Most visitors to the Veneto devote all their time to Venice, which is understandable – until you discover the rich variety of experiences that await just an hour or two away.
First, there are the city-states Venice annexed in the 15th century: Padua (Padova), with its pre-Renaissance frescoes; Vicenza, with Palladio's peerless architecture; and Verona, with its sophisticated bustle atop Roman foundations. All are easily reached by train from Venice.
Then there are the wines, in particular, Valpolicella's bold Amarones. In a party mood? The hills around Conegliano produce Italy's finest bubbly: Prosecco Superiore. For harder stuff, Bassano del Grappa provides its eponymous firewater.
When the Adriatic wipes Venice clean of its mists, you can catch glimpses of the snowcapped Dolomites – in less than two hours you can go from canals to the crisp Alpine clarity of Belluno and Cortina d'Ampezzo: a land of idyllic hikes, razor-sharp peaks and the world's most fashion-conscious skiing.
Brenta Riviera
Every 13 June for 300 years, summer officially kicked off with a traffic jam along the Grand Canal, as a flotilla of fashionable Venetians headed to their villas along the banks of the Brenta. Every last ball gown and poker chair was loaded onto barges for dalliances that stretched until November. The annual party ended when Napoleon arrived in 1797, but 80 villas still strike elegant poses along the Brenta, and six of them are now open to the public at various times of the year.
1Sights
Villa FoscariHISTORIC BUILDING
(
GOOGLE MAP
; 
%041 520 39 66; www.lamalcontenta.com; Via dei Turisti 9, Malcontenta; €10; 
h9am-noon Tue & Sat Apr-Oct)
The most romantic Brenta villa, the Palladio-designed, Unesco-listed Villa Foscari (built 1555–60) got its nickname La Malcontenta from a grande-dame of the Foscari clan who was reputedly exiled here for cheating on her husband – though these bright, highly sociable salons hardly constitute a punishment. The villa was abandoned for years, but Giovanni Zelotti’s frescoes have now been restored to daydream-inducing splendour.
Villa Widmann Rezzonico FoscariHISTORIC BUILDING
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %041 547 00 12; Via Nazionale 420, Mira; €10; h9am-noon Tue & Sat May-Oct)
To appreciate both gardening and Venetian-style social engineering, stop just west of Oriago at Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari. Originally owned by Persian-Venetian nobility, the 18th-century villa captures the Brenta’s last days of rococo decadence, with Murano sea-monster chandeliers and a frescoed grand ballroom with upper viewing gallery. Head to the gallery to reach the upstairs ladies’ gambling parlour where, according to local lore, villas were once gambled away in high-stakes games.
Villa Pisani NazionaleHISTORIC BUILDING
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 50 20 74; www.villapisani.beniculturali.it; Via Doge Pisani 7, Stra; adult/reduced €7.50/3.75, park only €4.50/2.25; h9am-8pm Tue-Sun Apr-Sep, to 6pm Oct, to 5pm Nov-Mar)
To keep hard-partying Venetian nobles in line, Doge Alvise Pisani provided a Versailles-like reminder of who was in charge. The 1774, 114-room Villa Pisani Nazionale is surrounded by huge gardens, a labyrinthine hedge-maze, and pools to reflect the doge’s glory. Here you’ll find the bathroom with a tiny wooden throne used by Napoleon; the sagging bed where new king Vittorio Emanuele II slept; and, ironically, the reception hall where Mussolini and Hitler met in 1934 under Tiepolo’s ceiling depicting the Geniuses of Peace.
2Activities
oIl BurchielloCRUISE
(%049 876 02 33; www.ilburchiello.it; adult/reduced half-day cruise from €55/45, full day €99/55)
Watch 50 villas drift by on this modern barge. Full-day cruises run between Venice and Padua, stopping at Malcontenta, Widmann (or Barchessa Valmarana) and Pisani villas. From Venice, cruises depart from Pontile della Pietà pier on Riva degli Schiavoni (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday). From Padua, cruises depart from Pontile del Portello pier (Wednesday, Friday and Sunday).
VeloceCYCLING
(%346 8471141; www.rentalbikeitaly.com; touring/mountain/racing bicycle per day €20/25/35; h8am-8pm)
The scenic Brenta Riviera plains make an easy, enjoyable bicycle ride, and you can speed past those tour boats along 150km of cycling routes. Rental Bike Venice is a friendly bike-rental outlet with branches in many Veneto towns offering mountain and city bikes, plus pre-loaded GPS units (€10), guided tours (€80 per person), roadside assistance and advice in English on itineraries and local restaurants.
5Eating
Osteria Da ConteVENETIAN€€
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 47 95 71; www.osteriadaconte.it; Via Caltana 133, Mira; meals €25-35; hnoon-2.30pm & 8-10.30pm Tue-Sat, noon-2.30pm Sun)
An unlikely bastion of culinary sophistication lodged practically underneath an overpass, Da Conte has one of the most interesting wine lists in the region, plus creative takes on regional cuisine, from shrimps with black sesame and pumpkin purée to gnocchi in veal-cheek ragù. If it's on the menu, end your meal with the faultless zabaglione (egg and Marsala custard).
