There are so many beautiful places to visit in Italy that verona city, famous for the tragedy of Shakespeare, is often relegated to the background. Yet this city offers a superb setting to spend a few days in an Italian atmosphere at once romantic, exotic and alive.
To reach Verona
First of all, you have to go to Verona first. The fastest is obviously to travel by plane. Several standard or low-cost airlines offer to drop you off directly at Verona airport (located a few kilometers from the city center), but you will surely have a better chance of finding a much cheaper flight if you travel to Venice airport. Indeed, much touristier, this airport offers many more air links which also reduces costs. The worry once arrived at the airport is to be able to come to Verona; the most flexible is to rent a car directly at the airport the time of your stay (and return to the same airport) for a few tens of euros per day. The journey between Venice and Verona is then quite simple and fast since the majority is done on highway. Count an hour and a few euros for the toll.
For housing, we opted for a rental a good ten minutes’ walk from the city center. Note that the city center, although it also offers housing, is prohibited to traffic. Like most Italian cities, cameras automatically capture the passage of all vehicles and a fine is sent if transit fees have not been paid beforehand. If you choose to stay and drive in the city center, ask your hotel or landlord for information to pay for a pass.
Verona and its city center
Along the Adige, one of the largest rivers in Italy, Verona is best known for the famous tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. Although fictional, this story is present in the city especially to please tourists. Once flourishing as a Roman colony, Verona offers to discover several historic sites in its city center as you stroll through the many pedestrian streets in the middle of pretty colorful buildings. As the city center is not huge, a good day is enough to explore and discover several tourist sites such as:
Piazza delleErbe, a large square occupied by an outdoor market and surrounded by beautiful buildings with heterogeneous facades. If you feel like it, you can climb to the top of the Torre deiLamberti , an 84-meter high tower that dominates the whole square (ticket for 8 € per person, also includes the entrance to the Modern Art Gallery) .
Torre deiLamberti in Piazza delleErbe
The Arena , one of the largest amphitheatres of antiquity but for which we can now observe only the inner belt. If you are lucky, you can attend an event in this sumptuous place or simply visit the interior to contemplate the size of this monument. Count anyway 10 € per person for a simple visit.
View from the Arena of Verona
The museum Casterlvecchio , a castle-museum in the south-west of the city center which offers, in addition to its own architecture, a collection of sculptures and paintings of great Italian masters at various times.
