We arrived in Verona, Italy after a few hours drive from Milan. We were ready to stretch our legs, but most of all we were eager to experience this symbol of Italian charm and romance. We kept using the promise of Italian ice cream as a bribe for our kids as we started exploring this beautiful medieval city. Read on to experience my charming walking tour of Verona, Italy.
We arrived in Verona after walking through Milan the previous day. Since we were a bit tired from our drive from Milan, we were eager to stretch our legs and enjoy this beautiful medieval city. So let’s put on some comfortable shoes and start our charming tour of Verona, Italy.
What to Expect when Visiting Verona Italy?
Based on our research we expected a medieval town with old walls and buildings. This is what we actually found, but Verona gave us much more than what we expected. So come along with me on a charming walking tour of Verona, Italy. We were surprised somewhat that Verona’s old town was a much larger medieval town with a lot more historical attractions, shopping and restaurants.
Verona has it all: lots of history, medieval and Roman history, rivers, beautiful views, bridges and shopping. We really wished we would have had a lot more time than the few hours we were able to spend in Verona. However, if you are looking for small medieval towns and quaint villages then you need to look elsewhere like Monteriggioni or San Gimignano
Favorite Places on My Walking Tour of Verona
After lots of research prior to coming to Verona, I had a short list of things to see. Over the years I have developed, a very efficient trip planning strategy. This way I make sure our expectations match what our destination can offer. Our visit to Verona was more difficult because we only had a few hours available on our way to Venice. So we had to have a precise list and efficient logistics so that we won’t waste any of our limited time.
Fortunately, we did have a good plan and we enjoyed our time in Verona, Italy. Piazza Bra and the Roman amphitheater are the first attractions you will most likely see in Verona if you enter the town through Porta Nova. They are both worthwhile attractions and it’s worth your time to not rush through them. Castelvecchio is a beautiful medieval castle on your left as you look at the Roman Amphitheater.
It’s worth walking over the old bridge and walls and enjoy the beautiful views of the Adige River.
Via Mazzini and Piazza Dele Erbe are usually filled with tourists because Via Mazzini is the main shopping area in Verona and it leads to the beautiful medieval Piazza Dele Erbe. Walk on Ponte Pietra and enjoy the the beautiful views of the town and surrounding Hills. With the list of tourist attractions and a map in our hands we started exploring Verona on foot. So, come along with me on my walking tour of Verona, Italy.
Walking tour map of Verona
Yellow:start, Red:see, Green:walk up, Blue:walk back
Stay in Verona. Find budget hotels in Verona. Verona has plenty of accommodations for every budget.
1. Piazza Bra
Street actors dressed in medieval clothes are passing through Piazza Bra in front of beautiful buildings and restaurants
See my photos from Verona.
Piazza Bra is a beautiful place to start our walking tour of Verona, Italy. After parking our car, we walked from the direction of Porta Nuova through the arched Portoni della Bra right into the large Piazza Bra with the large Roman Amphitheater dominating the square.
This is a striking place with many attractions for your eyes: there is the large Roman ruins, the beautiful earthy colored buildings and the small park with the water fountain in the middle. So, we lingered around for a while before going left towards Castelvecchio.
2. Castelvecchio
Verona, Italy – Old walls from Castelvecchio (Old Castle). This Old Castle houses the Civic Museum of Verona
See my photos from Verona.
The second stop on our walking tour of Verona is Castelvecchio which simply means the Old Castle. It is located immediately to the left as you enter Piazza Bra. A short side street takes us to the imposing Castelvecchio which currently houses the History Museum of the Verona region.
You don’t have to visit the museum in order to enjoy the old walls of Castelvecchio. Just walk through the museum courtyard and walk on the old castle walls.
About half way, you will get beautiful views of River Adige as it meanders around the old town of Verona. This is a great place to take great travel photos.
3. Roman Arena of Verona
Verona, Italy – The old Roman Arena in Verona is the second largest arena left from Roman times in Italy
See my photos from Verona.
Walking back to Piazza Bra, we will stop at the imposing Roman Arena. This is the second largest Roman Amphitheater after the Colloseum in Rome.
During the summer, the Roman Arena in Verona hosts many opera and music performances. So, if you have time to attend in the evening, these concerts are amazing not only because of the great historical setting but also because of amazing performers.
Continuing our walking tour of Verona, we follow the crowds along Via Giuseppe Mazzini, which is filled with beautiful tourist shops and will lead us to Juliet’s House and Piaza dele Erbe.
4. Juliet’s House
Verona, Italy – Lovers’ notes left on a board at Juliet’s House
See my photos from Verona.
At the end of Via Mazzini we come across Via Capello, and we go right and follow the crowds to our fourth stop on our walking tour of Verona. We come to the place that made Verona famous.
Verona is most famous for being the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet play.
Juliet’s House is such a popular attraction that it is very difficult to actually go in the small courtyard and visit the place. During the summer, when we visited Verona there was an impossible number of tourists inside the small courtyard at Juliet’s house. Unfortunately we were only able to look around a little bit.
5. Piazza dele Erbe
Piazza dele Erbe is filled with beautiful old buildings and is dominated by Lamberti Tower
See my photos from Verona.
