Why go
Between Venice and Milan, the main rail line runs through a string of cities that would be the headline in most countries. Verona has a Roman amphitheater still used for opera every summer. Padua has Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel. Vicenza is Andrea Palladio's city, the source of half the porticoed buildings in Washington. And 20 minutes west of Verona, Lake Garda opens up, ringed by lemon terraces, castles and mountains at its northern end.
This is also some of Italy's best eating and drinking country: Amarone and Valpolicella in the hills above Verona, Soave to the east, Lugana and Bardolino on the lake, and Prosecco in the hills north of Treviso. Everything is linked by frequent trains, so you can base yourself in one place and make easy day trips. See Venice for the city on the lagoon and the Dolomites for the mountains to the north.
Verona
Verona is compact, walkable and handsome, built in pink and white stone inside a loop of the Adige River. It works as a base for the lake and for opera nights, and it is calmer than Venice at a lower hotel price.
The Arena
A Roman amphitheater from the first century AD, one of the best preserved anywhere. It hosted the closing ceremony of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. By day you can walk the stone tiers; on summer nights it is an opera house.
Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori
The old Roman forum, now a market square lined with frescoed houses, with the medieval government square behind it. Climb or ride the elevator up the Torre dei Lamberti for the best view in town.
Juliet's House
A medieval house with a balcony added in the 20th century to fit the Shakespeare story. The courtyard is crowded and has had capacity limits at busy times; the museum inside costs extra. Go early or skip it for the less visited Juliet's Tomb.
Castelvecchio
The Scaliger family's 14th-century fortress, with Carlo Scarpa's celebrated museum design and a fortified bridge over the Adige.
San Zeno Maggiore
A Romanesque masterpiece with bronze doors and a Mantegna altarpiece, a 15-minute walk from the center. Verona's main churches charge a small entry fee, with a combined church ticket.
Ponte Pietra and Castel San Pietro
Cross the Roman bridge, pass the Roman theater and take the funicular or the stairs to the terrace above for sunset over the river and rooftops.
Save money
The Verona Card covers the Arena by day, the Lamberti tower, Castelvecchio, Juliet's House, the main churches and city buses for 24 or 48 hours. If you plan four or more paid sights in a day, it usually pays for itself; check current prices at the tourist office or the city museums site.
Verona's food is hearty: risotto all'Amarone, bollito (boiled meats) with pearà (a peppery bread sauce), and pastissada, a slow-cooked stew traditionally made with horse meat. The town of Valeggio sul Mincio, south of the lake, is known for its delicate filled pasta. Every spring Verona hosts Vinitaly, one of the world's largest wine fairs; hotels fill and prices climb that week. See Wine.
The Arena di Verona Opera Festival
Opera has filled the Arena every summer since 1913, when Aida opened the first festival. Huge sets, choruses of hundreds and an audience of well over 10,000 under the sky make this a very different night from a US opera house. You do not need to be an opera fan; the spectacle carries it.
2027 dates and program
The 104th festival runs from June 11 to September 11, 2027, with an opening dedicated to the Beethoven bicentenary. The announced program includes:
- La Traviata directed by Paul Curran
- Nabucco directed by Stefano Poda
- Carmen in Franco Zeffirelli's production
- Aida in two versions: the historic Gianfranco de Bosio staging and Stefano Poda's newer production
- Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, a new production and the first full-length ballet at the Arena since 1993
- Galas and special nights, including Roberto Bolle and Friends (two dates), a Jonas Kaufmann gala, and staged concerts such as Orff's Carmina Burana
The calendar mixes the productions on different nights, so if you want a specific opera, check which evenings it plays before you fix your travel dates. Performances usually start around 9 p.m. and, with long intervals, can end after midnight.
Tickets and seats
2027 tickets are already on sale at the official Arena ticket shop. Prices depend on the sector and the night (galas and opening night cost more):
- Unnumbered stone steps (gradinata non numerata): the cheapest seats, first come first served, high on the stone tiers. Lively, with the tradition of lighting small candles at dusk.
