I am facinated by pictures of the smallest republic in the world..has anyone been there?
how do you reach it (besides a verrrrrrry long uphill climb!)can you tour the castles?

I was in San Marino this past March and I wouldn't waste my time going there. You can drive right into the old high walled town or you can take a tram car. While the views are spectacular, the town is overrun by schloky souvenier stands. It really isn't worth going out of your way just to say you've been there. We were close by in Le Marche and just decided to give it a try.

Have stayed twice in SM, granted it is
a very heavilly tourist town during the
day, however in later afternoon when
the tourists leave and most of the
souvenir close, the town is quite nice.
The views from some locations around
town are quite beautiful. We had a
very great sunset from our hotel room
at the TITANO, had an exceptional dinner
at the ristorante Taverna and Ceasare..Food at the Titano was also very good, especially their straw and grass.... Richard of LaGrange Park, IL.

I agree.... arrive late in the afternoon and book a hotel with a view.

Straw and grass?

I was in San Marino in October and loved it. It's touristy during the day with mostly Italians coming to shop with no VAT. Prices there are quite reasonable.

I thought it was a neat place and would happily visit it again. There are many parking lots around the base of the old city and a reasonably short climb up to its base, but, be advised, it continues to go up for a very long time. If the idea of a lot of uphill walking bothers you, you may want to skip it; if you can deal with it, I think it's well worthwhile to visit.

We went for an afternoon. The kids really wanted to see the "tiny" country. It did have lovely views. The castle was cool. My son loved climbing way up the huge hill to see it up close.
I stayed in the coffee shop with my oldest daughter and drank excellent hot coffee (it was a very cold day) and we chatted with the man behind the bar. Friendly people, nice, almost Alpine feel to the place architecture-wise, but I didn't feel like we should stay longer than a day...course we were on a mission to Venezia!

Good morning, Straw and Grass is a pasta dish combining natural colored
and green colored narrow noodles in a wonderful cheeze sauce...very close to
an Alfredo... Richard of LaGrange Park, Il..

Hey, Dicky, thanks for the explanation. It sounds delicious.

I rather agree with buongiorno, as San Marino can seem like a miniature Disney World many times, but it does have its charm. Going in the evening makes a lot of sense (if you are to go), as the sunsets in San Marino are unbeatable.