8Getting There & Away
ACTV's Venezia–Padova Extraurbane bus 53 leaves from Venice's Piazzale Roma about every half-hour, stopping at key Brenta villages en route to Padua.
Local Venice–Padua train services stop at Dolo (€3.40, 25 minutes, one to three per hour).
By car, take SS11 from Mestre-Venezia towards Padua and take the A4 autostrada towards Dolo/Padua.
Padua
Pop 212,500
Though under an hour from Venice, Padua (Padova in Italian) seems a world away with its medieval marketplaces, Fascist-era facades and hip student population. As a medieval city-state and home to Italy’s second-oldest university, Padua challenged both Venice and Verona for regional hegemony. A series of extraordinary fresco cycles recalls this golden age – including in Giotto’s blockbuster Cappella degli Scrovegni, Menabuoi’s heavenly gathering in the baptistry and Titian’s St Anthony in the Scoletta del Santo. For the next few centuries, Padua and Verona challenged each other for dominance over the Veneto plains. But Venice finally settled the matter by occupying Padua permanently in 1405.
As a strategic military-industrial centre, Padua became a parade ground for Mussolini speeches, an Allied bombing target and a secret Italian Resistance hub (at its university).
Padua
1Sights
3Chiesa degli EremitaniC2
5Musei Civici agli EremitaniC1
1Sights
oCappella degli ScrovegniCHAPEL
(Scrovegni Chapel;
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 201 00 20; www.cappelladegliscrovegni.it; Piazza Eremitani 8; adult/reduced €13/8, night ticket €8/6; h9am-7pm, night ticket 7-10pm)
Padua's version of the Sistine Chapel, the Cappella degli Scrovegni houses one of Italy's great Renaissance masterpieces – a striking cycle of Giotto frescoes. Dante, da Vinci and Vasari all honour Giotto as the artist who ended the Dark Ages with these 1303–05 paintings, whose humanistic depiction of biblical figures was especially well suited to the chapel Enrico Scrovegni commissioned in memory of his father (who as a moneylender was denied a Christian burial).
It's a simple brick building, with little indication from the outside of what lies within. It took Giotto two years to finish the frescoes, which tell the story of Christ from Annunciation to Ascension. Scrovegni's chapel once adjoined the family mansion (demolished in 1824) – the city of Padua acquired the chapel in 1881.
Giotto's moving, modern approach helped change how people saw themselves: no longer as lowly vassals, but as vessels for the divine, however flawed. And where before medieval churchgoers had been accustomed to blank stares from saints perched on high thrones, Giotto introduced biblical figures as characters in recognisable settings. Onlookers gossip as middle-aged Anne tenderly kisses Joachim, and Jesus stares down Judas as the traitor puckers up for the fateful kiss. He also used unusual techniques such as impasto, building paint up into 3D forms. A 10-minute introductory video provides some helpful insights before you enter the church itself.
Book tickets at the Musei Civici agli Eremitani, where you access the chapel, or at the tourist office. Chapel visits last 15 to 20 minutes (depending on the time of year), plus another 10 minutes for the video. Arrive at least 15 to 30 minutes before your tour starts, or an hour before if you want to get around the Musei Civici agli Eremitani beforehand.
Palazzo del BòHISTORIC BUILDING
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 827 30 47; www.unipd.it/en/guidedtours; Via VIII Febbraio; adult/reduced €7/4; hsee website for tour times)
This Renaissance palazzo (mansion) is the seat of Padua’s history-making university. Founded by renegade scholars from Bologna seeking greater intellectual freedom, the university has employed some of Italy’s greatest and most controversial thinkers, including Copernicus, Galileo, Casanova and the world’s first female doctor of philosophy, Eleonora Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (her statue graces the stairs). Admission is on a 45-minute guided tour only, which includes a visit to the world’s first anatomy theatre.
Palazzo della RagioneHISTORIC BUILDING
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 820 50 06; Piazza delle Erbe; adult/reduced €6/4; h9am-7pm Tue-Sun Feb–Oct, to 6pm Nov-Jan)
Ancient Padua can be glimpsed in elegant twin squares (one the fruit market, the other the vegetable market) separated by the triple-decker Gothic Palazzo della Ragione, the city’s tribunal dating from 1218. Inside Il Salone (the Great Hall), frescoes by Giotto acolytes Giusto de’ Menabuoi and Nicolò Miretto depict the astrological theories of Padovan professor Pietro d’Abano, with images representing the months, seasons, saints, animals and noteworthy Paduans (not necessarily in that order).
