Verona is between Milan and Venice. It is easy to reach by train. Verona is where the story of Romeo and Juliet is set. It has been on our must-go list for a while.
From the train station, it took us about an hour walking to the town center square, including a breakfast stop. Along the way, we saw a piece of well-preserved old city gate.
We arrived in the early morning. The street was charming, peaceful and clean.
There are statues of lovers in a park (are they Romeo and Juliet?).
Piazza Bra is behind this giant double gate.
It happened to be during the opera festival week when we visited Verona. There were stage sets everywhere and actors/actresses in stage costumes near the Arena.
Our must-see in Verona is Juliet’s house. This is the entrance to Juliet’s courtyard and balcony. The inner courtyard was packed with people trying to get to the statue of Juliet to take a picture.
The walls are full of hand-written love letters. These are from people all over the world, expressing their love or heartache. By the way, the movie “Letters to Juliet” is a cute love story set in Verona.
The statue of Juliet is supposed to be a good luck charm for anyone looking for love.
“Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” In plain english, this means ‘why are you Romeo?’, meaning why are you the enemy of my (Juliet’s) family.
Not far from Juliet’s balcony, there is another lovely little plaza, Piazza delle Erbe, where we got some really good gelato with a macaroon.
We found a beautiful church, the Basilica of Saint Anastasia in Verona. It is the largest of its kind in Verona.
We also found Castle Vecchio, which has been turned into a museum. It is fun to look around the museum and see the city from the high castle walls.
From the top of the castle wall, we saw the Adige River winding through Verona.
Verona is a charming town. We only spent a day and didn’t see the whole place.The town is full of history and characteristics. I would like to visit Verona again and spend more time learning about its history.
Verona train station, Arena, Juliet’s courtyard, and Vecchio castle: