12 Best Things to Do in Verona: A Self-Guided Walking Tour + Map

Verona welcomed us just a few hours from Milan, a city alive with Italian charm and romance. Whether you are looking for the best things to do in Verona or a structured Verona walking tour to maximize a short visit, this self-guided route and map will lead you to the city’s most exciting medieval and Roman corners.

After a busy day in Milan, Verona felt smaller yet just as alive with charm. Still a bit worn from the drive, we couldn’t wait to stretch our legs and dive into all the exciting things to do in Verona. This article is also a great Verona 1-day itinerary. So, put on some comfortable shoes and let’s begin our self-guided Verona walking tour.

Self-Guided Verona Walking Tour: Route Overview

Verona is a vibrant city where Roman history and medieval charm collide, but it can be overwhelming to navigate if you are on a tight schedule. On my first visit, I only had a few hours to spare while traveling to Venice, which taught me that a precise plan is essential to avoid wasting time. By using a structured route, you can efficiently transition from the bustling Piazza Bra and the Roman Arena to the serene riverside views at Castelvecchio. This guide is designed to help you hit every major landmark—from the high-end shops of Via Mazzini to the historic heights of Ponte Pietra—without feeling rushed.

My custom Verona walking tour map, highlighting an efficient route to see the city’s top sights.
Yellow: Start, Red: See, Green: Walk up, Blue: Walk back

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1. Piazza Bra: The Best Starting Point in Verona

Piazza Bra is the gateway to the city and the perfect starting point for your Verona walking tour.

Piazza Bra is a beautiful place for starting our self-guided Verona walking tour. 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 are the large Roman ruins, the beautiful earthy colored buildings and the small park with the water fountain in the middle. Enjoying Piazza Bra with all its colors was one of the best things to do in Verona for us. So, we lingered around for a while before going left towards Castelvecchio.

2. Castelvecchio

Old walls from Castelvecchio (Old Castle). This Old Castle houses the Civic Museum of Verona

The second stop on our Verona walking tour itinerary 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. However, a visit to Castelvecchio museum is definitely one of the historical things to do in Verona.

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. The Verona Arena: A Must-See Roman Landmark

The imposing Roman Arena remains one of the most iconic things to see in Verona

Walking back to Piazza Bra, we will stop at the imposing Roman Arena. This is the second largest Roman Amphitheater after the Coloseum in Rome. Especially for history lovers, a visit to the Arena is one of the most exciting things to do in Verona.

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.

Verona Olympic Legacy

In February 2026, the Verona Arena took center stage as the host of the Milano Cortina 2026 Closing Ceremony. This historic 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheater was transformed into a “Verona Olympic Arena,” where athletes from around the world gathered to celebrate the end of the Games. While the spotlights and Olympic flames have now been extinguished, the venue’s role in the 2026 Games remains a proud chapter in its long history, leaving behind improved accessibility and safety features for all future visitors.

Continuing our self-guided Verona walking tour itinerary, 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 delle Erbe.

4. Juliet’s House: Verona’s Most Famous Attraction

No Verona walking tour is complete without a visit to the legendary balcony at Juliet’s House.

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 Verona walking tour. 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 during our first visit to Verona.

5. Piazza delle Erbe

Piazza delle Erbe is filled with beautiful old buildings and is dominated by Lamberti Tower

From Juliet’s House we go back on Via Capello we arrive shortly in Piazza delle Erbe where everything seemed to be moving. This is my favorite stop on my Verona walking tour itinerary.
There were so many people resting at small cafes and restaurants or browsing the small market in the middle of the square. Piazza delle 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, which you can also visit by climbing the stairs. However, like most tourist attractions in Verona, you need to get your ticket in advance in order to climb Lamberti Tower.

6. Piazza dei Signori

Piazza dei Signori gives you a glimpse into Verona’s history
See my photos from Verona.

Tucked away right next to the busy Piazza delle Erbe, Piazza dei Signori provides a bit of a break as most people remain in the larger square. During medieval Verona, when Venice was dominating the area, the powerful Scala family was building an administrative center for the affairs of Verona. Piazza dei Signori is flanked by important historical buildings and give the tourist some sitting space on the old stairs. Families with small children love Piazza dei Signori as it provides lots of space for running around and playing for the kids, while the parents can rest or enjoy a local restaurant overlooking Piazza dei Signori.

