2 days in Verona

Day by day

1. Day 1: Arena di Verona and Piazza delle Erbe

   Arena di Verona, Piazza delle Erbe, Juliet's House and Torre dei Lamberti, then Opera at the Arena in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Arena di Verona

      Only a four-arch fragment of that outer wall, the 'Ala', survives. By day you can walk the tiers and corridors; on summer nights it becomes an open-air opera house.

   2. Late morning

      Piazza delle Erbe

      Market stalls still trade by day, and the square fills with aperitivo tables in the evening.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Risotto all'Amarone

      Osterie in the old town and wine-estate restaurants in Valpolicella.

   4. Afternoon

      Juliet's House

      The courtyard, with its bronze statue of Juliet, is one of the city's most crowded spots, and the rooms inside can be visited with a ticket.

   5. Late afternoon

      Torre dei Lamberti

      A lift covers most of the way, with a final flight of stairs to the top, where the view takes in the Arena, the bends of the Adige and the Lessini mountains.

   6. Evening

      Opera at the Arena

      On the stone steps, rent or bring a cushion, arrive early for a good spot and pack a layer; performances often end after midnight.

2. Day 2: Piazza dei Signori and the Scaliger Tombs and Verona Cathedral

   Piazza dei Signori and the Scaliger Tombs, Verona Cathedral, Sant'Anastasia and Porta Borsari, then Ponte Pietra in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Piazza dei Signori and the Scaliger Tombs

      Next door, the Scaliger Tombs are elaborate Gothic monuments to the della Scala lords who ruled Verona in the 13th and 14th centuries.

   2. Late morning

      Verona Cathedral

      The complex includes the baptistery of San Giovanni in Fonte, with an octagonal font carved from a single block of marble, and excavated remains of earlier churches.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Risotto al tastasal

      Traditional trattorie in Verona and Isola della Scala, especially during the autumn rice fair.

   4. Afternoon

      Sant'Anastasia

      Above the arch of the Pellegrini Chapel, Pisanello's fresco of Saint George and the Princess, painted in the 1430s, is a masterpiece of late Gothic painting.

   5. Late afternoon

      Porta Borsari

      Corso Porta Borsari, the shopping street behind it, follows the old Roman road towards Piazza delle Erbe.

   6. Evening

      Ponte Pietra

      Cross at dusk and look back towards the cathedral's bell tower as the lights of the old town come on.

Before you go

• Opera at the Arena: Book weeks ahead for weekend performances and the most popular operas; the unreserved step seats are the least expensive.

If it rains

• Swap in Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero (Castelvecchio): Walk across the Ponte Scaligero, rebuilt after it was blown up in 1945, for the best views of the castle's swallowtail battlements.
• Swap in Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore (San Zeno): A combined ticket covers San Zeno, Sant'Anastasia, the Duomo and San Fermo if you plan to visit several churches.
• Swap in Juliet's Tomb and Fresco Museum (San Francesco al Corso): It is far quieter than Juliet's House and makes a more reflective stop for couples.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 9–10 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 8.7 hours in December to 15.7 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Most sights lie within a 20-minute walk of Piazza Bra, and pedestrian streets such as Via Mazzini link the main squares.

More or fewer days

• One day in Verona
• 3 days in Verona

Questions travellers ask