One Night in Verona

Verona is the largest city of the Veneto region in North East Italy. It is 75 miles west of Venice and beautifully situated on the River Adigo. The city was brought to prominence by the Romans who left behind some remarkable attractions for today's visitors. It is said that Emperor Caesar came here to relax.

The city's golden era was during the 13th and 14th centuries under the Della Scala family (also known as the Scaligeri) who were true patrons of the arts. Many of the finest monuments date from this period. This was however a time noted for savage family feuding of which Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet.

Verona has plenty to recommend it, but we particularly enjoyed just wandering the streets where Capulets and Montagues once fought, Romeo pined and Juliet sighed from her balcony. Strolling along the streets, you could be forgiven for believing the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet to be true. It is not, but never mind, Verona is one of Italy's loveliest cities. There is immense pleasure to be had wandering along the stylish marble lined streets.

Verona has a locked in time character that recalls its Medieval and Renaissance heyday and the magnificient Medieval palazzi, towers, churches and piazzas you see are testimony to its centuries old influence and wealth.

Highlights of our trip were our visit to Juliet's house, despite all the grafitti; going inside and exploring the magnificient Arena; wandering along the river but most of all just wandering and coming upon the most beauiful squares, streets and buildings by chance.

For some reason, visitors spend remarkably little time in this beautiful medieval city. It has a short list of attractions, but is a wonderful place to stay in and visit at a leisurely pace.

* Because there are so many churches in Verona, an admission charge has been imposed to cover custodian charges and offer longer hours. The churches have banded together and admission to any one of them is 2 Euros - or you can buy a cumulative ticket for 5 Euros. A better buy though, is the Verona card. It costs 8 Euros for 1 day and it allows you to enter all the main sights, as well as use the local buses. It costs 6 Euros to go into Juliet's house and the same for the Arena, so even if you just visit these 2 attractions, the Verona card is value for money.

* For a wonderful view of the city, climb to the top of the Lamberti Tower (or take the lift most of the way up). You get stunning views of Verona and the hills surrounding it.

* Verona's famous opera festival is held in July and August. Productions are staged in the glorious Roman Arena. Verona is never overrun with tourists in the way Florence and Venice are, but during the opera season it does get fairly busy.

* The weather in August is hot and muggy with average temperatures in the day 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Break your sightseeing with stops for drinks and ice cream as the heat can be oppressive.

* Lots of the sights are closed on Mondays, so check this before you plan your itinerary.

* You would be unlucky to have a bad meal in Verona. It has high quality and atmospheric restaurants. Bollito Mistro (boiled meats) is a Veronese speciality. Crisp Soave white wine is a great local drink - we enjoyed that! The Veronese are keen eaters of horse meat (cavallo) which is a local speciality - didn't try it though! Be sure to eat ice-cream - it is delicious. Pizzas are not a local speciality.

* Service charges are usually included in your bill, so you are not always expected to tip in restaurants. It is common practise though to leave any small change as a tip. Prices in Italian bars and cafes double (sometimes even triple) if you sit down.

* Avoid most of the tourists in Piazza Bra and head to Piazza delle Erbe where there are lots of good bars to enjoy a coffee in the morning or a drink in the evening. There is lots to watch - people coming and going.

* Look out for architectural details related to the della Scala family - their family emblem is a ladder and appears in many places around the city.

Verona was our first stop on a 3 centre break and we flew into Venice Treviso Airport from the UK. We were leaving from Venice, so this made sense for us. Verona does have its own airport, but it took us only 1.5 hours to drive there in our hire car from Treviso. The journey was easy and very scenic - we used the toll roads.

We hired a car - to use for the remainder of our holiday, but once we arrived in Verona we parked it in our hotel's garage, and did not use it again until we left the city.

The city centre of Verona is compact and it is easy to visit without having a car. Over the past few years, the city council authorities have encouraged local residents to limit their traffic circulation as much as possible in the city centre to reduce the level of pollution.