DuomoCATHEDRAL
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 65 69 14; Piazza del Duomo; baptistry €3; h7.30am-noon & 4-7.30pm Mon-Sat, 7.30am-1pm & 4-7.30pm Sun & holidays, baptistry 10am-6pm)
Built from a much-altered design of Michelangelo’s, the rather industrial facade and whitewashed symmetry of Padua's cathedral is a far cry from its rival in Piazza San Marco. Pop in quickly for Giuliano Vangi's contemporary chancel crucifix and sculptures before visiting the adjoining 13th-century baptistry, a Romanesque gem frescoed with luminous biblical scenes by Giusto de’ Menabuoi. Hundreds of saints congregate in the cupola, posed as though for a school graduation photo, exchanging glances and stealing looks at the Madonna.
Basilica di Sant’AntonioCHURCH
(Il Santo;
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 822 56 52; www.basilicadelsanto.org; Piazza del Santo; h6.20am-6.45pm Mon-Sat, to 7.45pm Sun)
F
A pilgrimage site and the burial place of St Anthony of Padua (1193–1231), this huge church was begun in 1232, its polyglot style incorporating rising eastern domes atop a Gothic brick structure crammed with Renaissance treasures. Behind the high altar, nine radiating chapels punctuate a broad ambulatory homing in on the Cappella delle Reliquie (Relics Chapel), where the relics of St Anthony reside.
Orto BotanicoGARDENS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 827 39 39; www.ortobotanicopd.it; Via dell'Orto Botanico 15; adult/reduced €10/8; h9am-7pm daily Apr & May, 9am-7pm Tue-Sun Jun-Sep, to 6pm Tue-Sun Oct, to 5pm Tue-Sun Nov-Mar)
Planted in 1545 by Padua University’s medical faculty to study the medicinal properties of rare plants, Padua’s World Heritage–listed Orto Botanico served as a clandestine Resistance meeting headquarters in WWII. The oldest tree is nicknamed ‘Goethe’s palm’; planted in 1585, it was mentioned by the great German writer in his Italienische Reise (Italian Journey). A much more recent addition is the high-tech Garden of Biodiversity, five interconnected greenhouses that recreate different climate zones and explore botanical and environmental themes via multimedia displays.
Prato della VallePARK
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; Prato della Valle)
At the southern edge of the historical centre, this odd, elliptical garden was long used as a communal sportsground. Today it's a popular spot for locals wanting to soak up some summer rays and students swotting for exams. Framing the space is a slim canal lined by 78 statues of sundry great and good of Paduan history, plus 10 empty pedestals. Ten Venetian doges once occupied them, but Napoleon had them removed after he took Venice in 1797.
WORTH A TRIP
HEAD TO THE HILLS: COLLI EUGANEI
Southwest of Padua, the Euganean Hills feel a world away from the Veneto's cities. To help you explore the region's walled hilltop towns, misty vineyards and bubbling hot springs, visit www.parcocollieuganei.com or grab information at the Padua tourist offices.
Just south of Padua lie the natural hot-spring resorts of Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme. They have been active since Roman times, when the Patavini built their villas on Mt Montirone. The towns are uninspiring, but the waters do cure various ailments.
In the medieval village of Arquà Petrarca, look for the elegant little house (
GOOGLE MAP
; %0429 71 82 94; www.arquapetrarca.com; Via Valleselle 4, Arquà Petrarca; adult/reduced €4/2; h9am-12.30pm & 3-7pm Tue-Sun Mar-Oct, 9am-12.30pm & 2.30-5.30pm Tue-Sun Nov-Feb) where the great Italian poet Petrarch spent his final years in the 1370s.
At the southern reaches of the Euganei, you’ll find Monselice, with its remarkable medieval castle (
GOOGLE MAP
; %0429 7 29 31; www.castellodimonselice.it; Via del Santuario 11, Monselice; adult/reduced €8/6; h1hr guided tours 9am, 10am, 11am, 3pm & 4pm Tue-Sun Apr-Nov); Montagnana, with its magnificent 2km defensive perimeter; and Este, with its rich architectural heritage and important archaeological museum (
GOOGLE MAP
; %0429 20 85; www.atestino.beniculturali.it; Via Guido Negri 9c, Este; adult/reduced €4/2; h8.30am-7.30pm). Este is also home to Este Ceramiche Porcellane (
GOOGLE MAP
; %0429 22 70; www.esteceramiche.com; Via Zanchi 22a, Este; h8am-noon & 2-6pm Mon, to 5.30pm Tue-Fri, by appointment Sat), one of the oldest ceramics factories in Europe.
Located in the town of Galzignano Terme, Villa Barbarigo Pizzoni Ardemani (
GOOGLE MAP
; %340 0825844; www.valsanzibiogiardino.it; adult/reduced €11/6.50; h10am-1pm & 2pm-sunset summer) is home to one of the finest historical gardens in Europe, shot through with streams, fish ponds and Bernini fountains. It's near Padova Golf Club, southwest of the city.
