Verona

Introduction

Evening in Verona

Verona is a city in the Veneto region in northeastern Italy and has about 275,000 inhabitants. Although it might not be as well known as other bigger cities in the country, the city has a lot to offer for travellers including many shows, operas and fantastic old building styles dating back to the Medieval and Renaissance periods.

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Sights and Activities

The city of Verona as a whole has been placed on the Unesco World Heritage List, which gives you an idea of the importance of the historical buildings throughout the city. Some of them are:

Arena
Palazo Canossa
Castelvecchio, bridge and museum
Porta Leoni and Porta Borsari
Ponte Pietra
Palazzo della Torre
San Giorgio in Braida - a roman catholic church
Scaliger Tombs
Torre dei Lamberti
Verona Cathedral
Basilica di San Zeno
Piazza dei Signori

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Events and Festivals

Bacanal del Gnoco (February) - It's carnival time for Verona and it's a very colourful affair! Look out for the masked revellers in inventive and interesting costumes as they parade through the streets. Floats, bands and majorettes accompany the parade to Piazza San Zeno where traditional food is served. It's a festival that is connected to ancient religion and it lasts several days.
Verona In Love (February) - Exhibitions, conerts and shows are held for 5 days around Valentine's Day. With Verona being the location for Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet', it is the perfect romantic setting for Valentine's and it becomes transformed into a romantic hub for the weekend with a heart shaped market running in Piazza dei Signori. Address: Piazza dei Signori
Pasqua (March) - The Easter weekend is celebrated with processions and traditional food.
Vinitaly (April) - This is one of Italy's most important trade fairs where 150,000 visitors come and visit the thousands of exhibitors and their wares. Address: Fiere di Verona
Verona Opera Festival (June) - This summer festival is held in Arena di Verona (an ancient Roman amphitheatre) where performances traditionaly begin at dusk. Spectators bring candles which all get lit as the dark deepens. Singers, directors and designers perform impressive productions, as well as dance and classic concerts. Ballets and traditional dances have also made many appearances. Address: Arena di Verona
Shakespeare Festival (July) - Address: Teatro Romano
Rassegna dei Presepio and La Stella di Natale (December) - Every December, this event kicks off the Christmas festivities in the city. There are displays of over 400 nativity scenes and a huge sculpture of a star in Piazza Bra Square. A festive market continues until the 13th December (Santa Lucia). Address: Arena di Verona
Fiera Cavalli (November) - For over a century, this huge horse fair has been taking place annually and is one of the biggest events of its kind in Italy. It's the ultimate event for horse riding lovers as a large amount of horses, riding clothes/accessories and riding competitions are exhibited. Address: Fiere di Verona

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Weather

Verona's summers last from June to September with temperatures generally between 25 °C and 30 °C and nights of around 16-18 °C degrees. Winters last from December to February with temperatures of around 5 °C and nights around zero. Extremes of above 35 °C and below -10 °C are possible. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with some heavier showers during the spring and summer months. Winters see occasional snow.

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Getting There

By Plane

Verona Airport (VRN) has several dozens of airlines serving a growing number of European destinations, including London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Malta, Berlin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Tel Aviv. Several charter airlines have flights to quite a few Mediterranean beach holiday destinations.

By Train

Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) is the national train carrier with services to many cities in Italy. For international destinations, check the Trenitalia website for schedules and services.

By Bus

Buses connects Verona to many regional smaller destinations and Eurolines has several connections to European cities as well.

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Sleep

Upscale

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Learn

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Keep Connected

Internet

Almost all towns and cities in Italy have internet cafes. A growing number of budget hostels and nicer hotels have free Wifi. By law all public-access internet points must keep records of web sites viewed by customers, and even the customer's ID: expect to be refused access if you don't provide identification. Hotels providing Internet access are not required to record IDs if the connection is provided in the guest's room, although if the connection is offered in the main public hall then IDs are required. Publicly available wireless access without user identification is illegal, so open Wi-Fi hotspots (like the ones you might expect to find in a mall or cafée) all have some form of (generally one-time) registration.

Phone

Post

Post Italiane is the national postal services of Italy and has quite an efficient network of postal offices and reliable postal services. Standard letters and postcards (up to 20 grams) cost €0.39 to send within Europe and the Mediterranean countries outside Europe and €0.41 to all other destinations throughout the country. Up to 50 grams, prices start at €0.52 for Europe, €0.62 for other areas. Packages start at €1.55 within Europe, and around €2.50 for other countries. Post office business hours in Italy are from 8:30am to 2:00pm from Monday to Friday, with closing times at Saturday and the last day of the month at 12 noon. In general, larger post offices in bigger cities and in tourist areas keep longer hours than those in local towns. Also note that business hours in the south might be different than the north, with longer hours at night, especially in summer! If you want to send packages you might try faster and more reliable/efficient private courier companies like TNT, UPS or DHL.

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