CITY OF VERONA | ULTIMATE TRAVEL RESOURCE CURATED JUST FOR YOU
Culture | Cuisine | Things to do | Places to Stay
When dusk comes, we think of moonlight. A time we reflect upon the day passed and hopeful of a day to be renewed by the light of the sun.
It is different in the City of Verona.
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Timeless Travel Steps BEST TIP: City of Verona Guide
Want to learn all about the city that drips in old time romance? Discover its history at every turn – hear it first-hand from a local
IT IS EASY TO FALL IN LOVE WITH VERONA
In the gilded light of dusk, the medieval City of Verona comes alive. It usually starts at about five or towards six o’clock in the evening during the off-season months. It could be later in the summer. Both the historic squares, Piazza Bra and Piazza delle Erbe fill with both young and elderly locals dressed up in their best or fanciest designer clothing, and shoes. Along with tourists who have come to experience the unique Veronese culture.
Soon, amidst the tolling bells of Torre dei Lamberti, the clinks and clanks of the historic market squares, the glasses chink! The spritz drinking tribe of Verona, young Italian youths and glamorous elderly locals are on their time honoured Italian daily ritual of pre-dinner passeggiata. It is a time to see and be seen.
Verona’s relaxed culture but one that is full of life will soon win you over. It is highly recommended that this ancient Italian culture is experienced at least once by visitors.
As well, while Verona remains an attraction for history and the legendary Shakespearean lovers, visitors to modern day medieval City of Verona will instantly recognise that it has so much more than the literary world will have them believe – that it is a city that drips in old time romance, a safe city for moonlight walks (please ensure you take the necessary safety precautions) and is one of the best European cities to visit!
Timeless Travel Steps Best Tips: Verona Card
With the Verona City Card, you will gain Priority Entry to the Verona Arena and the Lamberti Tower along with entry to museums as well as free local transportation – these and so many other benefits. Explore more and pre-purchase before travelling to Verona > Verona City Card.
Recommended read: The best of Milan in one day
Modern day medieval City of Verona
While modern day medieval City of Verona attracts tourists to its Roman heritage, world famous balcony and Renaissance galleries, it is the mystique that surrounds the narrow alleys, secret gardens, underground remains and hidden churches that is most attractive. You will find these as you stroll through this easily walkable city, during the day or in the moonlight.
A city that drips in old time romance
A chat over an aperitivo with a local and you will instantly recognise how resolutely in love they are with their enchanting city. Despite the fictitious story of the star-crossed lovers, you will be drawn to their dreamy lifestyle of watching the sunset over Ponte Pietra or an evening swim in Lake Garda. They will happily chat about the best local gelateria and where to enjoy the best fresh lobster with tagliatelle or the best truffle risotto. Wine lover or not, you will be enchanted with their knowledge of Amarone and Valpolicella and feel much encouraged to explore the winery region on an E-bike!
Verona, they’ll say is a city that drips in old time romance, and they will have you believe it is the most romantic city in the world, whether you’d agree or not.
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What to do in Verona for an Authentic Veronese experience
Popularly regarded as the City for Lovers, the mythologised Juliet’s balcony seems to be where everyone heads to. While a visit to Juliet’s House, along with the best of the beaten track is highly recommended, explore also the cradle of Verona as well as the surrounding countryside for an authentic Veronese experience. Select a walking experience or ride a bike through the City of Verona. Spend some time exploring the wineries and create your own wine with a personalised label.
Here are some of the very best things to do and experiences in Verona. Navigate via the images below:
Timeless Travel Steps BEST TIP: City of Verona Guide
Looking for an all-round experience?
Learn about the city’s history, see the landmarks, listen to its romantic stories and visit an authentic bottega as you eat your way through the city while tasting some of the famous local wine.
Where to Stay in Verona?
Verona boasts many places to stay but the carefully selected top 7 places to stay in Verona offer special experiences. Stay in one of the most sold-out places where you wake up to the sight of famous Juliet’s balcony or stay at an 18th century historic building, once owned by the famous composer and Opera singer, Giovanni himself! Wherever you wish to stay, the selected places are great choices and a good place to start your search for accommodations in Verona.
Learn more > Top 7 places to stay in Verona
Timeless Travel Steps Best Tips on Discovering Verona:
Eat your way through the city and see all the landmarks in Verona
Cuisines of Verona
Cuisines of Verona is quite different to the rest of the Italian dishes. Apart from, and more than pasta, Risotto is a popular dish in Verona.
Risotto and Polenta
Verona produces one of the best special risotto rice variety, known as Vialone Nano. Vialone Nano is the base of many of their risotto dishes. A traditional risotto is nowadays cooked with a generous amount of Amarone or truffle, both picked from the surrounding hills of Veneto.
A dish that is equally popular is Polenta, a thick creamy boiled cornmeal dish. It is eaten hot, topped with salami, cured meat and cheese or beef ragu.
Pastissada de Caval – an unusual but a popular traditional dish in the City of Verona
An unusual but extremely popular traditional dish amongst Veronese is the Pastisada de caval, or horse meat stew. This dish dates back to Ostrogothic times.
