Free things to do in San Marino, and where I would pay

San Marino has a reputation for being pricey because of the souvenirs and the terraces, and it’s an unfair one. The best thing it has, the medieval town strung along the ridge of Mount Titano, costs nothing at all. The money goes on the details, and there you can save a fair amount if you know where to look.

What costs nothing

The old town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008 and you explore it on foot, as it’s a restricted traffic zone. The walls, the gates, Piazza della Libertà with its 1876 statue and the cobbled lanes are free at any hour. The Palazzo Pubblico is closed for restoration in 2026, but the square isn’t.

The Basilica of Saint Marinus is free to enter. It’s neoclassical, begun in 1826, and holds some of the relics of the saint who gave the country its name beneath the high altar. Just avoid Mass times, when visits are suspended.

Best of all is the walk between the towers. Between the first tower and the second run some 200 metres of battlemented path, the Witches’ Passage, looking over the coast, the Marecchia valley and the Montefeltro. It’s outside the towers, so you don’t need a ticket. Carry on through the woods for about twenty minutes and you reach the Montale, which isn’t open inside and therefore costs nothing either.

Museums, when free and when €5

The State Museums work on a single €11 pass (€8 reduced for over-65s and university students) that opens seven sites, the towers included, plus the Pinacoteca and the museum in Palazzo Pergami-Belluzzi. Online sales offer no single-tower ticket. Under-18s always get in free.

There are two ways to pay less. One is to go on one of the five free days for everyone, 5 February, 7 July, 3 September, 27 September and European Heritage Day. The other is the «Ultima Fascia» ticket, €5, sold only at the desks and valid at every site in the last slot before closing. The official ticket office says from 16:00 and another source says from 17:30, so ask there. On winter hours, closing at 16:50, that’s enough for one tower and not much more.

Even so, this is the one expense I wouldn’t trim. Climbing the Penna tower in the Guaita, looking across the plain to the Adriatic and then walking past the armour in the Cesta’s Museum of Arms is easily worth €11. On a very tight budget I’d rather pay for the pass and save on lunch than the other way round.

Getting about and parking for less

AASS public transport inside the country cost nothing between 2 March and 30 September 2026. On 29 September no fare had been published for after that, so it’s worth checking. The bus from Rimini is run by another company and costs €7 each way, but if you’ll be going up several times, the 12-journey card costs €62, about €5.17 a trip.

By car, a full day’s parking costs €8 according to a local site, and outside charging hours it’s free. From October to March you pay from 08:00 to 20:00, and from April to September until midnight.

Borgo Maggiore, the cheap Thursday plan

If it fits, head down to Borgo Maggiore on a Thursday morning. The castello was once called Mercatale for its markets and fairs, and the weekly market still fills Piazza Grande. On the third Sunday of each month, March to December, there’s an antiques market too. You can also walk through the old tunnel of the white-and-blue railway for free.

Eating and shopping without overspending

For food, piadina is the cheap local choice at €6 to €10. For shopping, the outlet is where UK visitors do better than Europeans. San Marino Outlet takes 15% off at the till for residents outside the EU, against 5% for EU residents, on spends over €258.23 per shop, paid by credit card in the buyer’s name. I explain it in shopping and tax free in San Marino.

The cost that worries me most isn’t in any shop window. Roaming here sits outside the EU rules, and British operators price San Marino however they like, so data can cost you without you noticing. More in phone and roaming in San Marino. My full budget for a day or two, by type of traveller, is in is San Marino expensive?.