Things to do in Verona

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.