Verona: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Verona was a Roman town before it was anything else, on a bend of the Adige where the road from Rome met the road over the Alps. Its Roman stones are still in use: the amphitheatre holds opera, a city gate holds up houses, and a bridge built under the emperors still carries people across the river. This walk links them from the Arena to the hill across the water, about two and a half hours. Finish on Castel San Pietro at sunset, when the whole red-roofed town lights up below.
A short history of Verona
Verona received the rights of a Latin town in 89 BC and lay on the road between Rome and the north. Its Roman arena, built around AD 30, is one of the best preserved still standing and is used to this day for opera in summer. From 1262 to 1387 the city was ruled by the Scaligeri family, whose period left the bridge and the Castelvecchio castle. In 1405 Verona surrendered to Venice and remained in its hands for almost 400 years, until Napoleon arrived in 1797. The Austrians made it one of the four fortresses of their "Quadrilateral", and it joined Italy only in 1866. Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet here, although he never visited. In 2000 the whole city was declared a World Heritage Site.
The ten best sights in Verona
1Arena di VeronaFor a summer opera, the cheap unreserved stone steps are fine — bring a cushion
2Juliet's HouseThe courtyard is free and packed; go at 8:30 or after dark
3Juliet's TombQuiet and little-visited, in a former convent with a fresco museum
4CastelvecchioGive the museum two hours; Carlo Scarpa's design is half the reason
5Basilica of San ZenoA 15-minute walk west of the centre; the bronze doors alone justify it
6Verona CathedralOne combined ticket covers the four main churches; buy it at the first one
7Sant'AnastasiaLook for the two hunchbacks holding up the holy-water basins by the door
8Scaliger TombsSeen through the iron railings, free, a minute from Piazza dei Signori
9Torre dei LambertiThere is a lift most of the way up; the last flights are stairs
10Roman TheatreSummer evenings bring Shakespeare and concerts to the old seats
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Verona →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Verona:
Free walking tours in Verona
Roman Verona
Verona was a Roman town before it was anything else, on a bend of the Adige where the road from Rome met the road over the Alps. Its Roman stones are still in use: the amphitheatre holds opera, a city gate holds up houses, and a bridge built under the emperors still carries people across the river. This walk links them from the Arena to the hill across the water, about two and a half hours. Finish on Castel San Pietro at sunset, when the whole red-roofed town lights up below.
- Arena di Verona · Built in the 1st century AD, it held about 30,000 spectators. The earthquake of 1117 brought down most of the outer ring, and the four arches still standing, called the Ala, are all that is left of it. Opera has been staged here every summer since 1913, when Aida opened the first season for Verdi's centenary.
- Porta Borsari · This was the main gate of Roman Verona, where the road from Rome entered the town. The inscription across the top records new walls built under the emperor Gallienus in AD 265.
- Piazza delle Erbe · The square sits on the Roman forum, and the statue on the fountain, called Madonna Verona, is a Roman figure that was given a new head and set up here in 1368. Under the Arco della Costa hangs a whale rib; legend says it will fall on the first person to walk under it who has never told a lie.
- Ponte Pietra · The two stone arches on the left bank are Roman, from the 1st century BC. Retreating German troops blew up the bridge in April 1945; the pieces were fished out of the Adige, and it was rebuilt with them in the 1950s.
- Roman Theatre · The theatre was built into the hillside in the 1st century BC and lay buried under houses until the 19th century, when a local man, Andrea Monga, bought them up and pulled them down to dig it out. Shakespeare is now played here every summer.
- Castel San Pietro · The hill was Verona's first settlement and later held a Roman temple, a Visconti castle, and finally the Austrian barracks you see, built in the 1850s. A funicular, first opened in 1941 and rebuilt in 2017, now lifts visitors up from the river.
Lords, Dante and the lovers
In the 13th and 14th centuries Verona belonged to the della Scala family, lords so powerful that Dante, exiled from Florence, found shelter at their court. Shakespeare never came here, but his prince of Verona, Escalus, takes his name from them, and his feuding families come from a line of Dante's. This walk goes from the della Scala castle to their tombs and on to the houses of Romeo and Juliet. Two hours on foot; see Juliet's courtyard first thing in the morning or it will be wall-to-wall people.
- Castelvecchio · Cangrande II della Scala built the castle in 1354–56 to protect himself from his own citizens, with the bridge as an escape route across the river. In the museum, Carlo Scarpa set the equestrian statue of Cangrande I on a concrete beam in mid-air, where you see it from every level.
- Ponte Scaligero · When it was built in the 1350s its main span, about 49 metres, was the longest in the world. The Germans blew it up in 1945, and divers recovered most of the original bricks and marble from the river to rebuild it by 1951.
- Piazza dei Signori · The marble Dante in the middle was set up in 1865, the 600th anniversary of his birth. Dante dedicated his Paradiso to Cangrande I della Scala, his host in Verona, and praised him in its seventeenth canto.
- Scaliger Tombs · The della Scala lords were buried in the open street beside their family church, in Gothic tombs crowned by statues of them on horseback. The ladder, scala in Italian, that you see in the iron railings is the family emblem.
- Romeo's House · The fortified medieval house is linked by tradition to the Montecchi family. Dante named the Montecchi and the Cappelletti in Purgatorio as an example of Italy's feuding factions, two centuries before Shakespeare made them Montagues and Capulets.
- Juliet's House · The 13th-century house belonged to the dal Cappello family, whose name sounds like Capulet, and their hat emblem is carved over the inner arch. The famous balcony was added in the 1930s, made from an old stone sarcophagus front; volunteers of the Juliet Club still answer the thousands of letters sent to her each year.
