Verona in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Verona covers 22 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Verona rewards a detour.

Day 1

Morning

1. Verona Arena: A remarkably preserved 1st-century AD Roman amphitheatre seating 22,000, and the spectacular stage for the world-famous summer opera festival since 1913.
2. Juliet's Balcony (Casa di Giulietta): The legendary 13th-century house with a famous bronze balcony that draws over a million Shakespeare pilgrims each year, complete with a bronze Juliet statue and walls covered in love notes.
3. Piazza delle Erbe: Verona's most vibrant square, built over the ancient Roman forum, lined with medieval towers and frescoed palaces, and still a daily market at its heart.
4. Piazza dei Signori: Verona's elegant civic square, framed by medieval government buildings and the Palazzo della Ragione, with a statue of Dante at its centre and access to the Scaliger Tombs nearby.
5. Scaliger Tombs (Arche Scaligere): An extraordinary Gothic funerary complex of the della Scala dynasty rulers of Verona, featuring soaring marble canopied tombs with equestrian statues on top, some of the finest Gothic sculpture in Italy.
6. Castelvecchio: A magnificent 14th-century Scaliger fortress on the Adige river, housing one of northern Italy's finest art museums in a stunning Carlo Scarpa renovation, with a battlemented medieval bridge alongside.

Afternoon

1. Ponte Scaligero: A dramatic 14th-century crenellated fortress bridge beside Castelvecchio, destroyed in WWII and painstakingly rebuilt stone by stone from photographs, one of Verona's most photogenic sights.
2. Verona Cathedral (Duomo): A beautifully layered Romanesque cathedral dating from the 12th century, housing Titian's celebrated Assumption of the Virgin altarpiece, with a fine Romanesque portal and serene cloister.
3. Sant'Anastasia: Verona's largest Gothic church, home to Pisanello's extraordinary fresco of Saint George and the Princess, and the charming 'Gobbi' hunchback stoups at the entrance.
4. Romeo's House (Casa di Romeo): A 13th-century tower house in Via Arche Scaligere traditionally identified as Romeo's family home, offering a glimpse of medieval Veronese domestic architecture.
5. Giardino Giusti: One of Italy's finest Renaissance gardens, laid out in the late 16th century with cypress alleys, topiary, terraced hillside, Baroque grottos, and spectacular views over the rooftops of Verona.

Day 2

Morning

1. Ponte Pietra: Verona's oldest bridge, with Roman origins from the 1st century BC, spanning the Adige with some original Roman arches still intact, one of the most photographed spots in the city.
2. Teatro Romano & Archaeological Museum: A remarkably preserved 1st-century BC Roman theatre cut into the hillside above the Adige, now hosting summer Shakespeare and opera performances, with an archaeological museum in the former convent above.
3. Santuario della Madonna di Lourdes: A cliff-side sanctuary above the Roman theatre, reached by a scenic funicular, offering extraordinary panoramic views over Verona, the Adige, and the Veneto plain toward the Alps.
4. Lamberti Tower: Verona's tallest medieval tower at 84 metres, rising from the Palazzo della Ragione beside Piazza delle Erbe, with an elevator to the top for the best panoramic views in the city.
5. Porta Borsari: The best-preserved Roman gateway in Verona, dating from the 3rd century AD, where the ancient Via Postumia road entered the city, an impressive two-storey marble facade still standing on a busy street.
6. Porta Leona: A partially surviving Roman gateway from the 1st century BC with an excavated Roman street level visible at its base, standing at the south end of the Via Cappello near Juliet's house.

Afternoon

1. Verona Opera Festival (Arena di Verona Festival): The legendary summer opera festival held in the Roman Arena since 1913, staging grand operas including Aida with real camels and horses for audiences of 22,000 under the stars.
2. Valpolicella Wine Country: The spectacular wine country 20km northwest of Verona, producing Amarone della Valpolicella, Italy's most powerful red wine, and Recioto, with historic cellars and vineyard-covered valleys open to visitors.
3. Soave: A beautifully preserved medieval walled village 30km east of Verona, famous for Soave DOC white wine made from Garganega grapes, dominated by a spectacular Scaliger castle.
4. Isola del Garda: The largest island on Lake Garda, crowned by a spectacular neo-Gothic Venetian villa and gardens, accessible only by private boat tours from the lakeside villages, a hidden gem of extraordinary beauty.
5. Borghetto sul Mincio: One of Italy's most beautiful villages, with medieval water mills and stone bridges spanning the Mincio river, famous for its handmade tortellini di Valeggio, a pilgrimage for food lovers.

Full Verona guide and all stops → · Other itineraries: 3 days