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Oh Verona you are one little Italian city with so much charme and flair. I just don´t know what it is with all of the Italian cities. With the old buildings, the croocket pathways and small alleys. Maybe it is La Dolce Vita or just the delight of being on vacation that everything seems so dreamy and perfect.
How to get there / where to park
This depends on where you are coming from. You can go directly and stay in the city if you are planning on staying more than one day but we are always visiting when we stay at Lake Garda. It is a 35 minute drive from there and costs about 2 Euros of toll.
We like to park as close as possible so we always go to Parcheggia Arena di Verona or Parcheggio Saba Arena. Both are about 2 minutes by foot from the Il Portoni della Brá away – the huge stone gate you will enter to get to the biggest piazza with all the restaurants and the Arena di Verona.
What to see
After you pass through the beautiful Il Portoni della Brá you are in middle of Piazza Brá, the biggest piazza in Verona. To your left is a very long row of cafe´s and restaurants who sell authentic and delicious Italian food. It is a little pricier than in other streets cause you pay for the front row, but in my opinion it is worth it to take in the Italian flair and the hustle and bustle of the city.
To your right is a huge garden area – the Giardini Vittorio Emanule II and right behind it the biggest sight of all. The Arena di Verona.
The Arena di Verona was built 30 after Christ and mainly used to amuse the people with animal or slave fights. It is used until today but of course not for fights anymore. In the Summertime there are many operas and concerts.
Of course you can visit during the day as well and have a look back in time. You can check out the cells where the slaves and the animals had to wait to enter the arena as well as the steps inside and the viewing platforms high above. The entrance fee is about 10 Euro but you can stay and explore the whole day.
Now you can choose between two directions. You can go shopping at the longest and most exclusive street in Verona – the Via Giuseppe Mazzini. It has everything the heart could long for. From Luis Vuitton to Pinko and Sephora.
At the end of the street is another piazza to your left, the Pizza della Erbe. Here you can have lunch or enjoy a cool Spritz Bianco. The beautiful Fontanella Storica can also be found on this piazza as well as a weekly market.
From here you could go back or follow the street down to Casa di Giulietta. Crowds here are always huge so I would suggest to go there right in the morning when the city is still empty. You can get a lot done before 10´o clock. The ticket to Guilietta´s balcony costs 1,10 Euro but therefore you can stand upon there all by yourself and get a cute pic without any strangers. Of course you can still have a look at the balcony without going up and buying a ticket.
After we have checked all the boxes from the sights above there is one thing left. Leaving downtown and taking the scenic route along the river Adige (about 20 minutes by foot) with the goal to visit the Basilica san Zeno di Maggiore. It is one of the most important and biggest churches in Verona and was built hundreds of years back in the 12th century. I personally love the big round window on the front the most.
You take a left before the first coffee shop of Piazza Erbe and go down Via Roma until you see the river. Then you follow the river Adige and the signs to the Basilica.
If you decide to do everything at once you take up a few others of the day but it will surely be a great expericence and so many interesting things to see and learn.
Food to try
This is a whole other category and a very delicious one I might add. There are tons of Italian foods you could or should try but I am sharing three of the best things I have eaten there in quite a while.
Minuto di Bauli – These have been the most amazing little cakes I have ever had. They where soft and moist and filled with so much cream of your choice. We had lemon and pistacchio in the picture above but they also have chocolate of course as well as jam and hazelnut.
Forneria Mazzini – We got slices of pizza and paninis for take-away to eat at our apartment. It was very very soft, tasty and overall delicious but it is expensive. I think I paid about 30 Euro for 5 things.
Grom Gelateria – Our girls got a strawberry gelato from here and it was fair to say that this was the best one I have eaten ever.
Where to shop
Via Mazzini is your first stop for high fashion and affordable pieces as well as food and drug store products. Souvenirs are also available at every corner and the piazzas.