Saints, scribes and the ghetto
Verona's faith is written in brick and bronze, in some of the finest Romanesque churches of Italy, and in one of the oldest libraries in the world. The town also had a Jewish community from the Middle Ages, closed into a ghetto behind Piazza delle Erbe from about 1600 until Napoleon's troops opened its gates. This route goes from the town's patron saint on the west side to the cathedral by the river, through the old ghetto, and ends at Juliet's tomb. Half a day on foot; one combined ticket covers the four big churches.
- Basilica of San Zeno · The doors are covered with 48 bronze panels of the 11th and 12th centuries, a picture Bible for people who could not read. Inside, over the high altar, is Andrea Mantegna's triptych of 1457–59, and in the crypt lies Zeno himself, the 4th-century bishop said to have been an African.
- Verona Cathedral · In the first chapel on the left hangs Titian's Assumption of the Virgin, painted in the 1530s. The cathedral complex also holds a baptistery with a font carved from a single block of marble.
- Biblioteca Capitolare · A scribe signed a manuscript here in 517, which makes it one of the oldest libraries in the world still working. It holds the Veronese Riddle, a few lines from around 800 that are among the first written traces of the Italian language.
- Sant'Anastasia · Over the arch of a side chapel is Pisanello's fresco of St George setting out to free the princess, painted in the 1430s, with hanged men in the background. Near the entrance two hunchbacked figures, the gobbi, bend under the holy-water stoups.
- Verona Synagogue · The synagogue was rebuilt in the 1860s on the site of the old one, in the heart of the ghetto that had been sealed since about 1600. Its street is named after Rita Rosani, a Jewish teacher from Trieste who joined the partisans and was killed fighting near Verona in 1944.
- Juliet's Tomb · In the crypt of the old Franciscan convent of San Francesco al Corso lies an empty red marble sarcophagus, long shown as Juliet's. Luigi da Porto, whose novella of around 1530 first set the story in Verona, made Friar Lorenzo a Franciscan, and tradition placed the lovers' wedding and Juliet's burial in this convent.
Getting to Verona and getting around
- Verona Villafranca Airport · 15 minutes from town; a shuttle bus runs to Porta Nuova station
- Verona Porta Nuova Station · Fast trains to Venice in about 70 minutes — easier than driving and parking there
- Porta Nuova bus terminal · City buses into the centre and regional buses to Lake Garda leave from outside the station
Cheap eats in Verona
Verona's food is heavier and stranger than visitors expect: pastissada de caval, a slow stew of horse meat, risotto with Amarone, and boiled meats with pearà, a peppery sauce of bread and marrow. For a quick lunch the town has fresh pasta shops, old salumerie that make sandwiches to order, and wine bars that pour a glass with a few bites. Pandoro, the tall star-shaped Christmas cake, was patented here in 1894.
- La Bottega della Gina · A plate of fresh pasta about 8-12 euros
- Antica Salumeria Albertini · A made-to-order panino about 5-7 euros
- Pasticceria Flego · Coffee and a pastry at the bar on Corso Porta Borsari, about 3-4 euros
- Gelateria Ponte Pietra · Gelato to eat on the Roman bridge, about 3-4 euros
- Pizzeria Du de Cope · Quick pizza near Piazza delle Erbe, about 9-13 euros
- Osteria del Bugiardo · A glass of Valpolicella and a few bites at the counter, about 4-8 euros
- Osteria Sottoriva · Under the arcades by the river; a plate of polenta and a glass about 12-15 euros
Museums in Verona
- Castelvecchio Museum · Medieval sculpture and Veronese painting in the della Scala castle
- Palazzo Maffei Casa Museo · A private collection from Roman pieces to Picasso, on Piazza delle Erbe
- Museo Lapidario Maffeiano · Stone inscriptions in a quiet courtyard by the Arena
- Archaeological Museum at the Roman Theatre · Mosaics and statues above the theatre; take the lift up
- Natural History Museum · Fossil fish from Bolca in the hills, 50 million years old
Holy places in Verona
- Verona Synagogue · Visits by appointment; modest dress
- Basilica of San Zeno · Bronze doors, Mantegna's altarpiece and a crypt of forty columns
- San Fermo Maggiore · Two churches stacked; part of the combined ticket
- Sant'Anastasia · Pisanello's St George and the two hunchbacks
- Verona Cathedral · Titian's Assumption and a Romanesque cloister
Nature and day trips near Verona
- Giardino Giusti · Cypress avenue, a hedge maze and a view from the top
- Castel San Pietro · The terrace over the river; best at sunset
- Ponte di Veja · A natural stone bridge in the Lessini hills
- Valpolicella vineyards · Amarone country, 20 minutes north; book tastings
- Torricelle hills · Austrian towers and paths above the city
Where to eat in Verona
- Osteria al Duca · Dinner in Romeo's house; book ahead
- Antica Bottega del Vino · Classic wine house; risotto all'Amarone
- Hosteria La Vecchia Fontanina · Home cooking on a tiny square near Ponte Pietra
- Pescheria I Masenini · Fish restaurant in the old fish-market square
- Al Pompiere · Cured meats and Veronese classics; book ahead
- Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli · Chef Giancarlo Perbellini's fine dining in a historic house
Frequently asked questions about Verona
What is there to see in Verona?
The top sights in Verona are Arena di Verona, Juliet's House and Juliet's Tomb. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Verona?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Verona without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Verona?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Verona, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Roman Verona.
How do you get to Verona and get around?
The main ways are Verona Villafranca Airport, Verona Porta Nuova Station and Porta Nuova bus terminal. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Verona, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Verona that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Verona for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.