isabel

I want to visit San Marino and also Urbino as part of a trip which will also probably include Parma and Ferrara. Everything I've read says that San Marino is best done as an overnight - and avoided during the day when the day trippers are there. The trip will be in early July so the crowds will be an issue. So I'm thinking two nights in San Marino and do a day trip during the day between the two nights and visit Urbino and maybe also San Leo. The distances are not far but I gather the roads are slow in that area.

Does that sound like a reasonable plan?

Also, the way my itinerary works out we would be in San Marino on a weekend. Does that make a difference. I can rearrange things to avoid that if weekends are significantly more crowded. But if the crowds are mostly tour buses maybe it doesn't make a difference.

vallenuova

Hi Isabel!
Personally I think that San Marino is definitely not the nicest place to see in the area... the problem in San Marino is not the crowds but the fact that it's completely built around tourism and selling duty-free style items.
San Leo and Urbino are far more interesting and there's a lot more villages and hilltop towns that deserve your attention in the area (Urbania, Mondavio, Cagli, just to mention some) along with stunning natural areas such as the Furlo Gorge. Personally I'd stay near or in Urbino and do a daytrip to San Leo with a short detour to San Marino.

This said: San Marino and San Leo are very near to each other, Urbino is little over 1 hour drive (winding roads but with very little traffic, so the best you can do is take your time and enjoy the landscape).

San Marino is not significantly worse during weekends, the really busy days during the summer are usually the cloudy days when people from the nearby beach areas flock up towards San Marino since they could not enjoy the beach.
I hope that it helps! Have a great trip!

adrienne

I loved Urbino - do visit! I drove from Gubbio to Urbino and the drive was tough over the mountains but probably will be easier coming from the San Marino direction.

If you're staying within the walled city (and I would recommend staying there) have a document (in Italian) from your hotel that will allow you to drive in and leave your luggage.

isabel

Thanks for the replies. I think I've arranged my itinerary so as not to be there on a weekend, although as pointed out that probably doesn't make all that much difference. I know I keep hearing/reading so much negative about San Marino but it LOOKS so beautiful. As a photographer I'm drawn to places based a lot on how they look. I hope by know how tacky all the shops are and avoiding being there mid day that we can lessen the impact and just enjoy the view.

vallenuova

Isabel, if your interest is mainly photographic do make sure that you drive around the hill where San Marino stands since the views from some of the roads below are quite dramatic. Also the drive to and for San Leo has a lot to offer (amazing views of both towns) and it's not a great problem stopping along the road.
In Urbino:
- walk along via Bramante almost to the end of the road, on your left there's a stair, climb up, pass the gate and enjoy the view from that area (very scruffy place but amazing view).
- great views from Fortezza Albornoz (up via Raffaello)
- great views from "Strada Rossa", a road just outside town (take right outside Mercatale Parking and take the first road on your left, follow it for just a few hundred metres and enjoy one of the best views of the centre of Urbino)
I hope that you'll enjoy your visit and that you'll decide to come back for more!
Hope you'll enjoy

Brooke_Herron

Hi vallenuova- do you have a suggestion for a good but reasonably priced lunch spot for someone dining alone in either Urbino or san Leo?
Preferably not somewhere that serves only pasta since I'm a celiac
i love rabbit (coniglio) and other similar specialties though!


Brooke

rbciao47

We loved San Marino and spent one night there in 2014 and then three nights in 2015. We were there in August both times and we were not run over with tourists. After traveling in Italy for the last 35 years we've come to understand that popular attractions produce tourists and the accompanying tourist schlock. Ex: Le Cinque Terre.

We stayed at the Restaurant Hotel Cesare both times and will stay there again when we return. In 2015 our room had a balcony overlooking the city and mountain valleys. During the day is scenery was nice and at night it was STUNNING. We sat outside in the evening before going to bed and found ourselves not wanting to go inside.

We took a day trip to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, which was very cool. I had my picture taken sitting in a Ferrari California because that is the closet to owning one I will come to in this lifetime.

The Adriatic Coast is very close and would also make a nice day trip.

Another positive feature we liked in San Marino was the conspicuous absence of spray paint graffiti.

Finally, I've wanted to visit San Marino since I was 9 years old and it took until 2014 to accomplish this goal.

Go and have fun.

Buon viaggio,

iris1745

We visited San Marino as a day trip on the way to our overnight stop in Gubbio for a few nights.

Visited Urbino from Gubbio as a day trip.

Just enjoyed everything.