While everyone is "flying" through Italy, consider a night in San Marino. During the day it is tour bus central and the worlds biggest souvenir stand. At night, after the busses leave it changes character completely and is laid back and a cool place to be. We really enjoyed it and found it a relatively inexpensive compared to Italy. You can also add it your list of countries visited without hardly going out of your way.

I agree. We sort of stumbled on San Marino..got there late.. spent the nite and it was delightful.

Grandma, our experience was similar. We stopped in San Marino only because my son wanted to add a country to his list and it was nearby. At night within the walls it turned absolutely mystical. We stayed at a family run hotel not far from the city wall. The room and bath were lovely and the $60 we paid was about a third of what a similar room would cost elsewhere in Italy. We were glad we stopped and m.

I just saw a tv show this afternoon - Visions of Italy. Talk about getting pumped for our upcoming trip!!!

They showed a cable car going up to San Marino. Is this still running? Anyone have any information on it?

You can take a bus from Rimini or Urbino, or drive to Borgo Maggiore and catch the cable car. We just drove up the mountain to the walled city. It is a nice drive on a good road. Our hotel, between 1 and 2 km from the wall, had parking and in the late afternoon and evening, we did not experience any problem finding parking just outside the wall. This was in June.

Thanks basingstoke! We'll be driving too - but I read that the drive up to San Marino is a bit crazy.

Not at all. Just follow the signs - it is a nice drive.