4Sleeping
Belludi37BOUTIQUE HOTEL€€
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 66 56 33; www.belludi37.it; Via Luca Belludi 37; s €80, d €140-180; 
a
W)
Graced with Flos bedside lamps and replica Danish chairs, the neutrally toned rooms at Belludi37 feature high ceilings, queen-sized beds and free minibar. Extra perks include a central location and helpful staff always on hand with suggestions for biking itineraries and walking tours.
Hotel PataviumHOTEL€€
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 72 36 98; www.hotelpatavium.it; Via B Pellegrino 106; s €60-120, d €75-140; aW)
Smart, carpeted rooms with wide beds, flat-screen TVs and modern bathrooms define Patavium, a quick walk northwest of the city centre. Suites come with Jacuzzis, while the breakfast room is a middle-class affair of candlesticks, chandeliers and corner lounge with communal TV.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE
SUPER MARKETS
One of the most enjoyable activities in Padua (Padova) is browsing the markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, which operate very much as they’ve done since the Middle Ages. Dividing them is the Gothic Palazzo della Ragione, whose arcades – known locally as Sotto il Salone (www.sottoilsalone.it) – rumble with specialist butchers, cheesemakers, fishmongers, salumerie (delicatessens or sausage shops) and fresh pasta producers. The markets are open all day, every day, except Sunday, although the best time to visit is before midday.
5Eating & Drinking
Dalla ZitaSTREET FOOD€
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 65 49 92; Via Gorizia 12; snacks €2-5, coffee €1; h9am-8pm Mon-Fri)
So small that around five people fill the place standing, this unmarked street-food bar is Padua's best spot when you need to eat on the hop. Choose from the large menu of sandwiches stuck to the wall on multicoloured sticky notes, or if your Italian and patience is up to it, customise your very own panini. Gets very busy at lunchtime.
oBelle PartiITALIAN€€€
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 875 18 22; www.ristorantebelleparti.it; Via Belle Parti 11; meals €50; h12.30-2.30pm & 7.30-10.30pm Mon-Sat)
Prime seasonal produce, impeccable wines and near-faultless service meld into one unforgettable whole at this stellar fine-dining restaurant, resplendent with 18th-century antiques and 19th-century oil paintings. Seafood is the forte, with standout dishes including an arresting gran piatto di crudità di mare (raw seafood platter). Dress to impress and book ahead.
oCaffè PedrocchiCAFE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 878 12 31; www.caffepedrocchi.it; Via VIII Febbraio 15; h8am-midnight Sun-Thu, to 1am Fri & Sat)
This unmissable piece of olde worlde European cafe culture takes you back to the days when Stendhal held court here. The cafe is divided into three rooms, each one sporting huge maps of the world, high ceilings, simple tables and waiters scurrying central Europe–style. A white grand piano completes the scene.
8Information
Hospital (
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 821 11 11; Via Giustiniani 1) Main public hospital.
Post Office (
GOOGLE MAP
; Via Monte di Pietà 4; h8.20am-1.35pm Mon-Fri, to 12.35pm Sat)
Tourist Office (
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 201 00 80; www.turismopadova.it; Vicolo Pedrocchi; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat) Ask about the PadovaCard here. There is a second tourist office (
GOOGLE MAP
; %049 201 00 80; Piazza di Stazione; h9am-7pm Mon-Sat, 10am-4pm Sun) at the train station.
PADOVACARD
A PadovaCard (€16/21 per 48/72 hours) gives one adult and one child under 14 free use of city public transport and access to almost all of Padua's major attractions, including the Cappella degli Scrovegni (plus €1 booking fee; reservations essential). PadovaCards are available at Padua tourist offices, Musei Civici agli Eremitani and the hotels listed on the PadovaCard section of the tourist office website (www.turismopadova.it).
8Getting There & Away
Train is by far the easiest way to reach Padua from virtually anywhere. The station is about 500m north of Cappella degli Scrovegni and linked to the centre by Padua's odd monorail tram-bus. Connections include:
Venice €4.15 to €14.90, 25 to 50 minutes, one to nine per hour.
Verona €7.10 to €22, 40 to 80 minutes, one to four per hour.
Vicenza €4.15 to €14.90, 15 to 25 minutes, one to five per hour.
8Getting Around
It is easy to get to all the sights by foot from the train and bus stations, but the city's unusual single-branch monorail tram-bus running from the train station passes within 100m of all the main sights. Tickets (€1.30) are available at tobacconists and newsstands.
Verona
Pop 260,000
Best known for its Shakespeare associations, Verona attracts a multinational gaggle of tourists to its pretty piazzas and knot of lanes, most in search of Romeo, Juliet and all that. But beyond the heart-shaped kitsch and Renaissance romance, Verona is a bustling centre, its heart dominated by a mammoth, remarkably well-preserved 1st-century amphitheatre, the venue for the city's annual summer opera festival. Add to that countless churches, a couple of architecturally fascinating bridges over the Adige, regional wine and food from the Veneto hinterland and some impressive art, and Verona shapes up as one of northern Italy's most attractive cities. And all this just a short hop from the shores of stunning Lake Garda.
ROMEO & JULIET IN VERONA
Shakespeare had no idea what he'd start when he set his (heavily derivative) tale of star-crossed lovers in Verona, but the city has seized the commercial possibilities with both hands – everything from osterie and hotels to embroidered kitchen aprons get the R&J branding. While the play's depiction of feuding families has genuine provenance, the lead characters themselves are fictional.
Undaunted, in the 1930s the authorities settled on a house in Via Cappello (think Capulet) as Juliet's and added a 14th-century-style balcony and a bronze statue of our heroine. You can squeeze onto the balcony itself at the altogether underwhelming Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House;
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 803 43 03; Via Cappello 23; adult/reduced €6/4.50, free with VeronaCard; h1.30-7.30pm Mon, 8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun), or – more sensibly – see the circus from the square below, a spot framed by a slew of lovesick sticky notes.
History
Shakespeare placed star-crossed lovers Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet in Verona for good reason: romance, drama and fatal family feuding have been the city's hallmark for centuries. From the 3rd century BC Verona was a Roman trade centre with ancient gates, a forum (now Piazza delle Erbe) and a grand Roman arena, which still serves as one of the world's great opera venues. In the Middle Ages the city flourished under the wrathful della Scala clan, who were as much energetic patrons of the arts as they were murderous tyrants. Their elaborate Gothic tombs, the Arche Scaligere, are just off Piazza dei Signori.
Under Cangrande I (1308–28) Verona conquered Padua and Vicenza, with Dante, Petrarch and Giotto benefitting from the city's patronage. But the fratricidal rage of Cangrande II (1351–59) complicated matters, and the della Scala family was run out of town in 1387. Venice took definitive control in 1404, ruling until Napoleon's arrival in 1797.
The city became a Fascist control centre from 1938 to 1945, a key location for Resistance interrogation and transit point for Italian Jews sent to Nazi concentration camps. Today, the city is a Unesco World Heritage Site and a cosmopolitan crossroads, especially in summer when the 2000-year-old arena hosts opera's biggest names.
Verona
2Activities, Courses & Tours
1Sights
oMuseo di CastelvecchioMUSEUM
(
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 806 26 11; https://museodicastelvecchio.comune.verona.it; Corso Castelvecchio 2; adult/reduced €6/4.50; h1.30-7.30pm Mon, 8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun)
Bristling with fishtail battlements along the River Adige, Castelvecchio was built in the 1350s by Cangrande II. Severely damaged by Napoleon and WWII bombings, the fortress was reinvented by architect Carlo Scarpa, who constructed bridges over exposed foundations, filled gaping holes with glass panels, and balanced a statue of Cangrande I above the courtyard on a concrete gangplank. The complex is now home to a diverse collection of statuary, frescoes, jewellery, medieval artefacts and paintings.
Ponte ScaligeroBRIDGE
(
GOOGLE MAP
; Corso Castelvecchio)
From the battlements of the Castelvecchio you can look down on this asymmetrical, brick-built bridge that takes just three leaps to span the River Adige. It links the Castelvecchio with some pretty public gardens on the other side of the water.
oRoman ArenaRUINS
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 800 32 04; Piazza Brà; adult/reduced €10/7.50; h8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun, from 1.30pm Mon)
Built of pink-tinged marble in the 1st century AD, Verona's Roman amphitheatre survived a 12th-century earthquake to become the city’s legendary open-air opera house, with seating for 30,000 people. You can visit the arena year-round, though it’s at its best during the summer opera festival. In winter months, concerts are held at the Teatro Filarmonico (
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 800 28 80; www.arena.it; Via dei Mutilati 4; opera €23-60, concerts €25-50). From January to May and October to December, admission is €1 on the first Sunday of the month.
The eighth biggest amphitheatre in the Roman Empire and predating the Colosseum in Rome, nothing of the incredible inside is visible from outside. Pass through the dingy ancient corridors, wide enough to drive a gladiator's chariot down, to re-emerge into the massive, sunlit stone arena, at least 50 levels of seating rising from the mammoth, oval showground. Note the amphitheatre is completely open so this is not a great place to visit in the rain.
Chiesa di San FermoCHURCH
(
GOOGLE MAP
; Stradone San Fermo; admission €2.50, combined Verona church ticket €6 or free with VeronaCard; h10am-6pm Mon-Sat, 1-6pm Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun)
At the river end of Via Leoni, Chiesa di San Fermo is actually two churches in one: Franciscan monks raised the 13th-century Gothic church right over an original 11th-century Romanesque structure. Inside the main Gothic church, you’ll notice a magnificent timber carena di nave, a ceiling reminiscent of an upturned boat’s hull. In the right transept are 14th-century frescoes, including some fragments depicting episodes in the life of St Francis. Stairs from the cloister lead underground to the spare but atmospheric Romanesque church below.
