Opera at the Arena
June to September. Even from the cheapest stone steps the sound carries perfectly: bring a cushion and arrive an hour early.
What to do in Verona
On foot
In the heart of Verona
Via Roma is pedestrianised and opens onto Piazza Bra. From there the old town is entirely walkable: no bus tickets, no hunting for parking.
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4min
Piazza Bra
The city’s largest square, at the end of Via Roma. The Liston — the broad pink marble pavement along the cafés — is where Veronese come for their evening stroll.
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5min
Verona Arena
A first-century Roman amphitheatre still in use. You can visit by day, but it earns its ticket during a performance: opera in summer, concerts the rest of the year.
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6min
Juliet’s House
Italy’s most photographed balcony, in a fourteenth-century courtyard. Go early: from ten o’clock onwards you barely get in.
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7min
Castelvecchio and the Scaliger Bridge
A Scaliger castle on the river, with a museum reworked by Carlo Scarpa — one of the most studied restorations of the twentieth century. Crossing the battlemented bridge is free.
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8min
Piazza delle Erbe
The old Roman forum, now market and drawing room. The frescoed façades of the Mazzanti houses only reveal themselves if you look up.
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8min
Torre dei Lamberti
Eighty-four metres above Piazza delle Erbe, with a lift for the first half. The best place to understand the shape of the Adige’s bend.
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12min
Verona Cathedral
Romanesque and Gothic layered together, with Titian’s Assumption in a side chapel. Far quieter than the Juliet trail.
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15min
Ponte Pietra
The Roman bridge rebuilt with stones recovered from the river after 1945. At sunset it is where the city gets photographed.
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15min
Basilica of San Zeno
A Romanesque masterpiece with bronze door panels and Mantegna’s triptych. Worth the riverside walk to get there.
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17min
Roman Theatre
On the far bank of the Adige, cut into the hillside. In summer it hosts the Estate Teatrale Veronese, with Shakespeare in the open air.
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20min
Giusti Garden
A sixteenth-century Italian garden with ancient cypresses and a belvedere at the top. One of the few quiet places in the centre.
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25min
Castel San Pietro
The terrace above the Roman Theatre, reached by steps or funicular. The best view over the city, and it costs nothing.
Times measured at a normal walking pace from the door of Via Roma 29.
Worth doing
Five things we tell everyone
If you have two days and want to play it safe, these are the ones. The first two are best in the evening, when the light changes and the coach parties leave.
Aperitivo in Piazza delle Erbe
Around seven, when the square empties of visitors and fills with locals. Ask for a Spritz or a glass of Valpolicella.
Sunset from Castel San Pietro
Twenty minutes uphill, or the funicular from Ponte Pietra. Go on your first day and the city’s layout will make sense at once.
Castelvecchio through Scarpa’s eyes
Even without an interest in medieval art, the museum is worth it for how it is made: the routes, lighting and mounts are a work in themselves.
A morning at the market
Piazza delle Erbe first thing, then cooking in an apartment with a kitchen: the simplest way to eat well without spending much.
Day trips
Away by morning, back in Verona for dinner
The lake, the wine hills and the art cities are all close by: pick a destination and be back in time for dinner.
Lake Garda
30 min by carSirmione, Lazise and Peschiera: lakeside villages, waterfront walks and sunsets.
Valpolicella
25 min by carAmarone hills and wineries to visit by appointment, with long views over the vineyards.
Soave
30 min by carA walled village with a castle on the hill: two hours, white wine included.
Mantua and Venice
45 min – 1 h 10 by trainBy train from Porta Nuova: two art cities, each an unhurried day trip.
By bike
Three rides that start here
A gentle ride along the river, a day out to the lake or a climb through the vineyards: all three start from here.
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20 km
The Adige cycle path
Picked up on the riverside, it leaves the city on tarmac and compact gravel, always away from cars. Fine for children too.
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35 km
Verona to Lake Garda
Flat with a few rises as far as Peschiera, where the lake circuit begins. Easy on an e-bike charged the night before.
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45 km
The Valpolicella hills
Short but firm climbs between the vineyards, returning along the river. The ride we suggest to anyone on a road bike.
Stay in the centre
All of it, on foot from your bed
Apartments with a kitchen and triple rooms on Via Roma 29, inside the pedestrian zone: everything you have just read starts outside the front door.