This was on my must do list! It did not disappoint- the house is 5 stories with great art and…read morestories throughout- you must do stairs. There are no free tickets even to the courtyard anymore- and tickets are only online! Additionally you can not get in from the street across most blogs tell you to go to! So Plan to need to walk around the block There are gift shops to get a lock if you didn't bring one - why not! There is a cute cafe right outside the entrance that we enjoyed vino while waiting for our entrance time

I was pleasantly surprised by this museum. I was expecting to see just the balcony, but you get to…read morewalk through the entire house and see the costumes, paintings and books on display. We were first in line and rushed in to take photos of the balcony without anyone in them. There were a few people who pretended not to see the queue, so you just have to get there early and stand your ground. The house itself was spacious and beautiful. There are a few sets of stairs so wear comfortable shoes. Definitely recommend visiting!

The history in Verona is incredible. This castle and its grounds are well worth the journey. I did…read morenot notice this specifically highlighted in travel books but I am glad we walked from our hotel to check it out. Everything in Verona seems so close and easily accessible to each other!

We did not have time to tour the museum portion of the Castelvecchio but we did have the…read moreopportunity to walk the exterior and admire this amazing structure. The museum displays a collection of sculpture, statues, paintings, ancient weapons, ceramics, goldworks, miniatures and some old bells. "Castelvecchio" translates to "Old Castle" and it is indeed quite old. It is built on the location of the Roman fortress, built between 1354 and 1376 and includes a bridge across the Adige River. The castle was damaged by French troops during the Napoleonic Wars and once captured, Napoleon stayed here on his trips to Verona. The exterior moat is currently dry but was once filled by water fed by the river. The castle is not massive compared to others but does have seven towers and four buildings inside. The bridge was destroyed by the retreating German army in 1945 and rebuilt in 1949. [Review 16970 overall - 175 in Italy - 486 of 2022.]

This cathedral was erected on the same site where two churches were destroyed in the early 12th…read morecentury earthquake. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the designation Santa Maria Matricolare and it is an episcopal seat of the diocese of Verona. The tall tower can be seen from Saint Peter's hill. We drove the car to the cathedral, but we were quite surprised how compact the whole area around the cathedral is, so my family decided to stay in the car while I visited. The cathedral is absolutely breathtaking. Dante Alighieri visited the Duomo di Verona in the 14th century and mentioned cathedral in his Divine Comedy.

A bit hidden in the northwest of old town Verona you'll find this attractive cathedral (La…read moreCattedrale di Santa Maria Matricolare). It was finished in 1187 and built in the romanesque style, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Over the years later on it was being modiefied several times. Together with the Sanmicheli's bell tower it is a lovely sight, too bad you can't get much distance between you and the church to really get a great view, the other buildings and streets are too close to it. But surely a must-see, one of the nicest churches here in lovely Verona.

On our last full day in Verona, one of the last attractions we visited was Giardino Giusti. Listed…read moreas one of the top attractions in Verona on TripAdvisor, it's not to be missed! There is an entry fee or you can get a discount (if you visit enough spots) by purchasing a Verona card ahead of time. Giardino Giusti is a nice botanical garden. Like other botanical gardens I've visited, it's really all about taking in the beauty of nature. This will include well-manicured trees, plants, and maybe some animals. Giusti has a lot to see including statues and picturesque views of the city. There's also a labyrinth. I'm personally not a fan of them but it's one of the activities you can enjoy. There's even a ballet school for kids that has classes inside. Talk about a picturesque location for some ballet lessons! They give you a nice map with your entrance fee. Either follow it or wander around to check out all of the sights.

Totally worth the visit. You have access to the garden and grand upstairs rooms. My fav was the…read moreHorseshoe Room, all the furniture had horseshoe elements. Thank you Giusti family for showing off your high ceiling rooms, furniture, artwork, frescos, and extensive collections. It's about a 15 minute walk from the Arena, across the scenic river.

No longer the Alberghi Grand Hotel, this property has been rebadged and is a part of the IHG…read moregalaxy. It is the "Hotel Indigo Verona - Grand Hotel Des Arts, an IHG Hotel." Two nights here, it is quite good. I do not have status with the IHG chain but I had booked direct so we were put in a twin bed room on the first floor facing the street. Despite that, there wasn't too much street noise and the balcony overlooking the main roadway was nice to sit on for a bit. The hotel does not have its own parking and instead contracts with a parking deck about 20 meters further along that charges a pretty hefty €25 per day. The room was clean and comfortable. We did not put out the do-not-disturb and so the room was refreshed while we were out sightseeing. Coffee service, fresh towels and the beds were made. They did a good job. Breakfast in the -1 level was very good though I don't know that it was €15 per day good. It's only €10 if you book it when you make the reservation. Typical European continental breakfast with eggs, bacon, breads for toasting, lots of pastries, fresh fruit, cereals, sliced ham and turkey and cheese, etc. Coffee is made to order and I was able to put away a pretty decent sized pot of Americano while waiting for my travel mate to wake up, up stairs. The hotel is not quite centrally located but there are restaurants nearby and the Verona Arena is only a mile away down the well traveled boulevard. [Review 16965 overall - 170 in Italy - 481 of 2022.]