Piazza delle ErbeSQUARE
(
GOOGLE MAP
; Piazza delle Erbe)
Originally a Roman forum, Piazza delle Erbe is ringed with buzzing cafes and some of Verona’s most sumptuous buildings, including the elegantly baroque Palazzo Maffei, which now houses several shops at its northern end. Just off the piazza, the monumental arch known as the Arco della Costa is hung with a whale’s rib. Legend holds that the rib will fall on the first just person to walk beneath it. So far, it remains intact, despite visits by popes and kings.
oGalleria d'Arte Moderna Achille FortiGALLERY
(Palazzo della Ragione;
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 800 19 03; www.palazzodellaragioneverona.it; Cortile Mercato Vecchio; adult/reduced €4/2.50, incl Torre dei Lamberti €8/5; h10am-6pm Tue-Fri, 11am-7pm Sat & Sun)
In the shadow of the Torre dei Lamberti, the Romanesque Palazzo della Ragione is home to Verona's jewel-box Gallery of Modern Art. Reached via the Gothic Scala della Ragione (Stairs of Reason), the collection of paintings and sculpture spans the period from 1840 to 1940 and includes influential Italian artists such as Giorgio Morandi and Umberto Boccioni. Among the numerous highlights are Francesco Hayez' arresting portrait Meditazione (Meditation), Angelo Dall'Oca's haunting Foglie cadenti (Falling Leaves) and Ettore Berladini's darkly humourous I vecchi (Old Men).
Torre dei LambertiTOWER
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 927 30 27; Via della Costa 1; adult/reduced incl Galleria d'Arte Moderna Achille Forti €8/5, with VeronaCard €1; h10am-7pm)
One of Verona's most popular attractions, this 84m-high watchtower provides panoramic views of Verona and nearby mountains. Begun in the 12th century and finished in 1463 – too late to notice invading Venetians – it sports an octagonal bell tower whose two bells retain their ancient names: Rengo once called meetings of the city council, while Marangona warned citizens of fire. A lift whisks you up two-thirds of the way but you have to walk the last few storeys.
Piazza dei SignoriSQUARE
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
)
Verona's beautiful open-air salon is ringed by a series of elegant Renaissance palazzi. Chief among these are the Palazzo degli Scaligeri (aka Palazzo Podestà), the 14th-century residence of Cangrande I Della Scala; the arched Loggia del Consiglio, built in the 15th century as the city council chambers; and the brick and tufa stone Palazzo della Ragione. In the middle of the piazza is a famous statue of Dante, who was given refuge in Verona after he was exiled from Florence in 1302.
Most of the piazza's buildings are off limits to the public, but you can visit the 12th-century Palazzo della Ragione, on your left as you enter from the Arco della Costa, which has housed a modern art gallery since April 2014. Next door, the Palazzo del Capitano is fronted by a cobbled square with two huge round windows in the ground, which reveal the excavated Roman and medieval basements beneath. To the northeast loom the Arche Scaligere, the ornate, Gothic funerary monuments of the Della Scala family.
Basilica di Sant’AnastasiaBASILICA
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; www.chieseverona.it; Piazza di Sant’Anastasia; €2.50; h9am-6pm Mon-Sat, 1-6pm Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm Mon-Sat, 1-5pm Sun Nov-Feb)
Dating from the 13th to 15th centuries and featuring an elegantly decorated vaulted ceiling, the Gothic Basilica di Sant’Anastasia is Verona’s largest church and a showcase for local art. The multitude of frescoes is overwhelming, but don’t overlook Pisanello’s story-book-quality fresco St George and the Princess above the entrance to the Pellegrini Chapel, or the 1495 holy water font featuring a hunchback carved by Paolo Veronese’s father, Gabriele Caliari.
Arena Museo Opera - AMOMUSEUM
(
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
; %045 80 30 461; www.arenamuseopera.com; Palazzo Forti, Via Massalongo 7; adult/reduced €10/8; h2.30-7.30pm Mon, 9.30am-7.30pm Thu-Sun)
Opera fans shouldn't miss this under-visited multimedia museum dedicated entirely to the great Italian opera culture. Exhibits include scores, letters and notes by big names such as Bellini, Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini as well as costumes, sets and photographs of great operatic events of grander times gone by.
DuomoCATHEDRAL
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; %045 59 28 13; Piazza Duomo; €2.50, combined Verona church ticket €6 or free with VeronaCard; h10am-5.30pm Mon-Sat, 1.30-5.30pm Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat, 1.30-5pm Sun Nov-Feb)
Verona’s 12th-century cathedral is a striking Romanesque creation, with bug-eyed statues of Charlemagne’s paladins Roland and Oliver, crafted by medieval master Nicolò, on the west porch. Nothing about this sober facade hints at the extravagant 16th- to 17th-century frescoed interior with angels aloft amid trompe l’œil architecture. At the left end of the nave is the Cartolari-Nichesola Chapel, designed by Renaissance master Jacopo Sansovino and featuring a vibrant Titian Assumption.