The city lies alongside the banks of the S shaped Adige river. Everything of interest is in the Centro Storico on the south side of the river's loop - there is no sight that cannot easily and enjoyably be reached on foot.

Verona really does lend itself to walking and strolling and the sights are concentrated in a few blocks of each other. Seek out the narrow, cobblestoned side streets - they are beautiful. Park you car here and let your feet do the transporting.

We stayed overnight in the Hotel Accademia - we booked through hotels.com and paid a rate of £200 for the room for 3 of us, including breakfast.

The hotel is right in the middle of the old town on Via Mazzini - the heart of the exclusive shopping area of Verona between Piazza Bra and the Arena. There are lots of expensive boutiques and shops next to it and Piazza Erbe and Juliet's house are very close by.

The hotel's name comes from the former Accademia dei Filotimi founded on the site in 1562 for the education of young noblemen. In 1797 it became an inn with stabling for horses and in 1880 a hotel, facing onto Via Mazzini - supposedly the most exclusive shopping street in the heart of Verona.

There are 94 bedrooms, a bar and a restaurant as well as a garage. We found this invaluable. We had a hire car and did not need to use it while in Verona. We found most hotels do not have their own parking, and looking for a parking space in this area would be an absolute nightmare.

We arrived at midday but our room was not available until after 2pm.

We stayed in room 133. The room was very nice - spacious, airy, modern, clean and very comfortable. It was however furnished in a bland, corporate way and did not have a lot of character. We were happy with the room though.

There was a huge, very comfortable bed and a sofa bed made up for our son. The room had a flatscreen television with limited choice of channels and hairdryer but no mini-bar. The bathroom was modern and spacious and had a bath.

We had a bit of a problem with the WiFi and could not get this to work in the room.

The shutters were down when we got there and when I opened them, I discovered we looked out onto a brick wall. I don't think you would get a wonderful view anywhere in this hotel though, due to its location in the old town with the narrow streets all very close together.

The views from the room do not really matter however, when you discover the location of the hotel - it is absolutely perfect for exploring this wonderful city. Juliet's house is about 2 minutes walk away, and the Arena is only a short stroll down a lovely shopping street. The 2 main squares are also no distance away.
Really you could not get a better location for a hotel.

Breakfast was lovely - they had a great selection of breads, pastries, hams, cheeses plus eggs and bacon. There was also a huge selection of teas, coffees and even Prosecco!

We really enjoyed staying here - the staff were helpful and friendly, the room was comfortable, but best of all the location was absolutely perfect.

Romeo and Juliet may have been fictional, but at Juliet's house you can swoon beneath what popular myth says was her balcony, or if in need of a new lover, approach a bronze statue of Juliet and rub her right breast for good luck. This is a peculiar tradition which no-one can seem to explain.

The house is at Via Capelli, just off the Piazza delle Erbe. It is supposedly the location of the famous balcony love scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The house is a major destination for tourist pilgrimage and the tiny courtyard is usually packed with people photographing each other on the famous balcony.

The house actually has no connection with Shakespeare's fictional characters. Although the house is old, the balcony was added in 1936 and it was declared to be Juliet's house to attract tourists. Local officials, determined to keep the myth alive, designated it to be the residence of the Capulets.

It costs 4 Euros to visit. The house contains a sparse collection of Renaissance frescoes rescued from other demolished palaces, as well as the original bed from Zeffirelli's 1968 movie Romeo and Juliet. There is not a lot else!

The balcony overlooks a tiny courtyard with the bronze statue of Juliet.

There is an unbelievable amount of grafitti on the walls in the alleyway leading to the courtyard and beyond. There is a tradition, apparently of writing love messages to Juliet. Some of it looked to me to be just random grafitti and it is extremely messy looking.

We went to Juliet's houe at 10:30am - it was blissfully uncrowded. There was no-one else on the balcony except us and only about half a dozen other people inside the house. The courtyard was also almost empty. I would recommend getting here earlyish to beat the hoards of tourists that descend in the afternoon.

