Verona City Break from the UK — Weekend Guide & Itinerary

Overview

Why Verona for a city break?

Verona is one of Italy's most complete medieval cities — a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Adige river with a near-intact 1st-century Roman amphitheatre at its heart, still used for outdoor opera performances each summer, and a medieval centre of Scaligeri palaces and Romanesque churches that rivals Siena and Lucca for coherent historical beauty. Romeo and Juliet's city has absorbed its literary mythology gracefully: the so-called Juliet's House draws its queues; the rest of the city rewards those who look beyond the balcony. The Valpolicella and Soave wine regions begin immediately outside the city walls — this is where Amarone, one of Italy's most powerful red wines, is made.

From London and several UK airports it's just over two hours — Ryanair serves Verona Villafranca Airport from Stansted; connections via Milan or Venice are also practical. The airport is 12km from the centre (Aerobus, 20 minutes, €6). Go from April to October: the Arena opera season (June to September) is the most obvious draw but the city rewards visits in spring and autumn equally. The Christmas market on Piazza Bra is excellent in December. Venice is 70 minutes by fast train; the lakes of Garda and Maggiore are under an hour.

Where to stay & explore

Verona's best neighbourhoods

Centro Storico & Piazza Bra

The Roman and medieval heart — Piazza Bra with the Arena, Via Mazzini shopping street, the Scaligeri tombs and the most concentrated historical architecture in Verona.

Piazza delle Erbe & Piazza dei Signori

The two connected squares of the medieval city — the former Roman forum now a market, and the civic heart of the Scaligeri dynasty with its extraordinary Gothic and Renaissance palaces.

Veronetta & Oltreadige

The residential neighbourhoods across the Adige — more local, the best independent restaurants and the most authentic daily life in Verona.

Things to do

What to see in Verona

Arena di Verona

The third-largest Roman amphitheatre in the world, built in the 1st century AD, in near-perfect condition — the original exterior pink-and-white marble facing survives on the inner ring; the outer wall was destroyed by an earthquake in 1183. The Arena seats 22,000 for the summer opera season (Aida is always performed; Nabucco, Tosca and Turandot rotate). The opera experience — outdoors, with the Roman stone above you and candles lit by the audience at dusk — is among the most extraordinary theatrical experiences available anywhere. Book seats online months ahead for the opera season. Outside season, the interior is open as a museum (€10).

Piazza delle Erbe and the Scaligeri Tombs

Piazza delle Erbe — the ancient Roman forum, now Verona's market square — is ringed by medieval and Renaissance palaces of extraordinary variety: the Torre dei Lamberti, the Palazzo del Comune, the Casa dei Mazzanti with its 16th-century frescoes. The adjacent Piazza dei Signori (Dante's Square) is the civic heart. The Arche Scaligere — the Gothic tomb monuments of the Scaligeri dynasty, among the finest Gothic funerary sculpture in Italy — are in an open-air enclosure beside the church of Santa Maria Antica. Free to view from outside; ticketed entry to walk among them.

Castel San Pietro and the river bend

The finest view of Verona is from the Castel San Pietro on the hill east of the Adige river — the Roman bridge, the orange rooftops, the Arena and the Alps in the distance on clear days. Climb the staircase from Piazza Castel San Pietro (15 minutes) or take the funicular (€1, runs in summer). The approach walk along the Adige riverbank — particularly the stretch below the Ponte Pietra — is the most beautiful urban walk in the city.

Castelvecchio Museum

The 14th-century Scaligeri castle on the Adige, converted by Carlo Scarpa in 1964 into one of the most influential museum interiors of the 20th century. Scarpa's exhibition design — the way objects are presented in relation to the medieval architecture, the bridges, the levels, the carefully controlled sightlines — is a masterclass studied by architects worldwide. The collection of Veronese medieval and Renaissance art is itself excellent, with a Pisanello and a Mantegna among the highlights. The equestrian statue of Cangrande della Scala presented against an open sky through a window is the Scarpa intervention most often reproduced in architecture books.

Food & drink

Where to eat in Verona

Il Desco

Two Michelin stars / modern Veronese

The finest restaurant in Verona — Elia Rizzo's tasting menu of modern Veneto cooking has held two Michelin stars for decades. The truffled risotto and the Amarone braised beef are the signature dishes. In a 15th-century palazzo. Book months ahead.

Osteria dal Zovo

Traditional Veronese / Veronetta

The most honest traditional Veronese restaurant — across the Adige in the Veronetta neighbourhood, away from tourist prices, serving pastissada de caval (horse stew, the ancient Veronese dish), risotto all'Amarone, bigoli pasta with duck ragù and the local wines at very reasonable prices. Book ahead at weekends.

Bottega Vini

Wine bar / historic enoteca

The finest wine bar in Verona and one of the oldest in Italy — a 16th-century enoteca with over 2,500 labels and an extraordinary selection of Veronese wines (Amarone, Valpolicella, Soave, Bardolino) by the glass. The food — crostini, salumi, cheese — is the right accompaniment. The atmosphere in the evening is the most convivial in the city.

Itinerary

3 days in Verona — a suggested itinerary

Day 1

Piazza Bra, Arena, Scaligeri tombs, aperitivo on Piazza delle Erbe

Aerobus from Verona Airport to Piazza Bra (20 minutes). The Arena first — walk the Roman stone seating for the scale of it, then the museum inside if not coming back for opera. Walk from Piazza Bra along Via Mazzini (Verona's shopping street) to Piazza delle Erbe for the market. The Torre dei Lamberti lift for the rooftop view (€6). The Scaligeri tombs outside Santa Maria Antica. Castelvecchio Museum in the afternoon — the Scarpa interior, the Cangrande statue. Bottega Vini for aperitivo and an Amarone by the glass. Osteria dal Zovo for dinner (booked ahead).

Day 2

Castel San Pietro, Juliet's House, Lake Garda afternoon

Walk the Adige riverbank to Ponte Pietra (the Roman bridge) and climb to Castel San Pietro for the morning view over the city. The Roman theatre below the castle has an archaeological museum. Back through Veronetta for coffee. Juliet's House (Casa di Giulietta) — the 13th-century palazzo with the famous balcony is in the historic centre; the courtyard is always open free; the interior requires a ticket. The bronze Juliet statue and the love-letter wall are the cultural phenomenon; manage expectations accordingly. Bus or taxi to Lake Garda (Peschiera del Garda, 25km, also by train) for the afternoon: the lake, the ice cream, the lakeside promenade. Return to Verona for dinner.

Day 3

Valpolicella wine country or Venice day trip

The Valpolicella wine region begins 10km northwest of Verona — the hills of Sant'Ambrogio, Fumane and Marano produce Amarone, Valpolicella Classico and Ripasso. Several wineries (Allegrini, Bertani, Zenato) accept visitors with advance booking. Alternatively: Venice is 70 minutes by Frecciarossa (€15, runs half-hourly from Verona Porta Nuova) — enough time for the Rialto market, the sestieri away from the main tourist routes and a Bellini at Harry's Bar before the return train. Back in Verona for a final glass of Amarone at Bottega Vini before the Aerobus to the airport.

Why Verona for a city break?

Verona's best neighbourhoods

What to see in Verona

Where to eat in Verona

3 days in Verona — a suggested itinerary

Cities similar to Verona