Verona 7-day itinerary

Arena di Verona (€10) — a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre hosting operas for 15,000 spectators. Walk the ancient tiers. The arena in Piazza Brà — Verona's grand square with the Liston promenade and café terraces. A 2,000-year-old arena in a living city centre is extraordinary.

Walk Via Mazzini to Casa di Giulietta (€6 for balcony access) on Via Cappello. The 13th-century courtyard is free. Continue to Piazza delle Erbe — Roman forum turned market square with frescoed palaces. Lunch at Osteria al Duca for risotto all'Amarone (€12–14) and bigoli con sardele.

Cross the Roman Ponte Pietra bridge. Climb to Castel San Pietro viewpoint — free, uncrowded, and the best sunset panorama in Verona. Terracotta rooftops, the Adige bend, and church spires. Aperitivo: Spritz Aperol (€5–6) at Terrazza Bar al Ponte by the river or wine bars on Via Sottoriva.

Basilica di San Zeno Maggiore (€3.50) — stunning Romanesque church with 11th-century bronze doors, Mantegna triptych, and cloister. Castelvecchio (€6) — 14th-century Scaligeri fortress with Bellini, Pisanello paintings and Carlo Scarpa's masterful museum renovation.

Arche Scaligere — Gothic canopied tombs of the Scaligeri dynasty (free from outside). Piazza dei Signori with its Dante statue. Wine at Antica Bottega del Vino since 1890 — 2,500 bottles, Amarone by the glass from €6. This is one of Italy's greatest wine bars, not just Verona's.

Via Sottoriva — porticoed medieval street with canal-side wine bars. Dinner at Trattoria al Pompiere — historic trattoria, extraordinary wine cellar (mains €14–20). Try pastissada de caval (horse meat in Amarone) or Amarone-braised beef. Evening passeggiata along Via Mazzini — Verona's ritual stroll.

Bus or bike to Valpolicella — home of Amarone, Italy's most prestigious red. Visit Cantina Valpolicella Negrar or family-run Corte Sant'Alda for tastings (from €10). The appassimento method — drying grapes on straw mats — is unique to this region and produces extraordinarily concentrated wines.

Lunch at a Valpolicella village trattoria — bigoli pasta, local salami, and barrel-poured Valpolicella (€4–6). Visit San Giorgio in Valpolicella — a tiny Romanesque church among the vineyards with pre-Christian stone carvings. The rolling hills of vineyards, cherry orchards, and stone villas are the Veneto at its most beautiful.

Back in Verona, dinner at Enoteca Segreta on Vicolo Samaritana — wine-paired tasting menu (from €45) showcasing Veneto wines. Or casual at Osteria Mondodoro on Via Mondo d'Oro for Veronese home cooking and honest wines (mains €10–14). Walk the illuminated streets — the Arena, Ponte Pietra, and Piazza dei Signori are magical at night.

Regional train to Peschiera del Garda (15 min, €4.15) — a stunning star-shaped Venetian fortress town on the southern tip of Lake Garda. Walk the fortress walls encircling the old town, which sits on an island in the Mincio River. The water is turquoise and swimmable. The old town is compact with gelaterias, trattorias, and a small harbour with lake views.

Bus or ferry from Peschiera to Sirmione (20 min) — a dramatic peninsula jutting into Lake Garda with a 13th-century Scaligeri castle (€6) rising from the water. Walk to the Grotte di Catullo (€8) at the peninsula tip — ruins of a Roman villa with lake views from three sides. Swim at Jamaica Beach — transparent water over white rocks. Lunch at a lakefront restaurant for lake-fish risotto.

Train back to Verona from Peschiera. Evening on Piazza Brà — the Arena lit up, the Liston promenade busy with the passeggiata. Dinner at Pizzeria Du de Cope on Galleria Pellicciai — one of Verona's best pizzerias (pizzas €8–12, Neapolitan-style). Afterwards, gelato at Gelateria Savoia on Via Roma — artisan gelato since 1939.

Cross Ponte Pietra to the Teatro Romano (€4.50) — a 1st-century Roman theatre built into the hillside with river views. The attached archaeological museum (included) has Roman mosaics, bronze sculptures, and a peaceful terraced garden. In summer, the theatre hosts jazz and Shakespeare performances — performing in a 2,000-year-old space is unforgettable.

Visit the Giardino Giusti (€10) — a stunning Renaissance garden climbing the hillside with cypress avenues, a labyrinth, grottoes, and panoramic views. It's been enchanting visitors since the 16th century. Walk the quiet streets above the river on the left bank — the Veronetta neighbourhood has a village feel with artisan workshops, neighbourhood bars, and less tourism.

Dinner in Veronetta — the left-bank neighbourhood across the river. Trattoria alla Colonna on Piazza Santo Stefano for traditional Veronese cooking (mains €10–16). The piazza is quiet and local — families eating outdoors, kids running around, wine flowing freely. Walk back over Ponte Pietra at night — the bridge and hill behind are beautifully illuminated.

Regional train to Soave (30 min, €4.35) — a perfectly preserved medieval walled town dominated by the Scaligeri Castle (€7). Climb the castle walls for panoramic views over the Soave vineyards and Lessini Mountains. The town below is charming — cobblestone streets, ancient gates, and the wine cellars that produce Soave white wine. Almost no tourists visit despite it being spectacular.

Wine tasting at Suavia or Coffele wineries near Soave (from €8 per tasting) — Soave Classico and Recioto di Soave are the local specialities. Lunch at an osteria in the old town — simple pasta, cold cuts, and glasses of Soave straight from the producer. The vineyard landscapes around Soave are some of the most beautiful in the Veneto — rolling hills with medieval towers.

Train back to Verona. Evening at Piazza delle Erbe — the market packs up and the square transforms into an aperitivo hub. Drinks at Caffè Filippini under the frescoed Mazzanti palaces. Dinner at Il Desco (2 Michelin stars, tasting from €120) for a once-in-a-lifetime meal, or Osteria Dogana Vecia on Via Dogana Vecchia for generous Veronese plates (mains €12–16).

Saturday or Tuesday morning at the open-air market along Piazza delle Erbe and surrounding streets — produce, cheese, clothing, and household goods. Visit the Duomo (€3.50) — Verona's cathedral with a Titian Assumption altarpiece and a stunning striped Romanesque exterior. Walk through the quiet Romanesque cloister attached to the church.

Pick up souvenirs: Amarone wine (from €15 at enotecas), Monte Veronese cheese, risotto rice, and Pandoro — Verona's signature Christmas cake from Bauli or artisan bakeries year-round. Browse the boutiques on Via Mazzini and Corso Porta Borsari. Final gelato at Gelateria Savoia — pistachio and zabaglione flavours since 1939.

If it's opera season (Jun–Sep), end with a performance at the Arena — unreserved stone steps (€30–45) with a candle in hand as music fills a 2,000-year-old amphitheatre under the stars. Otherwise, farewell dinner at La Fontanina on Portichetti Fontanelle Santo Stefano — a terrace overlooking the river and Ponte Pietra (mains €16–24). One last spritz as the Arena glows behind you.