Including everything from how to get around and how long you need to spend there, to whether the city card is worth it, this post contains all our essential Verona travel tips - be sure to read before you go!
The city of lovers, opera, and romance in northern Italy, fair Verona has beguiled many a traveller over the centuries.
Its connections with a certain Romeo may be the most popular of reasons for a visit here, but the roles of Romans, Renaissance artists, and retreating armies have been more significant in shaping this beautiful northern Italian river city than a fictional Shakespearean balcony.
Verona is absolutely worth a visit.
We've shared all the best things to do, alongside plenty of inspiration and ideas for your own visit, in 13 Wonderful Things To Do in Verona. However, in this short practical post, we want to answer some common pre-trip planning questions to help you prepare for your own visit to Verona, to save a little money, and make the absolute most of your time there.
Here are 10 essential things to know before you visit Verona.
10 Things To Know Before You Visit Verona
How To Get To Verona
For UK travellers, Verona airport is one of the most affordable and accessible entry points to northern Italy. Similarly, with fantastic train connections to Venice, Milan, Florence, Lake Garda, and the Dolomites, it's easy to include Verona within an extended Italian Grand Tour.
Here’s a clear overview and breakdown of your transport options to / from the city of Romeo & Juliet.
Verona Villafranca Airport
Verona Villafranca Airport, also known as Valerio Catullo Airport, is only 11 kms / 7 miles outside the city and easily reached by shuttle bus.
At time of writing, the Verona Airlink Shuttle Aerobus has departures from the airport beginning at 6.50 am, and then running every 40 minutes until 8.10 pm (pre-2020's changes this was every 20 minutes, and may return to it once things are back to normal).
Travel time is just 15 minutes and tickets, €6 one-way, can be purchased on board from the driver or at one of the machines. Note that you will be dropped off at Porta Nuova train station, not the historical centre of Verona (see below for more on this).
In winter, an additional shuttle 'Fly Ski Shuttle service' runs from the airport to the ski slopes north of Verona - find the most recent timetable here.
If arriving at night, or you prefer the convenience of a taxi direct to your accommodation in the historical centre, expect to pay €20 and be aware that you may be charged in addition for luggage.
Train
Verona has two train stations - Porta Vescovo and Porta Nuova - but the majority of you will only use the latter during your stay. Connections to and from other northern Italian cities are relatively frequent, quick, and affordable on the cheapest slow trains:
Venice // 90 mins
Bologna // 90 mins
Milan // 2 hours
Florence // 3 hours
You will have slightly quicker journey times for each if you opt for the more expensive Frecciarossa high-speed trains, but we don't think the extra cost is justified in these instances. For train tickets and schedules in Italy, your best bet is TrenItalia or Omio.
Travel Tip | We were fortunate enough to spend a week road tripping in the Dolomites, the most beautiful mountain range in Europe, the summer before we visited Verona. The city's airport is one of several to fly into to in order to visit the Dolomites, and you can choose to include a stop in Verona before or after your time in the mountains. Find out more in our Beginner's Guide To The Dolomites.
How Long To Spend in Verona
We think three days is perfect for a first-time, reasonably paced visit of Verona. This makes it the ideal location for a European city break but, if you factor in a day trip or two (see below), you could easily stretch it out to a week.
Personally, we don't think a day trip to Verona from elsewhere in Italy is the best way to experience the city, but its compact size and transport connections would make the a realistic option for those who have limited time in Italy.
Porta Nuova Train Station Is Outside The Historical Centre
We've done the journey to and from Porta Nuova train and bus station a few times now, and there are several essentials for the first-timer to avoid the standard confusion:
1. The station is outside the historical centre, and it's at least a 1.5 km walk from there into historic Verona - further for some of the most popular areas to stay in. If you've only got a backpack or it's a day trip, then it's fine to walk in, but the majority of you with wheeled or heavy luggage should opt for the public bus.
2. Verona’s open-air bus station is outside and opposite, but it can be a little confusing to navigate once you exit the train station. The ATV public bus stops opposite are quite set apart and in an order we still can't fathom, whilst the urban lines are a bit oddly numbered and arranged too. For the historical centre, departures from stop B1 on the left hand side are your best bet, whilst stays across the river in Veronetta are best reached from stop D2 across the road on the right hand side. It's not a bad idea to ask your accommodation in advance which bus line is best for them, ask at the ticket kiosk, or simply check route + departures with Google Maps.