Ponte PietraARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
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; Via Ponte Pietra)
At the northern edge of the city centre, this bridge is a quiet but remarkable testament to the Italians’ love of their artistic heritage. Two of the bridge’s arches date from the Roman Republican era in the 1st century BC, while the other three were replaced in the 13th century. The ancient bridge remained largely intact until 1945, when retreating German troops blew it up. Locals fished the fragments out of the river, and painstakingly rebuilt the bridge stone by stone in the 1950s.
The views from the bridge of the River Adige are some of Verona's most photogenic.
Teatro Romano e Museo ArcheologicoARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
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; %045 800 03 60; Regaste Redentore 2; adult/reduced €4.50/3, or with VeronaCard free; h8.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sun, 1.30-7.30pm Mon)
Just north of the historic centre you’ll find a Roman theatre. Built in the 1st century BC, it is cunningly carved into the hillside at a strategic spot overlooking a bend in the river. Take the lift at the back of the theatre to the former convent above, which houses an interesting collection of Greek and Roman pieces.
oGiardino GiustiGARDENS
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; %045 803 40 29; Via Giardino Giusti 2; adult/reduced €8.50/5; h9am-8pm Apr-Sep, to 7pm Oct-Mar)
Across the river from the historic centre, these sculpted gardens are considered a masterpiece of Renaissance landscaping, and named after the noble family that has tended them since opening them to the public in 1591. The vegetation is an Italianate mix of the manicured and natural, graced by soaring cypresses, one of which the German poet Goethe immortalised in his travel writings.
Basilica di San Zeno MaggioreBASILICA
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; www.basilicasanzeno.it; Piazza San Zeno; €2.50; h8.30am-6pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-6pm Sun Mar-Oct, 10am-1pm & 1.30-5pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm Sun Nov-Feb)
A masterpiece of Romanesque architecture, the striped brick-and-stone basilica was built in honour of the city’s patron saint. Enter through the flower-filled cloister into the nave – a vast space lined with 12th- to 15th-century frescoes. Painstaking restoration has revived Mantegna’s 1457–59 Majesty of the Virgin altarpiece, painted with such astonishing perspective that you actually believe there are garlands of fresh fruit hanging behind the Madonna’s throne.
VERONACARD
The VeronaCard (€18/22 per 24/48 hours; www.tourism.verona.it), available at tourist sights, tobacconists and numerous hotels, offers access to most major monuments and churches, unlimited use of town buses, and discounted tickets to selected concerts and opera and theatre productions.
TTours
Try VeronaTOURS
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; www.tryverona.com; Via Pallone 16)
This superb outfit runs myriad tours focusing on anything from local cuisine and shopping to Romeo and Juliet. It also runs tours to neighbouring towns and out to Lake Garda, many of them themed.
Pagus Wine ToursWINE
(%340 083 07 20, 327 796 53 80; www.pagusvalpolicella.net; half-/full-day group tour €60-80)
If you don't want to rent a car, Pagus offers tours of Valpolicella and Soave, leaving regularly from Verona. Tours include visits to unusual rural sites, impromptu rambles, lunches in local restaurants and, of course, wine tastings. They can also be customised.
zFestivals & Events
oVerona's Opera FestivalPERFORMING ARTS
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; %045 800 51 51; www.arena.it; Via Dietro Anfiteatro 6; hlate Jun-late Aug)
Around 14,000 music lovers pack the Roman Arena on summer nights during the world's biggest open-air lyrical music event, which draws international stars. Performances usually start at 8.45pm or 9pm. Tucking into a pre-show picnic on the unreserved stone steps is fine, so decant that wine into a plastic bottle (glass and knives aren't allowed), arrive early, rent a cushion and prepare for an unforgettable evening.
4Sleeping
Anfiteatro B&BB&B€€
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; %347 2488462; www.anfiteatro-bedandbreakfast.com; Via Alberto Mario 5; s €60-90, d €80-130, tr €100-150; W)
Opera divas rest up steps from the action in this 19th-century townhouse, one block from the Roman Arena and just off boutique-lined Via Mazzini. Spacious guest rooms have high wood-beamed ceilings, antique armoires for stashing purchases, and divans for resting after shows.
oHotel Gabbia d’OroHOTEL€€€
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; %045 59 02 93; www.hotelgabbiadoro.it; Corso Porta Borsari 4; d from €200; aW)
One of the city’s top addresses and also one of its most romantic, the Gabbia d’Oro features luxe rooms inside an 18th-century palazzo that manage to be both elegant and cosy. The rooftop terrace and central location are the icing on the proverbial cake.