- Numbered steps: reserved places on the stone tiers at the sides.
- Stalls (poltrona and poltronissima): chairs on the arena floor, closest to the stage and the most expensive, running to several hundred euros on premium nights.
Check the official "Rates and Sectors 2027" table on arena.it for the current prices. Avoid resale sites charging large markups; the Arena sells directly online and at its box office.
- Rent or bring a cushion if you sit on the stone steps. Four hours on Roman stone is hard going.
- Bring water in a plastic bottle; glass, cans and large bags are not allowed.
- Arrive early for unnumbered seats; gates open well before curtain.
- Smart casual is fine everywhere. In the stalls, many Italians dress up.
- If rain stops a performance before a set point in the evening, the rules on refunds or rescheduling are in the ticket terms. Read them before you buy.
Watch out
Last trains back to Venice or Milan leave before most performances end. Book a hotel in Verona for opera night, ideally within walking distance of Piazza Bra. Hotels for festival weekends book up months ahead.
Lake Garda
Lago di Garda is Italy's largest lake, about 32 miles (52 km) long, wide and flat in the south and narrow between steep mountains in the north. Three regions share it: Veneto on the east shore, Lombardy on the west and Trentino at the top. The south is resort country and easy by train; the north is for hiking, climbing, windsurfing and cycling. See The outdoors.
Sirmione
A walled village on a narrow peninsula, entered through the moated Scaliger castle. At the tip are the ruins of a vast Roman villa known as the Grotte di Catullo, and thermal spas. The old town is closed to cars; park outside and walk in. It gets very crowded midday in summer.
Desenzano and Peschiera
The two lake towns on the Milan–Venice railway, with regular boats. Peschiera's Venetian fortress walls are a UNESCO site. Gardaland, Italy's biggest theme park, is just outside Peschiera.
Bardolino, Garda and Lazise
Lakefront promenades, red wine named for Bardolino itself and an easy bus ride from Verona.
Malcesine
A castle village below Monte Baldo. A cable car with rotating cabins climbs to about 5,800 feet (1,760 m) for lake views and ridge walks; go early to avoid long summer lines.
Riva del Garda and Arco
Mountains drop straight into the water. Riva has a harbor and old town; Arco is a world climbing center; Torbole next door is famous for wind sports.
Limone sul Garda and Gardone Riviera
Limone has old lemon houses and a cycle path built out over the water. Gardone has the Vittoriale, the eccentric home of the poet Gabriele D'Annunzio, with a warship set into the hillside.
Getting around the lake
- Train: regional trains reach Peschiera in about 15 minutes from Verona and Desenzano in about 25.
- Boats: Navigazione Laghi runs ferries, fast hydrofoils and a car ferry across the middle of the lake between Toscolano Maderno and Torri del Benaco. Timetables thin out sharply from November to March; check the official schedule.
- Bus: ATV buses run from Verona's station up the east shore; the ride to Malcesine is long, around two hours.
- Car: the shore roads are scenic, narrow and slow in summer, with tunnels on the west side. Parking in lake towns is scarce and paid; blue lines mean pay-and-display. Watch for ZTL zones in historic centers. See Driving.
Insider tip
Base yourself in one town with good boat connections and day-trip by water. A hydrofoil gets you across distances that take an hour by road, and arriving at Sirmione or Malcesine by boat is the right way to see them.
Padua
Padova is a lively university city, 25 minutes from Venice by fast train and 50 minutes by regional train, with hotels well below Venice prices. Its 14th-century fresco cycles, led by Giotto's, were added to the UNESCO list in 2021.
- Scrovegni Chapel: Giotto's frescoes of the lives of the Virgin and Christ, painted around 1305, a turning point in Western art. Visits are timed: you wait in a climate-control room for about 15 minutes, then get about 15 minutes in the chapel. Book on the official site well ahead, especially for weekends, and arrive early for your slot; latecomers lose their place.
- Basilica of St. Anthony: a major pilgrimage church with Donatello bronzes. Shoulders and knees covered, and quiet at the saint's tomb.
