Verona Italy

7 Top Attractions in Verona, Italy… Beyond Romeo and Juliet

Although it’s most famous as the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Verona has much more to offer than its connections to the star-crossed lovers! In fact, there’s little evidence that anything like the Romeo and Juliet story actually took place here… but it is indisputable that you won’t be short of sights in this beautiful city, even if you ignore Juliet’s “balcony” and “tomb.” (The city’s rich culture and history, in fact, even have landed it on the World Heritage list!).

So if you’re traveling in northern Italy or heading to Venice, you simply can’t miss Verona. Located just a half hour away from Venice by train, it makes an excellent day trip!

Still not convinced? Here are 7 of our favorite sights in Verona.

Piazza delle Erbe

By day, Piazza delle Erbe is home to a market (if one that sells mostly souvenirs and trinkets); in the evening, it fills with locals and tourists sipping Campari and enjoying aperitivi at the outdoor cafes. But no matter when you’re passing through the square, look around you! With its Renaissance-era palaces and lovely central fountain, this might just be the prettiest piazza in all of Italy.

Arena of Verona

Built in the 1st century A.D., this amphitheater was Verona’s answer to Rome’s Colosseum (although actually, it predates the Colosseum by almost 50 years!). Still remarkably well preserved, today it’s home to Verona’s summer opera festival.

Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore

This beautiful church dates back to the 4th century, although most of the current building was constructed between the 10th and 12th centuries. Other churches in Verona drew much of their inspiration from its early Romanesque style. Don’t miss the bronze door, with 48 elaborately-carved panels of scenes from the Bible, dating back to the 11th century.

Castelvecchio

With seven towers, a castle keep, and four separate buildings, Verona’s 14th-century fortress, Castelvecchio, is the city’s most imposing building. Today, it’s also home to a museum of art, sculpture, coins, and other artifacts, with a collection of paintings that includes pieces by northern Italian masters Mantegna, Bellini and Pisanello.

Porta Borsari

This ancient Roman gate, which once marked the southern entrance into Verona, is a great—and beautiful—example of the way in which ancient ruins are layered into the modern city of Verona.

Duomo of Verona

Verona’s main cathedral, or Duomo, is stunning. But don’t just see it from the outside: The interior of this 12th-century church is incredibly elaborate and filled with gems, including a painting by the Italian master Titian.

Arche Scaligeri

Tombs don’t get much more elaborate than these! Just around the corner from Piazza delle Erbe, these five Gothic funerary monuments, considered some of the best examples of Gothic art, are hard to miss. They belong to members of the Scaligeri, who ruled Verona in the 13th and 14th centuries. Make sure you duck into the tiny, lovely church of Santa Maria Antica behind them.

Attending Opera in the Arena of Verona

Verona’s ancient arena, site of its world-famous opera

Next year the opera will return again to Verona’s ancient arena. And if you can, go, here are a few tips to keep in mind. It is the setting of the arena is what makes attending the opera in Verona so special. Built in 30 A.D., Verona’s arena originally served as a kind of Colosseum. Here was where gladiators fought to the death before the eyes of 30,000 spectators. After the Empire fell, the arena became the scene of jousts, tournaments, and trials. And, like Rome’s Colosseum, Verona’s arena became a quarry. Between the habit of locals removing materials to built other structures and Italy’s predisposition to earthquakes, the arena today isn’t exactly what it would have been in ancient times. But it’s not too far off — and while it’s seen better days, it’s definitely not a ruin.

Ever since 1913, the arena has served a new purpose: as the stage for opera performances.

Today, the arena’s lauded as one of the best places to see outdoor opera in the world. That’s not just because it’s atmospheric. It’s also because of the acoustics. One of the toughest things with outdoor performances is the lack of a theater’s usual sound system, but because the arena’s acoustics are so excellent, it works. (That said, of course, the better your seat, the better the sound. And some who have seen the opera from the “cheap seats” have complained they could hear hardly anything).

Next year, the opera season kicks off in June with Adia and La Traviata and  along with other shows, there will be performances throughout the summer (the last performance is normally the first weekend of September). The cheapest tickets are just €21 for the unnumbered stone seats at the very top (bring your binoculars… and come early! expect to be squeezed in like sheep and in the summer evening the stone you are setting on can feel like an oven so bring a cushion); for the best seats in the house, expect to pay up to €198. To book tickets, go to www.arena.it.

Bring a back pack with some water, snacks, and a jacket or shirt for the evening as it cools off. Do not expect to be back at your hotel until mid night or later.  It is best to plan your touring around this so you do not have to be somewhere in a hurry the next day.  Also if you are staying outside the city do not expect to find a train back to your location you will want to rent a car or book a driver.