It is a "must do" experience to stand on Juliet's balcony, but if you go to the next level of the house, there is a larger balcony which gives a lovely view of the countryside around Verona.

The heart of Verona is its pink marble first century Roman Arena. Once the scene of gladiatorial spectacles, it now stages an annual open-air annual opera season.

It is the third largest Roman amphitheatre in existence and seats 20,000 people. It is enormous and spectacular - crumbling on the outside but obviously still functioning.

The Arena was built in the first century AD and is an elliptical shape. Much of the outer wall was lost during an earthquake, but the passageways floored in marble and the seating and floor of the ancient colisseum remain. During the Opera Season, you can visit it during the day.

Franco Zefferelli said that you should close your eyes walking into the arena, to experience the impact of the space.

The elliptical shape produces perfect acoustics from every point inside.

The facade was built in limestone (white and pink) from the Valpolicella quarrie. Its original colour has come to life thanks to recent restoration. The second internal ring remains intact with its double tier of 72 arches.

This is one of the most fascinating venues for live and microphoneless performances in the world. Since 1913, when it was first performed to commemorate the anniversary of Verdi's birth, Aida has been the one constant in each year's changing schedule. Tickets to see Aida are the most cherished.

On our visit we climbed to the very back seats, where it is mind blowing to imagine that the performers would seem an inch tall from here, but their voices would still be as clear as the cool night air. Apparently all 20,000 seats - including the highest and cheapest sell out regularly.

The website for ordering tickets is www.arena.it. We unfortunately did not get the chance to go to the opera during our visit (our 4 year old son is not a fan!), but I think it would be a wonderful experience.

We did nonetheless enjoy exploring this fascinating space during the day. We had to stand in a line for about 15 minutes before we got in and paid 6 Euros entrance fee. The arena closes at 5pm to day visitors.

We enjoyed just wandering around and climbing up to the top rows of seats. It was interesting to watch them setting up the stage and moving some huge props around for the evening performance. It was intensely hot during the day, and we only stayed about 20 minutes. Do check out the wonderful view of the Piazza Bra from the top seats at the back of the Arena.

Verona is a small and compact city and lends itself to just strolling and wandering around. We did this on our first afternoon here and had a great time.

We started off at the Piazza delle Erbe - the buzzing heart of the city. This was home to the Forum in Roman times and is still a focal point of the city. It contains the Madonna Verona fountain, the 14th century Gardello Tower and a market, that, while picturesque is a bit of a tourist cliche.

We did enjoy browsing the market stalls - our 4 year old loved it and picked up several tacky but to him valuable souvenirs. He also enjoyed taking off his shoes and joining some Italian children playing in the waters of the fountain.

We next went to the Lamberti Tower. This was completed in 1463 and is the tallest of Verona's towers. The clock tower looms over the square below.

There are 340 steps from the bottom to the very top. You pay 6 Euros to go in - irrespective of whether you use the steps or the lift. My husband, a glutton for punishment, chose the hard route and went up the steps, while my son and I chose the glass walled lift. You do still have to go up 2 flights of steps at the top, but it was a much easier option.

The views are amazing and breathtaking. You can see the rooftops and buildings of the city and the countryside beyond - it really is a feast for the eyes.

We climbed down the tower and sat on the steps of the Loggia del Consiglio in Piaza dei Signori, where we ate delicious ice cream and admired the architecture.

To the north of this square we had a look at the Scaligeri gothic tombs. You get a good view of them from outside the wrought iron 14th century enclosure. We also went into the small, simple and very atmospheric chuch of Santa Maria Antica - the Scaligeri's chapel. It is beautiful and well worth a visit.

We carried on in this direction until we reached the River Adige where we walked along the banks of the river for about 20 minutes.

We walked back to the Piazza Bra - had a coffee and a rest in one of the open-air cafes there, before strolling back up Via Mazzini and looking in the windows of the exclusive shops to get back to our hotel.