Verona is a Roman arena, an opera season, and the Romeo and Juliet myth
My Verona travel guide. The Roman Arena and the opera festival, the old town, Juliet's House, where to stay, and where to eat.
- Updated
- May 18, 2026
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Verona is the largest city in the region of Veneto in Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city municipality in the region and in northeastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,310 inhabitants. It is one of the main tourist destinations in Northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs and shows as well as the opera season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.
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My Verona travel guide. The Roman Arena and the opera festival, the old town, Juliet's House, where to stay, and where to eat.
Verona is a Roman arena, a summer opera season, and the Romeo and Juliet myth, packed into a UNESCO old town on a bend of the Adige. The main rail line slots it neatly between Venice and Milan.
Planning brief
Verona is a city of about 260,000 in the Veneto region of northern Italy, on a bend of the Adige River. Its UNESCO old town is built around a remarkably intact Roman amphitheatre that still stages a summer opera festival. The main rail line connects it with Venice and Milan.
The Arena, old town, and squares form the central route. Castelvecchio and Lake Garda extend beyond it.
A first-century Roman amphitheatre in the middle of the city, still in use. In summer it hosts a major open-air opera festival.
The historic center inside the river bend puts the Arena, the squares, and the restaurants on foot. The station is a short bus or walk away.
Verona is on the main rail line, a little over an hour from Venice and Milan, which makes it a natural stop on a northern Italy trip.
Verona is on Italy's main northern rail line. Fast trains reach it from Venice and Milan in a little over an hour, and from Florence and Rome in two to three. Verona Porta Nuova station is a short bus ride or a 20-minute walk from the old town.
Verona has its own small airport, and the airports of Venice, Milan, and Bergamo are all within reach. Once in the old town, everything is walkable.
Stay in the old town, the historic center inside the river bend. From there the Arena, the main squares, and the restaurants are all on foot, and the station is a short bus ride or walk away.
For a place in the historic center, Residenza Cardo Massimo is the lodging pin on the Verona list. Beyond it the atlas does not yet carry a wide hotel pin set for Verona, so book on the usual sites and read recent reviews for the property.
The Verona Arena is the centerpiece, a first-century Roman amphitheatre standing in the middle of the city, one of the best-preserved anywhere. It is open by day as a monument, and in summer it becomes the stage for a major open-air opera festival, so book well ahead if seeing a performance there is the plan.
The old town spreads out from it. Piazza delle Erbe, the long market square on the site of the Roman forum, is the heart of the center, and the Piazza dei Signori beside it is the more formal civic square. Juliet's House, the Casa di Giulietta, draws the crowds to its 20th-century balcony, a piece of romantic tourism attached to a fictional character. At the river's edge, Castelvecchio is the red-brick medieval castle with its fortified bridge, now an art museum, and Ponte Pietra is the Roman stone bridge upstream.
Verona eats on Veneto cooking: risotto, the bitter-green and meat dishes of the region, polenta, and the local Valpolicella and Amarone wines.
Notes are thin, though one pin carries a 5 rating.
| Spot | What it is | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nosh Verona | Asian street food | 5/5 |
| La Benedetta | An osteria with wine and pizza | Pinned |
| matt. | A deli | Pinned |
| MoSarpi | A restaurant | Pinned |