3. Bus tickets cost €1.30 and are valid for 90 minutes on the urban bus network - you can purchase them at the staffed kiosk (here on Google Maps), at one of several machines, or on the app (more detail on that below). It's also possible to pay on board with cash, either buying from the driver or the yellow ticket box, but there's a surcharge of €0.70, change is usually not given, and that ticket is only valid for the single journey, not the 90 minutes.
Use An App for Cheaper Bus Tickets
Whenever you need to hop on an ATV bus for a day trip or to save time, then we recommend using the official Ticket Bus Verona app. Launched by the bus company a few years ago, it's easy to use, and very convenient. It also means you're paying the lowest price for bus tickets and don't have to carry exact change for those unplanned journeys.
Free to download, you can easily access and pay for single-journey tickets, airport shuttle tickets, or a €4.00 day ticket.
As in the rest of Italy, remember to always validate your ticket on boarding the bus, whether it's a paper one or on the phone app!
Understand The City's Connections With Shakespeare
William Shakespeare never visited Verona, but he will forever be synonymous with this Italian city.
The setting of Romeo & Juliet, the most famous fictional love story ever told, was here within fair Verona, and it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the connection is one of the main reasons for the millions who visit each year.
Although various literary pilgrims in the 18th and 19th centuries also visited Verona due to its connections with the Bard, it was not until the early 20th century that Verona itself decided to put star-crossed lovers at the centre of its tourism industry with some modern myth-making attached to sites such Juliet's Balcony and Tomb.
You can find out more about these two sites and the background in our 13 Wonderful Things to Do in Verona article, but the good news is that this city offers a lot more to visitors beyond the Balcony which was, for us, was distinctly underwhelming.
It also must be said that another of Shakespeare's works based here, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, barely gets a mention anywhere.
You'll Walk A Lot
Historical Verona is incredibly compact and walkable.
There's no tube or metro in the city of 250,000 inhabitants, and you won't really need to take the bus or taxis often, if at all, except to/from the train station. Exploring on foot is the best way to experience the historical centre, the Adige river which splits Verona in two, and its famous bridges. We averaged 18,000 steps per day during our stay, and that's despite losing a few hours each day to rain and bar stools!
Despite the importance of the Adige river, boat transport is not a thing here, but bicycles are quite a popular option to get around. For visitors, it's worth checking out the Verona Bike scheme which has 40 stations around the city and rides start at €0.50 for 30 minutes.
Travel Tip | When’s the best time of year to visit Verona? Summers are warm and dry, with June to August temperatures getting above 30c - this is however the high season for tourism in the region. As we found out, rain and showers are not uncommon in summer either…so it’s a good idea to at least bring a lightweight waterproof for you daypack. To avoid the crowds, consider visits in March to early June and September onward.
The Verona Card Is A Steal
If you're visiting for a day trip or a city break, then we highly recommend purchasing the Verona Card. Sometimes the value of these types of city tourism card can be a a bit debatable, but this one is a steal.
A 24-hour card costs €20, a 48-hour card costs €25, and free entries to the following are included:
Arena di Verona
Arche Scaligere tombs
Basilica di Sant’Anastasia
Basilica di San Zeno
Juliet’s House
San Fermo church
Verona Cathedral
GAM Achille Forti modern art gallery
Castelvecchio museum
Natural History museum
Juliet’s Tomb and frescoes museum
Torre dei Lamberti
The Card also entitles you to free transport on ATV buses, and reduced prices for a variety of other sites, tours, and events. As the Arena di Verona and Castelvecchio cost €16 per adult combined, you can see that an overall saving is pretty easy to achieve quickly.
The only downside for people visiting Verona a longer period means that the two timeframes available (24/48 hour) means you do need to pack in or prioritise a number of attractions into just one or two days to get that value.
