is not a Schengen country and a Schengen Visa is not valid here.
Money
See also: Money Matters
San Marino has adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.
Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.
The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.
San Marino Euros are rarely used in everyday life, as they are quite valuable and generally only coin collectors have them.
Work
Study
Language
Eat
Sleep
| Property | Address | Type | Popularity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Joli | viale Federico D'Urbino 36 b | Hotel | - |
| Hotel Vintage | Via del Serrone 124 | Hotel | - |
Drink
This is version 20. Last edited at 11:10 on Sep 26, 09 by Utrecht (+160). 12 articles link to this page.
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