It had been over 6 months since we traveled anywhere as we were settling in to our new home in Munich. Bhanu was spending a few weeks in Ireland for work and I was just itching to pick up my backpack and go somewhere. I literally used the ‘Go Anywhere’ option on Skyscanner to look for suitable weekend getaways and decided to visit Verona.

Verona had been on my radar for some time. It is a town of major historic and geographical importance. It was the intersection of all major Italian trade routes during the Roman Empire connecting port town of Venice and business hub Milan as well as connected many other towns along a North-South route across the country. The entire city has been declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO due to it’s well maintained centuries-old buildings and architecture. But Verona became most famous for being the setting of Shakespeare’s two novels: Romeo & Juliet and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Verona is a major tourist attraction due to it’s history, food and undeniably amazing wine produced in the Veneto region. If you want to get away from the hustle-bustle of major cities like Rome or Venice and still have an exquisite Italian experience, Verona is the place to visit.

How to get there

Verona is well-connected with major European cities. It’s just a 5 hour train ride away from Munich with frequent service to Porta Nuova station. It’s an amazing and scenic train ride through the Alps ranges and you can see cozy towns and miles and miles of vineyards along the train tracks. I managed to find a great deal on tickets on omio and I was on my way the very next day.

Where to Stay

Verona is relatively small and most people stay near the medieval city center – Piazza Delle Erbe. I found a nice place on Airbnb just a few minutes away from the Piazza. There are many hotels and hostels in Verona and you can select any depending on the budget. The entire city is extremely safe and I walked without worry everywhere even at night.

Places to Visit

Arena Di Verona

Verona is home to innumerable historic sites but the most famous and breathtaking of them all is the Verona Arena. Despite being older than the Colosseum in Rome, the Arena Di Verona is still well maintained and is used for concerts and operas on a regular basis. One can walk along the circumference of the amphitheater and can still see the rooms where gladiators used to stay before entering the arena to fight. The gallery from where the Emperors and dignitaries would to watch the events is still well preserved and is used as the VIP sitting area nowadays.

Ponte Di Castelvecchio

This is a 14th century bridge built by the tyrant King Cangrande II to help him escape the castle in case of rebellion from his troups or citizens of Verona. It is still almost intact except a tower that was destroyed by French soldiers in 18th century.

Arche Scaligere

Arche Scaligere are tombs of members of Scaligere family who ruled Verona at the end of 13th century- early 14th century. The tombs are inside a courtyard near the city center just outside Santa Maria church.

Piazza Bra

Where and What to Eat

Gelateria Savoia

Everyone who knows me knows I am a die hard fan of Gelato. I can eat gelato for every meal and then some 😛 So naturally, my first day in Italy, I had to find the best gelateria in Verona – Savoia. They have a number of homemade flavors and this year they are celebrating 80th anniversary with some special flavors like Bisc80 and Grappa.

Cafe At Piazza Bra

After walking around whole afternoon, I wanted to relax at the town center. I took a seat at one of the cafes just outside the arena and spent hours sipping wine, eating fresh bruscheta with olive oil and listening to the concert going on inside the arena.

Food Tour

We like to do a food tour early in our trip so that we get to know about a lot of local favorites and it gives us an opportunity to visit them some of them again if we find something interesting.

I booked the Verona Food Walking Tour and Wine Tasting with Veronality for Saturday morning. I was lucky enough to get a private tour and my guide Diana was a local Sommelier and a foodie. I had an amazing time walking around the city, eating and drinking wine with her. In the end, I learned about amazing food joints and managed to visit a couple of them again on my last day there.

Caffe Pasticceria Pradaval

Our first stop for breakfast was at Caffee Pasticceria. We had cafe marocchino, budino di riso( Rice pudding tart) and a special childhood favorite of Diana – zaletti (Cornmeal cookies). Diana explained the origins of zaletto and she went back to her childhood where her grandmother used to make zaletto from fresh cornmeal mush that was left over after making fresh cornbread every morning.

Fun Fact: Italians have a strange relationship with coffee. There are some etiquettes one should know.

• You are not supposed to order Cappuccino or any milk coffee after 11 am.
• Never order coffee to go. Coffee is supposed to be enjoyed standing at the caffe bar (not sitting at a table).

La bottega della Gina

This is the spot for freshest and most delicious tortellini in all over Verona!! How fresh are the tortellini? The chef makes fresh tortellini from scratch after you place an order. After making the tortellini, they just boil them for a few seconds and then saute in butter with some herbs. BEST. TORTELLINI. EVER! This is spot I visited twice in my 2 days stay there.

Fine Wine Shop

Amarone is a special wine produced primarily in the Verona province. Unlike any other wine, it is produced from raisins giving it a rich, almost bitter and strong taste. This unique method of production makes Amarone a relatively expensive wine.

Fine wine shop is owned by local winery owner who specializes in producing Amarone. He conducts wine tastings in the shop and he has a vivid collection of various Amarone and other wines. I saw the original Amarone produced in 1959 (650 EUR /bottle only :P)

Vittoria

The last stop in my tour was another gelateria – Vittoria – named after the owner’s wife. They make all their gelato on-site and they specialize in unique flavors like non-milk chocolate gelato, sugar-free tiramisu etc but they were as delicious as regular Gelato.

Dal Grano

On my way to Vittoria, I walked across a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria and I just couldn’t get the aroma of fresh pizza out of my mind. So on my last day I went to check it out and I was blown away. I am a huge fan of pizza of all types but the Dal Grano pizza was on another level. The spicy salami and fresh bufala mozzarela just added a new dimensions to the flavor and just made it an unforgettable experience. My only regret is not finding this place sooner.

Tigella Bella

While walking along the Adige river, I saw a lot of people waiting to enter a restaurant. I had time for only one more meal before catching the train but I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to check that place out – Tigella Bella. They specialize in Tigella – a thin round bread (somewhere between pita and English muffin) which is usually eaten with cold cut meats and olives. You can also have them as side for Gnocci. I was so happy to have found this place as it was a totally new dish for me and the long wait time was well deserved.

Things I Learned

• People are really friendly and they are really fond and proud of their Italian heritage. All the people I met had amusing stories about their grandparents and parents and I had an amazing time learning about them.
• Walking around is the best way to get to know the town. I walked everywhere and discovered so many amazing places on my own.
• In case you prefer using public transport, you can buy the Verona card. It gives you free entry to some museums and sites like Verona Arena along with unlimited use of local buses.