You can buy the official Verona Card here, as well as at various points in the city. Note that the card isn't necessary for children or teens, as most attractions do not charge for children under 8 and only charge a €1 or two for under 14s. The time period starts from first use i.e. 9 am on Saturday to 9 am on Sunday for the 24 hour option.
Update January 2021 | Please note that, at time of writing, the Verona Card is not available due to government restrictions.
It's an Opera Star
We were pleasantly surprised to discover during our visit that the Verona is a mecca for opera aficionados, and hosts a prestigious international music festival every summer.
Held within the jaw-dropping, unmissable 2,000 year old Roman amphitheatre, the Arena di Verona Opera Festival runs for a couple of months and sees the cream of the crop perform to thousands each night. Although we visited in the summer of covid, we were still able to attend a limited capacity live performance led by Placido Domingo - and it was one of the most magical, memorable nights of our travels together.
If you are visiting in June, July, or August, then make sure to check out the schedules and ticket availability - there are always cheap seats for performances, even last minute, but they do get snapped up. Find tickets on the official website here.
Regardless of whether you're spending a night at the opera or not, we recommend that you dress up, not down, for your time in Verona. This is northern Italy after all, and looking like a scruff just won't do...
Travel Tip | The summer months would see Verona bursting at the seams with visitors normally, but the Opera Festival adds in thousands more each day. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to get your accommodation sorted well in advance if visiting during the summer high season - find out more in Where To Stay in Verona (published soon).
Write Letters, Not On The Walls
There are several signs in Verona (as with Florence) strongly advising against defacing street walls or monuments. This isn't targetted at local kids doing graffiti, but tourists thinking it is acceptable to scrawl whilst waiting in line at Juliet's House or within the ancient amphitheatre .
Crazy right?!
This is obviously not acceptable, and please don't be one to add to it - there are significant fines levied for people caught doing it within this UNESCO World Heritage city. Part of the problem stems from Juliet's House where there was a tradition for lovers to write their names or declarations on the wall, or single women to stick letters to Juliet against it with chewing gum; again, this is not actually permitted or advised.
There is a lovely alternative though for letter-writing romantics - The Juliet Club. Thousands of people write to Juliet about their story or love dilemmas, and a team of Juliet volunteers reply to each and every single one of them. So, instead of sticking a letter to the wall, put it in the red postbox outside Casa di Giuletta!
Travel Tip | Several traditional dishes of Veneto, the region which both Verona and Venice are situated within, are based around risotto and polenta. So, don't just limit yourself to pastas or pizzas during your city break. Find out some of of our favourite places to eat in 13 Wonderful Things To Do In Verona.
Start Planning for a Verona Day Trip
This won't be possible for those of you on a shorter visit, but if you're currently deciding how many days to take off work for your visit, then it is most certainly worth factoring in at least one of these three fantastic, accessible day trips from Verona. It won't be possible to do them all, but it may just be all the motivation you need to extend that stay by a day or two…
The Vineyards | Just half an hour outside Verona are several famous Veneto wine regions, and it's possible to visit vineyards for a guided tour and tasting - take a look at some of the best options here.
Santuario Madonna della Corona | This beautiful church carved into the mountains is a sight to behold, and we loved our day trip to reach it - plan with our day trip guide to Madonna della Corona.
Lake Garda | We've only spent a day at Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy, and are determined to return in the future to properly explore it. You can do it yourself with regional trains (30-45 minutes) and buses (1 hour), rent a car, or opt for a tour departing from Verona (this is a popular one).
You can find more inspiration and ideas in 10 Wonderful Day Trips from Verona.
Travel Tip | It isn't essential to have your own wheels for the Verona day trips above, but if you want to rent a car whilst you're in Verona, we recommend taking a look at AutoEurope first to find the best deals for your dates. Car rental and collection within the city is only really possible at the train station, but this limits options and increases prices. Alternatively, the airport has a wider range of car rental companies, but this would mean taking a shuttle bus out there for pick up / drop which increases inconvenience and overall cost too.
Wherever and however renting, save a lot of money and stress by reading 9 Essential Car Rental Tips for Travellers.
Your Next Stop
13 Wonderful Things to Do in Verona
Where to Stay in Verona
10 Wonderful Day Trips from Verona
23 Things to Know Before You Visit Italy