As the name suggests, the stew is made with horse meat marinated in red wine, onions, carrots and a variety of herbs and spices. The key to its distinctive taste is the slow cooking, which can take up to three days. The horse meat stew dish is served with polenta or potato gnocchi.
Recommended: Top 9 Charming Walking Tours in Verona
Dessert – Nadalin | Pandoro
As for dessert, there is the Nadalin or Pandoro, a Christmas cake that is a traditional Veronese dessert. It is good to be eaten all year round. You wouldn’t find a restaurant or an osteria without it.
Eat your way around quintessential Verona either by foot or on a bike. Sip some local wine. Taste local food. Learn about the historic sights and monuments along the way. A splendid experience!
Recommended: The Best 3 Scrumptious Food Tours in Verona
OSTERIA
~ is a traditional Veronese restaurant. It was originally a place for serving local wine and simple food for a male majority audience. These days, osterias are popular for serving seasonal dishes and local wines, while retaining their small portions. Some bring you unique meals, but still very simple.
READ: The Complete Guide to Food in Verona & the Best 16 Dishes to try.
Wines of Verona
Verona is located within the Veneto region of Italy. The Veneto region is one of the largest producer of top quality wines in the world. Unique to the region are the popular Amarone della Valpolicella, Soave and Prosecco.
Recommended read: Complete Guide to the Best Verona Wine.
About the City of Verona – Geography, Climate and How to get to Verona
As the third largest city in northern Italy, Verona is often overlooked by tourists who venture to the more popular cities of Milan and Venice in the region. Having said that, Verona is one of Italy’s loveliest towns that is surrounded by mountains and valleys exuding the sweet untouched and unspoilt air.
An overview of Verona’s geography
Visiting the old medieval city of Verona at anytime of the year and you can’t but admire its special relationship with nature.
Located in the Veneto region of Italy, on the western part of the Venetian plain, Verona sits between the meandering Adige River at the foot of the Lessini Mountains. Its landscape is varied, with plains to the south, hills in the centre and mountains to the north.
With easy access to Lake Garda nearby, the area is captivating with beautiful views and Mediterranean foliage. There are also the enthralling rolling hills of Valpolicella , a region well known for the excellent wines of Amarone, Soave and Custoza that it produces. Wines aside, there is the sweet breath of fresh country air that you will enjoy while exploring the larger mountains that offer wonderful countryside for bike-rides, walks and hikes.
Climate in Verona
Climate wise, be prepared for a more continental rather than a Mediterranean weather, giving you cold, damp winters and hot, muggy summers. The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is 2.5 °C (36 °F), and the warmest month (July) is 24.4 °C (76 °F).
Learn more about the weather, seasons, and events from Best time to Visit Italy
How to get to the City of Verona
Verona is a well connected city by road, train and by air.
By road
The City is easily reachable by road. It is conveniently located at 160 kilometres (about 100 miles) east of Milan and 114 kilometres (75 miles) east of Venice. Take the A4 motorway that runs between Milan and Venice, and exit at Verona Sud. Alternatively, you could take the A22 Brennan-Modena motorway, and exit at Verona Sud. From Verona Sud, there are visible signage to the centre of city of Verona.
By train
The main railway station at the city of Verona is Porta Nuova. The terminal offers very good connections to the major cities. You can reach either Venice or Milan in under two-hours. Learn more about transportation in Verona where you would find all the details and information needed to plan your journey.
By Air
Verona is served by an international airport at Villafranca, located 12 kilometres southwest of the City. It’s IATA code is VRN.
Villafranca Airport is also known as Verona Villafranca Airport as well as Valerio Catullo Airport.
From Villafranca Airport to Verona City Centre or your hotel
There are easy connections to Verona main train station, Porta Nuova Station by Aerobus. The service runs every 20-minutes. From Porto Nuova, you may need to take the local bus or a taxi to your hotel.
Alternatively, you could select a private transfer from the airport to the city of Verona. I recommend this option especially if you are travelling in a group or as a family. You would be met at the airport and a pleasant ride of about 30-40 minutes (depending on traffic) you would arrive at your hotel, hassle and stress free! It makes a perfect start to your vacation. Even if you are travelling solo, this is a great option for you as well. Saves you time and hassle. A private transfer is my all time favourite option.
Learn more about How to get around Verona – public transport and best ways to explore which includes a map.
finally …
The history, the culture, the cuisines and the surrounding hills are experiences I cherish. Verona is a European city I would return to many times in the future and I am certain there are hidden gems to be explored each time.
Finally, City of Verona Guide is curated to support your travel to Verona. This guide allows you to design your vacation your way, giving you the best of either guided or self-guided vacation. I sincerely hope that this article is valuable to you in planning your visits to the city of Verona. If so, use the links embedded in this post and all related post to book your stay, transport and activities. TTS earns a commission at no cost to you at all. As always, we appreciate your continued support and you may wish to support us in other ways also.
