With kids · Verona · Italy
Verona with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Garden tourist, CC BY 2.0
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Quick answer
Verona is compact and largely car-free in the centre, which makes it manageable with children, and a Roman arena, a real castle and a hilltop funicular appeal to most kids. Lake Garda's beaches and Gardaland are a short train ride away for a change of pace. Top picks: Arena di Verona, Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero and Castel San Pietro viewpoint. Families usually base themselves in Piazza Bra and the Arena.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 5
- Best area for families
- Piazza Bra and the Arena
- Rainy-day options
- 1
- Busiest months
- July–August
Best things to do with kids
Historic site · Piazza Bra and the Arena
1.Arena di Verona
Built around 30 AD, the Arena is one of the best-preserved Roman amphitheatres, with its pinkish limestone tiers almost intact, although most of the outer ring fell in an earthquake in 1117. 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.
Climb to the top tiers for a view over Piazza Bra and the rooftops; daytime access can be reduced on opera days while sets are prepared.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- History
- Kids
- Architecture
- Photo spot
Castle · Castelvecchio
2.Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero
Cangrande II della Scala built this brick fortress on the Adige in the 1350s, together with the fortified Ponte Scaligero across the river. Inside, the civic museum, redesigned by the architect Carlo Scarpa from the late 1950s, shows medieval sculpture and Veronese painting, including works by Pisanello, Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini, along walkways threaded through the castle walls.
Walk across the Ponte Scaligero, rebuilt after it was blown up in 1945, for the best views of the castle's swallowtail battlements.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Art
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Architecture
Viewpoint · Veronetta
3.Castel San Pietro viewpoint
The hill above Ponte Pietra, crowned by a 19th-century Austrian barracks on the site of earlier castles, gives the classic panorama of Verona's river bend, church towers and red roofs. Reach it by steep stone steps from the riverside or by a short funicular from beside the Roman Theatre.
Come for sunset, when the old town turns gold, and walk down by the steps for changing views.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Views
- Free
- Couples
- Photo spot
- Kids
Garden · Veronetta
4.Giardino Giusti
Laid out in the 16th century behind Palazzo Giusti, this Renaissance garden has an avenue of tall cypresses, geometric box hedges, statues, grottoes and a small hedge maze. Steps lead up to a belvedere with a carved stone mask and a view over the whole city.
Let children loose in the maze, then climb to the belvedere for one of the quietest views in Verona.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Couples
- Kids
- Views
- Outdoors
- Off the beaten path
Theme park · Castelnuovo del Garda
5.Gardaland
Italy's best-known theme park stands near the southeast shore of Lake Garda, about 25 km west of Verona, with roller coasters, water rides, themed areas for small children and the adjoining Sea Life aquarium. It is close to Peschiera del Garda station, from which a free shuttle bus runs to the park in season.
Go on a weekday outside Italian school holidays to cut queue times, and buy tickets online rather than at the gate.
- Time needed
- Full day
- Cost
- Expensive
- Kids
- Active
- Outdoors
Rainy-day ideas
- Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero — Walk across the Ponte Scaligero, rebuilt after it was blown up in 1945, for the best views of the castle's swallowtail battlements.
Where families should stay
$$$$ · Best for first-timers, families and couples
Piazza Bra and the Arena
Piazza Bra is the city's largest square, with the Arena on one side and the Liston, a broad marble pavement lined with cafés and restaurants, on the other. The Gran Guardia and the town hall face the gardens, and Via Mazzini leads straight to Piazza delle Erbe. Hotels here put you steps from the opera, and Porta Nuova station is about 15 minutes' walk away.
- Good
- Central and walkable to everything; Easy walk from Porta Nuova station; Lively on opera nights
- Watch out
- Tourist-priced cafés on the Liston; Crowded and noisy on summer evenings
- Nearby
- Arena di Verona, Liston, Via Mazzini, Palazzo della Gran Guardia
Family travel tips
- Ride the funicular up to Castel San Pietro instead of climbing the steep steps with small children.
- The opera often ends after midnight; older children enjoy the spectacle of Aida, but bring cushions and snacks.
- Pair a day at Gardaland with a swim at Peschiera or Lazise; trains from Porta Nuova reach Peschiera in about 15 minutes.
- The old town's cobbles are bumpy for pushchairs; a lightweight stroller or carrier works best.
- Ask children to spot the ladder emblem of the della Scala family on the Scaliger Tombs and around Castelvecchio.
Day trips for families
- Sirmione, Lake Garda (About 40–60 minutes by train and bus) — Sirmione sits on a narrow peninsula jutting into Lake Garda, with the moated Scaliger Castle at its entrance, thermal spas and the ruins of a large Roman villa known as the Grotte di Catullo at its tip.
- Malcesine and Monte Baldo (About 1.5 hours by bus or car) — On Lake Garda's northeastern shore, Malcesine has a castle above its harbour and a cable car with rotating cabins that climbs Monte Baldo to about 1,750 metres, with hiking trails and views along the length of the lake.
When to go with children
The best months overall are May–June and September. July–August are the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Verona good for kids?
Verona is compact and largely car-free in the centre, which makes it manageable with children, and a Roman arena, a real castle and a hilltop funicular appeal to most kids. Lake Garda's beaches and Gardaland are a short train ride away for a change of pace.
+What can kids do in Verona?
Arena di Verona, Castelvecchio and Ponte Scaligero, Castel San Pietro viewpoint, Giardino Giusti and Gardaland.
+Where should families stay in Verona?
Piazza Bra and the Arena: Verona's grand main square, café terraces on the Liston and the Roman amphitheatre.