Verona Arena
ModerateRoman amphitheatre and summer opera
Walk the stone tiers by day; by night, sit among thousands with candles for Aida under the stars.
Piazza BraOperaRoman
Verona & Lake Garda, Italy
Ideal: 3–4 daysBest: May–SepPrice: Expensive
In 60 seconds
Verona & Lake Garda in 60 seconds
Verona is the Veneto's other great city, and a gentler one than Venice: a Roman, medieval and Renaissance town in a loop of the River Adige, listed whole by UNESCO. Its 1st-century Arena still fills with 15,000 people on summer nights for open-air opera. Wander Piazza delle Erbe, cross the Roman Ponte Pietra, and see Carlo Scarpa's remodelling of the Castelvecchio museum. Juliet's balcony is a 20th-century addition to a 13th-century house, and the courtyard is always crowded; Shakespeare never came. North of the city the hills of Valpolicella make Amarone from grapes dried for months, and half an hour west lies Lake Garda, where Sirmione's castle stands in the water and Malcesine's cable car rises to Monte Baldo. Two days in Verona, two on the lake.
RomanOperaWineLake
Best for
- History
- Food
- Weekend
Known for
- The Arena
- Opera festival
- Amarone
- Lake Garda
Skip if
You are only here for Romeo and Juliet — the balcony is a romantic invention, and the real Verona is better than the legend.
Your match
Choose a few travel interests and we will show how well Verona & Lake Garda fits them. Choose interests
See
Must experience
The things that would make the trip incomplete without them.
Castelvecchio
ModerateScaliger castle and Scarpa's museum
A 14th-century fortress whose museum Carlo Scarpa remodelled in the 1960s — as fine a lesson in design as in art.
CentroDesignMuseum
Piazza delle Erbe & Torre dei Lamberti
The old forum and its tower
Market stalls on the Roman forum, frescoed houses, and a lift up the town tower for the view.
CentroSquareView
Sirmione
A castle in the lake and Roman villa ruins
The Scaliger castle rises from the water at the neck of the peninsula; walk out to the Roman ruins at the tip.
Lake GardaCastleLake
Eat
Where to eat
A short list, kept short on purpose. Each entry answers one question: when is this the right choice?
More places to eat
Too few picks yet for their own heading, so they share this list.
Antica Bottega del Vino
ExpensiveHistoric wine bar and restaurant · Since 1890
A marble bar and a vast cellar off Via Mazzini; order risotto all'Amarone and a glass of Valpolicella.
CentroAmarone risottoWine
Beyond the obvious
Hidden gems
Less obvious, rarely queued for, and usually the part people remember.
Valpolicella
Hills of Amarone north of the city
Villas, cherry orchards and lofts where grapes dry for Amarone; most estates taste by appointment.
ValpolicellaCountrysideWine
Ponte Pietra & San Pietro hill
The Roman bridge and the view
Cross the rebuilt Roman bridge and climb (or ride the funicular) to Castel San Pietro for sunset over the city.
VeronettaFreeRoman
Orientation
Neighbourhoods
How the city is actually divided, and what each part is for.
Centro storico
Inside the loop of the Adige
Piazza Bra to Piazza delle Erbe along marble-paved Via Mazzini.
Veronetta
The student side of the river
Cheaper bars, the university and the Giusti garden across the Adige.
Stay
Where to stay
Areas rather than hotels — pick the right one and the rest follows.
Verona centre
ExpensiveHotels near the Arena
Walk home after the opera; book early for festival nights.
OperaWalkable
Lake Garda villages
ExpensiveSirmione, Bardolino, Malcesine
Swap a night or two in the city for the lakeshore.
LakeSummer
Practical
Know before you go
- Getting in
- Fast trains from Milan take about 1 hour 15 minutes and from Venice slightly longer; Verona's airport is 20 minutes away.
- Getting around
- Walk the centre; buses run to Sirmione and the lake, and boats link the lakeside towns.
- Opera festival
- The Arena season runs from June to early September; bring a cushion for the stone seats.
- Taste locally
- Amarone, Valpolicella Ripasso, Soave, risotto all'Amarone, bollito with pearà sauce and Lake Garda olive oil.
Plan this trip — useful links
Context
History in 5 minutes
Enough to make what you are looking at legible.
- 30 AD
The Arena is built outside the Roman town walls.
- 1260s–1387
The della Scala family rule Verona and build its castles and tombs.
- 1913
Aida is staged in the Arena, beginning its opera festival.
- 2000
The city of Verona is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Further out
Nearby escapes
Worth a day if you have one to spare.
Venice
The lagoon city
Venice has its own guide; staying in Verona and visiting by train is a calmer way to see it.
1 hr 15 min by trainCityUNESCO