- Palazzo della Ragione and the markets: a vast medieval hall over two daily market squares, Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta. Spritz hour here is a local ritual.
- The university: tours of Palazzo Bo show the 16th-century anatomical theater and Galileo's lectern. The botanical garden, founded in 1545, is the world's oldest university garden still in its original location.
- Prato della Valle: one of Europe's largest squares, an oval garden ringed by statues and a canal.
Vicenza and Palladio's villas
Andrea Palladio's buildings defined classical architecture across Britain and America, from Monticello to the White House. Vicenza, 45 minutes to an hour from Venice and about 30 minutes from Verona by train, is his city and a UNESCO site, along with the villas he built in the countryside around it.
- Teatro Olimpico: finished in 1585, the oldest surviving indoor theater, with a permanent trompe-l'oeil stage of city streets. It still hosts performances.
- Basilica Palladiana: his first public commission, wrapped around a medieval hall on Piazza dei Signori.
- Villa La Rotonda: the square villa with a dome and four temple fronts, on a hill just outside town. Opening days are limited; check before you go.
- Villa Valmarana ai Nani: next to La Rotonda, with frescoes by Giambattista and Giandomenico Tiepolo.
More Palladian villas line the Brenta Canal between Padua and Venice; boat cruises run along it in season, and Villa Pisani at Stra is the grandest stop.
The Prosecco hills
The steep vineyards between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, an hour north of Venice, became a UNESCO site in 2019. This is where the top Prosecco, labeled DOCG, comes from, along with the small Cartizze hill, the most prized slope. The Strada del Prosecco wine road links family wineries; many offer tastings by appointment.
Look for the osterie senza oste (inns without an innkeeper), honor-system huts among the vines where you help yourself to wine and snacks and leave money in a box. You need a car, a bike or a guided tour; trains reach Conegliano but not the hills. Never drive after tasting; Italy's blood alcohol limit is 0.05 percent, lower than most US states, and zero for drivers who have held a license for under three years.
Nearby, Bassano del Grappa has Palladio's covered wooden bridge and grappa distilleries; Asolo is a hilltop town with long views; and Possagno has the sculptor Antonio Canova's birthplace and plaster cast gallery.
A five-day route
- Day 1
Venice to Padua
Leave Venice in the morning, drop bags in Padua, see the Scrovegni Chapel at your booked time and the markets before an evening spritz.
- Day 2
Vicenza to Verona
Stop in Vicenza for the Teatro Olimpico and the Basilica Palladiana, then continue to Verona for the evening.
- Day 3
Verona
The Arena, Piazza delle Erbe, Castelvecchio and San Zeno by day; opera at night in summer.
- Day 4
Lake Garda
Train to Desenzano or Peschiera, boat to Sirmione, and stay two nights at the lake.
- Day 5
Malcesine or Valpolicella
Cross the lake to Malcesine for Monte Baldo, or book a winery visit in Valpolicella, then continue to Milan or the Dolomites.
For more routes, see Planning your trip and the trip builder.
Where to stay
Verona's center has the best range, from $$ family-run hotels near Piazza Bra to $$$ palaces, with prices spiking on opera weekends and during Vinitaly. Padua is a value base for Venice at $–$$. On the lake, Sirmione and Malcesine run $$–$$$ in July and August, and many lake hotels close from November to March. All of these towns charge a nightly tourist tax at check-in. See Where to stay.
Different from home
Lake hotels often require minimum stays and half board (breakfast and dinner) in high summer, especially in German-speaking Trentino and around the north shore. Read the rate conditions before you book.
What trips people up
- Missing the last train home after the opera.
- Showing up at the Scrovegni Chapel without a timed reservation.
- Driving into Sirmione's or Verona's ZTL zones and getting camera fines mailed to the US months later.
- Assuming lake boats run on summer schedules in October or April.
- Planning a lake day in August without booking: towns, beaches and car parks fill by midmorning.
Add it to a route in the trip builder, or ask us to plan the hotels, trains and guides for you.