A day in San Marino, from the first bus to the last

Most people go up to San Marino from the coast in the morning and come down in the afternoon, and if you’re based in Rimini I think that’s exactly right. What usually goes wrong is the order. They arrive mid-morning, do the centre with everyone else and rush the towers. This plan flips that round and is built around two clocks that don’t bend, the bus and the museums. And if you’re still unsure whether to go up at all, read whether San Marino is worth visiting first.

The two timetables that run your day

The first belongs to the Rimini-San Marino shuttle. Between 15 September and 7 November 2026, Rimini station has eight departures daily, the first at 08:00 and the last at 19:00, and eight coming back. The journey takes 55 minutes. A ticket costs €7 and only covers the run you booked, the detail most people overlook. I’d buy both legs the day before on Bonelli’s online shop, because standing passengers are allowed and the ticket guarantees the journey, not a seat. Children under 100 cm travel free without a seat of their own. The full detail, with stops and multi-trip cards, is in Rimini to San Marino.

The second belongs to the State Museums. Winter hours kick in on 27 September, with doors at 09:00, closing at 16:50 and the last sale at 16:30. That goes for the towers and the museums in the centre alike, so after half past four you won’t get into any site even with the pass. Everything you pay for goes before then. There’s also a €5 «Ultima Fascia» ticket for the last slot of the afternoon, sold only at the desks, but on this plan you’ll already hold the full pass, so it’s only useful if you arrive late and just want one tower. What this day costs, item by item, is laid out in what a day in San Marino costs.

Why I start with the towers

The 08:00 bus puts you up top at 08:55 and the Guaita opens at 09:00. It’s the best hour of the day for the three towers of San Marino, because the next bus from the coast doesn’t get in until 10:20. With the €11 pass bought at the first tower, the rest of the morning runs without another ticket queue.

Between the Guaita and the Cesta lies the Witches’ Passage, which for me is the best thing in the country. Then I walk out to the Montale on the woodland path, twenty minutes each way, because it’s free and usually calmer. If you’re pressed, it’s the first thing I’d cut, though you’d miss it.

The afternoon in the centre, against the 16:30 clock

After lunch, the centre. Piazza della Libertà gets a passing look, since restoration work keeps the Palazzo Pubblico shut until 31 October 2026 and only its front is on view. My priority is the State Museum, then the San Francesco Art Gallery, which you need to enter before 16:30. If coins interest you more than painting, swap the gallery for the Stamp and Coin Museum on the same pass. I compare every site in San Marino’s museums.

The finish, down and back up

With the museums shut, I ride the cable car down to Borgo Maggiore. Cabins leave every fifteen minutes, and from 1 October the last run is at 19:00. Below there’s a square with a clock tower, the tunnel of the railway that linked Rimini and San Marino until 1944, and the Thursday market, which is a morning affair and long gone by now. I head back up in time for a last hour on the square and the 19:00 bus.

If you’d rather not cut it fine, there’s the 17:00 bus, and then I’d skip Borgo Maggiore and keep the Montale. And if you can stay the night, the day changes a lot, because you get the towers early without the dawn start and the second day goes to San Leo. That’s in my two-day San Marino itinerary.

What didn’t make the cut

The private torture, wax and vampire museums aren’t in this day because they’re not on the pass and most publish no price. I’ve grouped them in San Marino’s quirky museums in case you’re travelling with children who ask. Nor have I included the outlet at Dogana, which is a stop on the same bus but eats half a day. If you’d rather sort everything by importance than by the clock, my ranking is in things to do in San Marino. And if you’re left wanting more, my San Marino guide covers the whole country, castello by castello.