Fabulous hotel about 15 minute walk to city center. Excellent room with oversized private bathroom…read moreand closet. Bathroom consisted of full sized shower and separate bathtub with television so you can soak and relax. Front desk attendants were friendly and extremely helpful. I found the easiest way to get here from the train station was by taxi ($10 euro inc tip). Google Maps transit guide cannot be trusted. Buses with route numbers greater than 100 do not stop in Verona as suggested by Google. The bus shelter is confusing to a first timer. Not sure when to stand at island B1 or B2. I got on the 51 which listed the correct direction stop on its board only to find that it meant where it was coming from, not going. Not sure why I care where it's been but after 3 stops I knew it was definitely going the opposite way that I was supposed to be. The walk may be 15 minutes but it's uneven surfaces and across a major roundabout intersection. In short, spend the ten.

They say that when you die, you can't take it with you. That's true, or at least it is as far as I…read moreknow. But when you die, you can spend an inordinate amount of money to insure that you don't leave much. The Scaligeri family was the ruling family of Verona for the 125 years between 1262 and 1387. Reading the history, they were clearing a bloodthirsty bunch bent on power. On the plus side, the family are known as the patrons of Dante, Petrarch and Giotto. The Santa Maria Antica church here in Verona has their tombs. They are Gothic shrines that contain the sarcophagi. Cangrande della Scala is memorialized with an equestrian statue; Cansignorio by a marble Gothic monument by Bonino da Campione, 1374. Definitely worth stopping by. Even if the Church is closed, the tombs are visible from the street and through the gates of the garden. [Review 16985 overall - 190 in Italy - 501 of 2022.]

Much like George Washington's axe where the head has been replaced twice and the handle replaced…read morethree times, the Arco dei Gavi was demolished by French engineers during the Napoleonic age because Napoleon's carriage would not fit through the gate. The ruins were then moved to the Verona arena. It was rebuilt in 1932 based on a wooden model that was made before the demolitions with many of the original stones and close (but not exactly) to the original location. Thank you, Mussolini? The Arco is interesting and worth seeing as an example of Verona's Roman past but it's not quite historically accurate. [Review 16971 overall - 176 in Italy - 487 of 2022.]

This four-sided arch was built in the first part of the 1st century AD during Flavian period in…read morehonour of the Gavi family, important members of Veronese Roman society. It originally spanned Via Postumia, in what is now Corso Castelvecchio. The arch of Gavi differs from the other ones because of the presence of a large tympanum and a lower height of the crown of the arch. This monument, entirely in local white limestone, has two inscriptions with the name of its builder, architect Lucio Vitruvio Cerdone.

Piazza dei Signori is Verona's third largest piazza behind Bra and Del Erbe. As a result, it often…read moregets overlooked. It shouldn't be missed though because you will find quite a few goodies here. We stopped by late at night after dinner and the town square was almost empty. One of the highlights of the Piazza is the statue of Dante Alighieri. You'll find information in the square about Dante and his connection to Verona. The architecture surrounding the square is also beautiful. It's super close to Piazza del Erbe so you can easily do them back-to-back. Town squares are always important places to visit in Italy and what's nice is you can visit at any time of the day.

One of Verona's larger squares, this one is surrounded by the Palazzo della Ragione (city hall),…read morePalazzo Domus Nova, Casa della Pietà, Palazzo di Cansignorio, Palazzo del Podestà and the Loggia del Consiglio. Dating back to the 13th century when it was then the Platea Domini vicarii, it's gotten more developed as these buildings were added and the rectangular shape began to form. On the front of the Casa della Pietà, note the bas relief of the seated woman holding a flag that reads, "Fide et Charitate in aeternum non deficiam." And of course, the statue of the great Dante, author of the Divine Comedy. [Review 16989 overall - 194 in Italy - 505 of 2022.]

After visiting the supposed Juliet's balcony, I made a visit to the museum and Tomb of Juliet…read morebecause that's what you do when you're in Verona. Upon entering you're greeted with a sculpture of the Chinese version of "Romeo & Juliet" and make your way into the museum, after passing by statues and other overhanging. You pay for your ticket to the museum and make your way out and to the right, to start your museum tour which they seem pretty insistent on ... even if you want to take a look at the tomb right away. The museum itself was nice and informational, but I didn't like how commanding the staff seemed to be. I like to explore museums at my own leisure. After walking through the museum, we made it to Juliet's tomb which was underground. There was a drastic temperature change, which was nice but also eerie. All there was to see was an empty room with an empty sarcophagus. One with an imagination would find this fascinating as you piece together this scene in your head, but in terms of backstory or history behind it was lacking. A plaque or summary in the courtyard would've been helpful. If you were to skip the museum, you could see Juliet's tomb in probably less than 5 minutes.

This is the site for the 2026 Olympic closing ceremonies! It is smaller than other Roman arenas we…read morehave visited but 1AD! It is amazing condition especially as they were deconstructed parts to build city walls! I love that it continues to be used - what phenomenal construction the Roman's designed!

Best Opern stage that I was privileged to see from teenage to old age. Tech advanced but music is…read morestill on top.