In addition, Piazza dei Signori is connected to the elaborate tombs of the Scala family and the ancient Santa Maria Antica church. From here you can continue your walking tour of Verona by walking towards Il Duomo di Verona and the ancient Ponte Pietra bridge.

7. Il Duomo di Verona

Duomo di Verona (The Dome of Verona) is a 12th century church filled with early Renaissance art

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 self-guided Verona walking tour because it gives us time to slow down and reflect about these historical places.

8. Ponte Pietra

The old Stone Bridge (Ponte Pietra) connects Verona across river Adige

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 directly across the street from Ponte Pietra, on your left.  This will save you quite a bit of walking going uphill. Since we arrived somewhat late, the cable car was closed, and we took the very picturesque narrow set of stairs that take you up to the castle.

9. San Pietro Castle (The Viewpoint)

For the best panoramic views of all the things to see in Verona, the climb to San Pietro Castle is a must.

San Pietro Castle overlooks the entire Verona old town and provides gorgeous views in every direction.  We climbed the narrow stairs leading to the viewing platform in front of the castle, but you can also take the fast tramway that will take you up in a couple of minutes for a cost. Climbing the stairs gives you more opportunities for views as you climb higher and higher and you also get to see some of the ruins of the old Roman Amphitheatre.

Is it worth climbing to San Pietro Castle in Verona? Yes, it is worth your time and effort.  The views from the top are just gorgeous and you can see almost 360 degrees around. We loved it.

10. Porta dei Borsari

The beautiful San Matteo Church restaurant and pizzeria is located behind Porta dei Borsari.

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 Verona walking tour is Porta dei Borsari which is a charming part of Verona’s old town. Porta dei Borsari area of Verona is filled with restaurants, shops and lots of medieval buildings which 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.

FAQ: Planning Your Verona Walking Tour

Before we dived into the logistics of our visits, we expected a quiet medieval town with old walls. What we actually found was a city that offered so much more. From Roman history to vibrant shopping districts, there are endless things to do in Verona, but the scale of the historic center can be surprising. To help you plan, we’ve answered the most common questions about the top things to see in Verona and how to navigate the city efficiently on foot.

Is Verona Walkable?

Verona is exceptionally walkable because its major historical landmarks are clustered within a compact, mostly pedestrianized UNESCO center. You can easily stroll from the Roman Arena to Juliet’s House and across the Adige River in under 30 minutes, making a car entirely unnecessary for sightseeing.

What Are the Best Things to See in Verona?

Verona has it all: lots of history, medieval and Roman history, rivers, beautiful views, bridges and shopping. Visiting Verona Arena, walking from Piazza Bra to Piazza Erbes and then to Ponte Pietra were the highlights for us. And yes, climbing to the view point at San Pietro Castle close to sunset was unforgettable for sure.

Is One Day in Verona Enough?

Yes, spending one full day in Verona will give you the opportunity to walk through all of Verona’s old town and see most attractions. If however, you want to also visit the Arena, Juliet’s house and climb in the Lamberti tower, you might need an extra day and proper planning so you have the tickets before hand.

Self-Guided Verona Walking Tour: Logistics

• Watch my video about planning your trip to Verona. My video gives you the essential things you need for planning 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.
• Book a charming local walking tour of Verona. This is a great tour led by local guide which will take you to most sights.
• We found the Verona Card to be very useful as it allowed us to skip the line and enter the Verona Arena without waiting at all. It also includes admission to the San Pietro Castle tramway which takes you quickly to the best vista point in Verona. The Verona Card also includes admission to 4 of the largest and most beautiful churches in Verona.
• Finding parking in Verona was tricky for us because our navigation system led us to enter the town the wrong way. We arrived in Verona from Milan with our Italian rental car. 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 Verona Cittadella parking structure waited for us. However, on our second visit, we found the Cittadella parking structure way too busy with a long line to actually go in. Only one block further south we found the Arena parking structure which had plenty of parking.
• Explore more of Verona. Checkout the Verona TripAdvisor page for more traveler reviews and recommendations.

Is Verona Worth Visiting?

Absolutely! I have visited Verona twice during our tours in Italy, and Verona has become my favorite town in Italy. Verona is full of Italian charm; history and you can easily walk everywhere in old town Verona. While you can easily visit Verona in one day, you can also spend two full days taking your time to enjoy this beautiful old town. So, yes, Verona is definitely worth visiting!

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