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Things to do in Verona
Verona’s top sights
In fair Verona, be seduced by sublime art and architecture, scrumptious food and wine, and a show-stopping Roman Arena. Romeo and Juliet eat your hearts out.- Explore Piazza Bra
- Visit the Arena
- Dine on the Liston
- Catch an opera
- Check out art at the Castelvecchio
- Hop over to Lake Garda
- Take in San Zeno Maggiore
- Escape the crowds
- Marvel at craftsmanship
- Wander Giardino Giusti
Verona, a laid-back city a stone’s throw from Lake Garda has - at its core - the glorious Roman Arena, scene of a famous summer opera festival. Roaming the city’s alleys, not to mention dipping into its local taverns and restaurants, is a rare pleasure. You’ll never be short on things to do in Verona.
1. Explore Piazza Bra
Always busy, always engaging: Piazza Bra is Verona’s - heck, one of Italy’s - largest squares. Do as the promenading crowds do and mill around to soak up the atmosphere. Alternatively, draw up a chair at a restaurant or café and watch the world go by.
Best for: Getting a taste of Verona
Did you know?: It’s hard to believe that this was once an outlying meadow (braida).
2. Visit the Arena
Monumental from the outside, epic within: Verona Arena a Giant Roman amphitheatre, sits plum in the heart of the city. It was built in the first century AD, though a series of earthquakes in the twelfth century destroyed the entire outer encircling wall of the arena. What remains on view today is a harmonious, two-story line of arches. The people that filled the arena’s 30,000 seats in bygone days - in tiers of white and pink marble - were in for some blood-curdling battles. Aside from the Roman taste for gladiatorial gore, either fought man-to-man or against wild animals, the Arena has also seen duels, public executions, bear-baiting and even bulls fighting men and dogs. It takes little imagination to conjure up the bloody scenes: shrinking violets beware.
Best for: History heads
Did you know?: The word ‘arena’ derives from the Latin for sand or dust, which was sprinkled liberally after shows to soak up the blood.
3. Dine on the Liston
Overlooked by two palazzos, the Liston is a long, gently curving, extra-wide pavement - in red Valpolicella marble, of course. It’s lined by cheek-by-jowl cafés, gelaterie and restaurants - all with terrace tables beneath awnings - that stay open late into the evening. It was made for people watching: sit back and watch the city pass by.
Best for: Pastries and people watching
Did you know?: This is the focus of the Veronese passeggiata - an evening walk for anyone who ever wanted to see and be seen.
4. Catch an opera
Calling all Madame Butterflies: of the many reasons to visit the city of Romeo and Juliet, Verona’s world-famous opera season - staged in the huge Roman arena - is the top draw. From late June to early September, the city is consumed by the world-famous Festival Lirico (Arena Opera Festival), when over half a million people attend the performances, which take place almost nightly. Catching a show is simply one of the best things to do in Verona.
Best for: Show-stopping spectacle
Did you know?: The festival dates back to 1913, when it kicked off with a production of Aida to celebrate the centenary of Verdi’s birth. Since then, the season has always included Aida.
5. Check out art at the Castelvecchio
Military men meet paintbrush-wielding dreamers at the Castelvecchio Museum, the medieval riverside fortress that is now Verona’s leading fine-art museum. The castle was commissioned by Cangrande II in 1354 and became a stronghold for Verona’s subsequent rulers. Its art collection fills a labyrinth of chambers, courtyards and passages that is fascinating to explore in itself.
Best for: Artists and military historians alike
Did you know?: Architect Carlo Scarpa carried out the iconic restoration at the end of the 50s that turned the Castelvecchio into the city’s art museum.
6. Hop over to Lake Garda
If you’ve bought your beach towel and want to put it to good use, Lake Garda is easy day-trippin’ distance away. The largest and cleanest of the Italian lakes, it’s also the best known and most popular. If you want to take in some Lakes scenery and the city sights of Verona but are travelling on a budget, there are plenty of cheap holidays to Verona to choose from.
Best for: Beach bums
Did you know?: If you strike for Sirmione, you’ll be rewarded with a unique spectacle: a sunken castle in the lake.
7. Take in San Zeno Maggiore
Verona’s most beautiful Romanesque church, in a western suburb of the city centre, is well worth the extra effort to reach. The present building and its campanile were put up in the twelfth century. Come for the large rose window and the portal, whole lintels bear relief sculptures representing the months. There are beautiful frescos inside, too.
Best for:Religious architecture
Did you know?: A church was founded here, above the tomb of Verona’s patron saint, as early as the fifth century.
8. Escape the crowds
In the home of Romeo and Juliet, escape the other couples and head for a riverside stroll away from the crowds - Ponte Garibaldi to Castelvecchio along the Lungadige Panvinio at sunset is unbeatable.
Best for: A peaceful wander
Did you know?: Verona is the setting for Romeo and Juliet, but not everyone knows that there’s a total lack of factual basis to the tale.
9. Marvel at craftsmanship
Architecture aficionados will delight in Santa Maria in Organo. This small, unsung church on the east bank of the River Adige holds perhaps the most beautifully carved wooden choir-stalls in Italy.
Best for: Quite the craftsmen
Did you know?: The craftsmanship dates from the 1490s and is the work of a Benedictine monk, one Fra Giovanni da Verona.
10. Wander Giardino Giusti
If you’re still wondering what to do in Verona, make for the Giusti Garden- the finest formal gardens in the city. Full of fountains and shady corners, this is the place to come and shake off all the sightseeing.
Best for: A shady picnic
Did you know?: Look out for the famous maze of box hedges designed in 1786.