From Juliet’s House we go back on Via Capello we arrive shortly in Piazza dele Erbe where everything seemed to be moving. This is my favorite stop on our walking tour of Verona.
There were so many people resting at small cafes and restaurants or browsing the small market in the middle of the square. Piazza dele Erbe is great longer stop where you can rest a little and have a yummy snack at one of the many cafes.
Lamberti Tower is the tall building that dominates the square. It is an impressive tower, with very complex and beautiful ornaments.
6. Il Duomo di Verona
Verona, Italy – Duomo di Verona (The Dome of Verona) is a 12th century church filled with early Renaissance art
See my photos from Verona.
The Verona Cathedral is the old church in the north of old town Verona . Built in the 12th century, the Verona Cathedral has a concentration of early Renaissance art and architecture. It is a great stop on our walking tour of Verona because it gives us time to go slow and actually think about these really old places.
7. Ponte Pietra
The old Stone Bridge (Ponte Pietra) connects Verona across river Adige
See my photos from Verona.
From Duomo di Verona we followed some of the larger streets and came out from the old city on Ponte Pietra. This is one beautiful and old bridge that gives you great views of the city and surrounding hills. Take your time to walk on Ponte Pietra and take in the views on both sides of the bridge. This is also a great place for pictures of Verona’s old town. Ponte Pietra simply means the Stone Bridge, and it boasts arches built during the Roman times.
If you want to go up the hill and see the imposing San Pietro Castle, you will find the cable car entrance right across the street from Ponte Pietra to your left. This will save you quite a bit of walking going uphill. We didn’t have time to go up the hill and our small children were very tired, so we decided to walk back toward Porta dei Borsari.
8. Porta dei Borsari
The beautiful San Matteo Church restaurant and pizzeria is located behind Porta dei Borsari.
See my photos from Verona.
Old medieval towns like Verona had their defenses split between the various regions on the town. Each region had their own entrance gate and they were responsible for defending it.
Borsari were the old bag makers who were skilled leather workers. Our last stop on our walking tour of Verona is Porta dei Borsari.
Verona is filled with old medieval buildings that quickly take you back in time. If you stray from the crowds of tourists and wonder the small narrow streets you will find architectural gems and much Italian charm.
Plan Your Trip to Verona
Find budget hotels in Verona. If you planning to visit this beautiful area and you want to spend more time in Verona, you can find plenty of budget accommodations for every budget.
Take an affordable Verona Old Town Highligts Tour. This is a great tour led by local guide which will take you to most sights.
Finding parking in Verona was tricky for us because our Garmin GPS led us to enter the town the wrong way. We arrived in Verona from Milan with our Italian rental car.
The drive from Milan to Verona takes about 2 hours on the fast A4 freeway. Our GPS led us through a very narrow street that ended with a small restaurant. After asking for directions in my broken Italian, we had to come all the way around the city to Porta Nova where a modern, large and multi-leveled parking structure waited for us. Click here to see the Verona parking lot entrance map.
Or, if you’re looking for the actual address here it is: Piazza Cittadella, 5/A, 37122 Verona VR, Italy. From the parking lot, it’s only five minutes walk to Porta Nuova entrance to the old Verona. How about you? Have you visited Verona, Italy? What was your own experience visiting this city? Leave a comment below.
Is Verona Worth Visiting?
Absolutely! Unfortunately we were only able to spend about five hours visiting Verona, Italy. We wished we had more time to explore more in depth. Verona is full of Italian charm, history and you can easily walk everywhere in old town Verona. You can easily spend two full days taking your time to enjoy this beautiful old town.
- Charming Northern Italy Itinerary
- Walking tour of Milan
- Charming walking tour of Verona
- Venice Main Island walking tour
- Walking tour of Murano Island
- A colorful walking tour of Burano Island
- In the Dolomites at Barcis
- Treviso is a surprising destination
- In-depth walking tour of Padua
- Short tour of quaint Soave
- In-depth walking tour of Sirmione
- In-depth walking tour of Genoa
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Thanks so much for your post, it was very helpful while I was visiting Verona.
Tova…glad to hear you used my walking tour of Verona. We also loved visiting.
Thanks for this. Your guide is very helpful. Make sure to not miss the Scaliger Castle in Villafranca di Verona next time. Enjoy your travels!
Martina…thank you for the tip. Villa Franca is not far from Verona so it looks interesting if people have more time in the Verona area.
Thanks for this very helpful guide. I took most of these tips to plan my 4 hour stopover in Verona today. Such a charming place.
Suhaasi…really glad to hear that my walking tour of Verona was very helpful for your short visit to this beautiful city.
Thanks for this. I will be using it to plan a day in Verona. We are taking the train from Venice after a cruise and looking for a day trip. I think this is the one!
Kathleen…Verona is a great day trip from Venice. You will love it!
It’s about 20 minutes walk from the train station to the Roman Arena which is right in Piazza Bra. Make sure you also go left from there to see Castelvecchio and River Adige. Let me know how it went!
Thanks! We go in October but I will let you know!
thanks for this – I used your guide as a template for a wonderful afternoon in Verona. We took in most of your sights and loved it.
Great to hear my article on Verona was helpful to you!