Verona 3-day itinerary

Start at the Arena di Verona (€10) — a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre still hosting operas for 15,000 spectators. Walk the ancient stone tiers and imagine gladiators, then concerts. The arena dominates Piazza Brà — Verona's grand square with the Liston promenade, café terraces, and Palazzo Barbieri. The fact that a 2,000-year-old amphitheatre sits in a living city centre never gets old.

Walk Via Mazzini to Casa di Giulietta (€6 for museum and balcony) on Via Cappello. The 13th-century courtyard with the famous balcony is free to enter but always packed. Continue to Piazza delle Erbe — the ancient Roman forum, now a market square with frescoed palaces, the Maffei Palace, and the Lion of St Mark column. Lunch at Osteria al Duca — risotto all'Amarone (€12–14) and bigoli con sardele (thick spaghetti with sardines).

Cross the Ponte Pietra — Verona's Roman bridge with Teatro Romano and San Pietro behind. Climb to Castel San Pietro viewpoint for the panorama — terracotta rooftops, the Adige river bend, and church domes. Aperitivo is sacred in Verona — Spritz Aperol (€5–6) was popularised in the Veneto. Try Terrazza Bar al Ponte by the river, or the wine bars on Via Sottoriva for a local atmosphere.

Walk to the Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore (€3.50) — Verona's finest Romanesque church with a stunning 11th-century bronze door, a Mantegna triptych altarpiece, and a serene cloister. Then to Castelvecchio (€6) — a 14th-century Scaligeri fortress on the Adige, now a museum with a Bellini Madonna, Pisanello paintings, and medieval armour. The Carlo Scarpa renovation of the museum is an architecture masterpiece.

Visit the Arche Scaligere — the extraordinary Gothic canopied tombs of the Scaligeri rulers outside Santa Maria Antica church. The ironwork and carved stone are some of Italy's finest medieval art (free from outside, €1 to enter). Walk to Piazza dei Signori — Verona's elegant civic square with a Dante statue. Wine tasting at Antica Bottega del Vino on Via Scudo di Francia — one of Italy's greatest wine bars since 1890, with 2,500 bottles.

Walk Via Sottoriva — a porticoed medieval street along a canal with wine bars and osterias. Dinner at Trattoria al Pompiere on Vicolo Regina d'Ungheria — a historic trattoria with an extraordinary wine cellar (mains €14–20). Try pastissada de caval (horse meat stew — a Veronese tradition since the Battle of Verona in 489) or the Amarone-braised beef. End with a passeggiata along Via Mazzini — Verona's evening ritual.

Bus or rent a bike (20km) to the Valpolicella wine region north of Verona — the home of Amarone, Italy's most prestigious red wine. Visit a cantina for a tasting — Cantina Valpolicella Negrar (tastings from €10) or the smaller family-run Corte Sant'Alda for a personal experience. The rolling hills of vineyards, cherry orchards, and stone villages are quintessentially Italian. The wine-making process — drying grapes on straw mats (appassimento) — is unique.

Visit the tiny church of San Giorgio in Valpolicella — a beautiful Romanesque church in the vineyards with pre-Christian stone carvings. For a longer day, drive or bus to Soave (30 km east) — a perfectly preserved medieval walled town with a castle (€7) and the Soave white wine denomination. Lunch at a village trattoria — bigoli pasta, local salami, and a glass of straight-from-the-barrel Valpolicella (€4–6).

Back in Verona for a farewell dinner. Enoteca Segreta on Vicolo Samaritana for a wine-paired tasting menu (from €45) highlighting Veneto wines and local ingredients. Or keep it humble at Trattoria dal Gal on Via Don Segala — home-style Veronese cooking (mains €10–14) that locals have loved for decades. One last walk past the illuminated Arena — the 2,000-year-old stones glowing in the dark.