You may find the following articles on Italy helpful also:
Have splendid adventures exploring and discovering this beautiful Verona 🙂
Georgina xoxo
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Updated: April 14, 2022
Read along for the complete guide to the City of Verona, your one-stop resource for timeless vacation in this medieval city in northern Italy. From culture, best time to visit, places to stay to transportation, things to do and day trips – you shall find them on this page and appropriate links where required.
ESSENTIALS FOR VERONA, ITALY
From Verona Airport (VRN) to Verona City Centre/hotel
City of Verona Guide — Your One-Stop Resource
Where to Stay in Verona — Best Places to Stay in Verona
An Incredible Valpolicella Winery Visit in Verona
Verona by Bike — 6 Fun Cycle Tours
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City of Verona Guide | A Complete Travel Resource to the best things to do first published at timelesstravelsteps.com and is regularly updated. Last update Apr 14, 2022
Oh I wish we had time to visit Verona when we were in Italy! Your pictures are beautiful and I would love to explore this Medieval town. Saving for later!
It looks like a great introduction to Italy would be a three city tour of Venice, Verona and Milan, and each one would offer a completely different experience. I like the idea of Verona as somewhere that’s usually overlooked by tourists, and it would be a good respite from the crush of tourists visiting Venice.
I visited Italy for the first time last October and fell in love with it! I was only able to visit Florence–which was amazing–but I really want to get back and explore so many other Italian cities, including Verona.
Verona sounds magical! I’m especially in love with the golden light in your sunset photo. I haven’t been to Northern Italy yet, but when I do I’ll be sure to set aside time to see Verona. Your idea of renting an e-bike to tour the wineries would be just perfect!
This is a really lovely and comprehensive guide of the gorgeous Italian city of Verona. I love all the historic information and the food looks absolutely mouth watering! Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions for a remarkable time in Verona.
Verona looks like such a beautiful and romantic city! I have been to many other towns in the area but would love to stop there whenever my next Italy trip may be 🙂
I love Verona! I had the opportunity to visit while I was in Uni yearssss ago, for just a couple of hours. I’d love to return and really experience it some more. We wandered for ages trying to find Juliet’s Balcony haha. I never did find it!
Looks lovely. I adore Italy. Can’t believe I’ve not made it to Verona yet. Love trying out the local cuisine although not sure I could try the horsemeat stew!
I am planning the most amazing 12 days road trip from London to Venice. I was going to explore about 10 destinations before Venice. Verona was not on the list but after reading this guide, I am determined to stop at Verona after Milan. It sounds like it will be a good decision.
I agree that Verona is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. I was this place only once, and I will gladly come back to it. I like your detailed guide. You put in it lots of interesting facts and tips. Great job!
Verona is so beautiful and there is so much to explore. Ever since I’ve seen the arena on a guided tour, I’d love to come back for the Aida – the decoration looked just amazing. Another plus, of course, is the proximity to lake Garda, especially during the hot summer months.
This is such a thorough and detailed travel guide to Verona. So much useful information! It is a shame that I have been to Italy so many times, but never managed to make it to Verona. Hopefully soon 🙂
Wonderful description of all that Verona has to offer. This is a city I haven’t thought to visit before but I certainly want to now after reading your post.
Thanks for the tips on how to get there too.
Wow what a gorgeous city! The food, culture and architecture totally appeals to me. Looks just stunning and I’d love to go as soon as COVID isn’t stopping me!
I’m going to have to research and see if I can find a supplier of Vialone Nana in the UK. My husband’s specialty is Risotto, and it’d be a real treat to surprise him with a bag of this rice and see what he can conjure up with it.
I had no idea that polenta was popular in Italy … I love it, and discovered it in California .. and thought it was a migrant from Mexico .. but now I see i have to learn more about it, and see what Italian style dishes I can create with it.
So glad you love Verona as well. Well, I am hoping to return to Verona in fall of 2021. It would be perfect if I could get tickets for the Arena as well, fingers crossed. Verona is definitely a place to return. Thank you so much for your visit and much appreciated thoughts.
So beautifully said of Verona -thank you so much. Verona does bring the creativity out of us for sure. Ahh you simply have to return for a longer vacation with your other half 🙂
Thank you so much. Happy that the beginning of the post reminded you of Verona and you found the information helpful. Verona is indeed an interesting city
Sounds perfect indeed! Love you to have the best time ever. Look forward to hearing of your experiences.
Verona is one of our favourite cities in Italy. We loved using it as a base for day trips. And would gladly go back. We booked to see Romeo and Juliette in the Verona Arena for our romantic escape! We had some of the best risotto every in Verona. Another reason for us to return for sure!
This is a poetic tribute to the city that inspires the poet is so many of us. I loved tooling around the cobbled streets and bridges with the least romantic people in my life– my two boys. And even then, you can’t escape the imagery of a young Romeo and Juliet around every turn.
Intersting post. The beginning made me feel like I was in Verona. Lots of helpful information too. Your love for the city comes through.
we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary next year, and our wedding song was Romio and Juliette by Dire Straight, so I am thinking Verona 😀 Doesnt that sound perfect? 😀