5Eating
Hostaria La Vecchia FontaninaTRATTORIA€
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; %045 59 11 59; www.ristorantevecchiafontanina.com; Piazzetta Chiavica 5; meals €20-25; h10.30am-3.30pm & 6.30-midnight Mon-Sat)
With tables on a pint-sized piazza, cosy indoor rooms and excellent food, this historic, knick-knack-filled eatery stands out from the crowd. The menu features typical Veronese dishes alongside a number of more unusual creations such as bigoli con ortica e ricotta affumicata (thick spaghetti with nettles and smoked ricotta) and several heavenly desserts. Queuing to get in is normal.
oLocanda 4 CuochiMODERN ITALIAN€€
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; %045 803 03 11; www.locanda4cuochi.it; Via Alberto Mario 12; meals €40, 3-course set menu €25; h12.30-2.30pm & 7.30-10.30pm, closed lunch Mon-Wed; W)
With its open kitchen, urbane vibe and hotshot chefs, you're right to expect great things from Locanda. Culinary acrobatics play second fiddle to prime produce cooked with skill and subtle twists. Whether it's perfectly crisp suckling pig lacquered with liquorice, or an epilogue of gianduja ganache with sesame crumble and banana, expect to to be gastronomically impressed.
Osteria da UgoVENETIAN€€
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; www.osteriadaugo.com; Vicolo Dietro Sant'Andrea 1b; meals €25-30; hnoon-2.30pm & 7.30-10.30pm, closed Sun dinner)
Lost in a backstreet away from the tourists, this osteria is a popular treat typically frequented at mealtimes by whole families. Surrounded by stained glass, elegantly laid tables and hundreds of wine bottles, enjoy a menu of Italian favourites as well as Vicenza-style codfish and tortellini with Lessinia truffles. Be prepared to queue to get a table during busy periods.
oPescheria I MaseniniSEAFOOD€€€
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; %045 929 80 15; www.imasenini.com; Piazzetta Pescheria 9; meals €40-50; h12.40-2pm & 7.40-10pm, closed Sun evening & Mon)
Located on the piazza where Verona's Roman fish market once held sway, softly lit Masenini quietly serves up Verona's most imaginative, modern fish dishes. Inspired flavour combinations might see fresh sea bass carpaccio paired with zesty green apple and pink pepper, black-ink gnocchi schmoozing with lobster ragù, or sliced amberjack delightfully matched with crumbed almonds, honey, spinach and raspberries.
6Drinking & Nightlife
ArchivioCOCKTAIL BAR
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; %345 8169663; Via Rosa 3; h8am-midnight Mon-Fri, from 9am Sat, from 11am Sun)
Fragrant with aromatic cocktail ingredients, this side-street micro-bar is one of the best places for a night-launching drink. Imaginative mixology combines with craft beers to give a lot of choice to drinkers, and the friendly owner knows his tipples.
Antica Bottega del VinoWINE BAR
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; %045 800 45 35; www.bottegavini.it; Vicolo Scudo di Francia 3; h11am-1am)
While vino is the primary consideration at this historic, baronial-style wine bar (the cellar holds around 18,000 bottles), the linen-lined tables promise a satisfying feed. Ask the sommelier to recommend a worthy vintage for your braised donkey, Vicenza-style codfish or Venetian liver – some of the best wines here are bottled specifically for the bottega.
Cafe BorsariCOFFEE
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; %045 803 13 13; Corso Porta Borsari 15d; h7.30am-8.15pm)
It might look like a ceramics shop from the outside, but open the door and you'll discover this magically minuscule coffee house that's been roasting its own coffee and supplying hot chocolate to tables since 1969. It also sells quirky Christmas gifts year-round.
8Getting There & Away
Air
Verona-Villafranca Airport is 12km outside town and accessible by ATV Aerobus to/from the train station (€6, 15 minutes, every 20 minutes 6.30am to 11.30pm). A taxi costs between €25 and €30, depending on the time of day. Flights arrive from all over Italy and some European cities, including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Dusseldorf, London and Paris.
Bus
The main intercity bus station is in front of the train station in the Porta Nuova area. Buses run to Padua, Vicenza and Venice.
ATV (Azienda Trasporti Verona; www.atv.verona.it) city buses 11, 12 and 13 (bus 92 or 93 on Sundays and holidays) connect the train station with Piazza Brà. Buy tickets from newsagents, tobacconists, ticket machines or the ATV office within the train station before you board the bus (tickets valid for 90 minutes, €1.30).
Train
Verona Porta Nuova station is a major stop on the Italian rail network with direct services to numerous northern Italian towns and cities, including:
Venice €8.85 to €27, 70 minutes to 2¼ hours, one to four hourly.
Padua €7.10 to €22, 40 to 80 minutes, one to four hourly.
Vicenza €5.55 to €20, 25 to 55 minutes, one to four hourly.
Milan €12.75 to €25, 1¼ to two hours, one to three hourly.
There are also direct international services to Austria, Germany and France.
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