Situated in the north of Italy, about an hour on the train from Venice and Milan and less than a two hour flight from London, Verona is a compact city and very easy to explore. A perfect choice for a quick Italian getaway.

Here’s how to spend your time in Verona.

Walk The City

Verona is a classically beautiful Italian city with wonderful buildings, squares and history. It’s a pleasure to walk around so spend some time getting gloriously lost in the backstreets.

Go To The Roman Arena

The Arena di Verona is a smaller version of Rome’s Colosseum, built in 30AD. It’s one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres and is very imposing sitting there in the middle of the city. Now used as an opera venue in the summertime. You can pay to go inside, but the best view is standing in Piazza Bra looking at it from the outside so save your Euros.

Check Out The Hidden Roman Treasures

These are dotted all over the city. From a mosaic floor at the bottom of the United Colours of Benetton store to a Roman street next to a fantastic gelateria, there are hidden spots like this all around the city. Half the fun is stumbling upon them by accident! Hint: The Roman street is called Verona Vecchia and the gelateria is Gelateria Verona.

Indulge In Some Wonderful Food and Drink

Verona is a food lover’s paradise. Just avoid the tourist restaurants in the squares and you’ll be alright. The standard pasta dishes are excellent, pistachio gelato is a must. There are wine shops and delis everywhere you look. Try some prosciutto, a little cheese and some Verona chocolate. Leave room for a tiramisu. Have an espresso and pastry in the morning, have an aperitivo in the piazza. You really can’t go wrong! Check out my full guide to eating in Verona here.

Cross the Ponte Pietra

Head to the river, cross over the Ponte Pietra bridge and go to the top of the Castel San Pietro hill on the other side for a beautiful view over the city. Take the funicolare to the top to save your legs and enjoy the view of the river and the city from the top.

Take A Day Trip To Lake Garda

You can catch a bus from Piazza Bra near the Arena that goes to Lasize, Bardolino and Garda and takes just over an hour. All excellent choices right on the lake. Lovely little towns with a relaxed vibe and beautiful lakeside food. The food can be even better than Verona in these smaller towns.

There are also a number of tour options you can take to Lake Garda if you’d prefer. There are lots of good options here.

Juliet’s Balcony

I am including Juliet’s Balcony on this list as it is commonly regarded as a top attraction in Verona. But be warned, it is incredibly busy and overrun with people and doesn’t have a concrete connection to Juliet or Shakespeare. If you do want to check it out, go early in the morning or in the evening just before it closes. You can pay extra to go onto the balcony for a very quick photo, or you can enter the courtyard and look up to the balcony for free.

We travelled to Verona as part of a month long trip to England and Italy. Check out my full trip report here.