Verona’s Arena, Piazza delle Erbe and Castel San Pietro give you Roman architecture, civic squares and a view across the Adige in one full day. Two full days let you add Castelvecchio, San Zeno and Giardino Giusti without sacrificing the evenings. A third day spreads the museum and garden visits out, rather than taking you away from the city.
How many days do you need?
- One day
- Arena and central squares, then Juliet’s House or the hill viewpoint
- Two days
- Centre and river, plus Castelvecchio, San Zeno and Giardino Giusti
- Three days
- Move the Roman Theatre and garden to a slower third day
- Day combinations
- Tuesday–Saturday for either order, or western day Saturday and centre day Sunday
- Starting area
- Accommodation near the Arena or Castelvecchio
- First reservation
- Juliet’s House timed entry
Stay near the Arena or Castelvecchio if you want to walk straight into the sightseeing days. Set off from your accommodation towards the Arena for the centre day, and towards Castelvecchio for the western day. The two routes can swap order to suit your arrival.
Accommodation around Verona Porta Nuova station lies west of the historic sightseeing core, generally a 20–30-minute walk from the Arena and central old town. It suits rail arrivals and departures, but adds a walk before and after sightseeing.
Wear comfortable shoes for paving and the hill staircase, carry water, and bring a light rain layer or warmer seasonal layers. Museum interiors offer a wet-weather alternative, while winter calls for an earlier hilltop view rather than waiting until after your accommodation break.
Tickets and reservations
| Visit or ticket | Adult price | Booking / supplement | Verona Card benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arena | €12 | Online via Museo Maffeiano / Piazza Bra, optional booking | Included, priority Gate 5 |
| Teatro Nuovo, Juliet’s courtyard and House | €12 | Timed entry, see warning | Included |
| Lamberti Tower (optional) | €6 | Recommended: torredeilamberti@agec.it | Stairs included, lift +€1 |
| Roman Theatre and museum | €4.50 | Online / entrance, no reservation, online +€0.45 | Included |
| Castelvecchio | €9 | Online / ticket office, no reservation | Included |
| San Zeno | €4 | Entrance, no reservation or booking fee, audio +€1 | Included |
| Giardino Giusti | €14 | Groups over 10: info@giardinogiusti.com | Reduced to €9 |
| Sant’Anastasia (optional) | €4 | On site, audio +€1 | Included |
| San Fermo (optional) | €4 | On site, audio +€1 | Included |
| Card 24 hours, no transport | €29 | Your Verona web app | Included admissions above |
| Card 24 hours, with ATV | €33 | Your Verona web app | Admissions + ATV transport |
| Card 48 hours, no transport | €32 | Your Verona web app | Included admissions above |
| Card 48 hours, with ATV | €38 | Your Verona web app | Admissions + ATV transport |
| Four Historic Churches Pass | €8 | On site, all-church audio +€2 | Separate alternative |
| Day 1 main admissions | €28.50 | Arena, Juliet, theatre | Included |
| Day 2 main admissions | €27 | Castle, San Zeno, garden | Garden extra |
| Both days, main admissions | €55.50 | Before optional visits / supplements | €41 with 48-hour base Card |
| All optional paid visits | €14 extra | Tower and two churches | Lift supplement separate |
The longer base Card suits both full sightseeing days if you retain the main interiors. The shorter Card saves on the centre day only if you add optional paid stops. Dropping Juliet’s House or several museums makes single tickets more attractive. The churches pass admits you once each to San Zeno, the Cathedral Complex, Sant’Anastasia and San Fermo within 90 days of purchase.
Card validity begins at the first museum entry or bus ride and runs continuously, not by calendar day. Buy through the Your Verona web app, validate the named QR code in your wallet before use, and present it on your smartphone.
Day 1: Arena, old town and the river
Times are estimates from your start time
- on foot
- 4 km
- getting around
- 59 min
- the day
- 09:00 21:10
Verona Arena
09:001 h
Explore the Roman amphitheatre.
Next doorPiazza Bra
10:0515 min
Pause in the Arena’s broad square.
6 min450 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Via Mazzini
10:2515 min
Browse the pedestrian shopping street.
4 min350 mrecommended buffer 10 minOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Juliet’s House
10:5545 min
Take the booked house and courtyard visit.
3 min250 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Piazza delle Erbe
11:4025 min
Find the Madonna Verona fountain.
Next doorOptional Lamberti Tower
12:0545 min
Add a rooftop outlook.
Next doorPiazza dei Signori
12:5515 min
See Dante and the civic buildings.
4 min300 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Lunch around Via Fama
13:101 h 15 min
Sit down for lunch.
6 min450 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Optional Sant’Anastasia
14:3530 min
Look up at painted vaults.
2 min200 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Optional Via Sottoriva
15:0515 min
Explore medieval porticoes.
7 min500 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Ponte Pietra
15:2515 min
Cross the historic bridge.
2 min200 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Roman Theatre and Archaeological Museum
15:451 h 30 min
See theatre remains and archaeological displays.
Rest at your accommodation
17:151 h 6 min
Return for a break before the hill.
Roman Theatre and Archaeological Museum → View from Castel San Pietro8 min450 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
View from Castel San Pietro
18:301 h
Enjoy the river and rooftop panorama.
14 min950 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Dinner around Piazza Isolo
19:401 h 30 min
Eat in Veronetta.
Ends around 21:10
The Arena’s arcades, Via Mazzini, Dante’s square and Ponte Pietra make this a day of Roman remains and street life, ending with the hilltop panorama and dinner around Piazza Isolo. The sightseeing walk covers about 4 km between the named stops.
The Arena’s surviving outer ring, interior arcades and seating reveal the Roman amphitheatre’s structure. Afterwards, Piazza Bra opens out around it, and Via Mazzini’s pedestrian shopping corridor leads towards Juliet’s House.
Juliet’s House celebrates a literary association, not the documented home of a real Juliet. Enter the courtyard through Teatro Nuovo in Piazzetta Navona, then follow the one-way route out onto Via Cappello.
- Name
- Juliet’s House
- Location
- Via Cappello Maps
- Site
- casadigiulietta.comune.verona.it
- Hours
- Mon 14:00–19:00
- Tue–Sun 09:00–19:00
- Essential fact
- House museum associated with the fictional Juliet, on Via Cappello in the historic centre.
Piazza delle Erbe centres on the Madonna Verona fountain beneath Lamberti Tower. The optional tower adds another outlook and closes on 25 December and 1 January. Piazza dei Signori has Dante’s statue, Palazzo della Ragione and Loggia del Consiglio.
After lunch around Via Fama, optional Sant’Anastasia rewards you with painted rib vaults and holy-water stoups supported by hunchback and kneeling figures. Via Sottoriva’s low medieval porticoes lead towards Ponte Pietra, whose Roman masonry sits alongside later rebuilding, reconstructed with historic stones recovered from the river.
SaraZara92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
At the Roman Theatre, explore the seating, orchestra and stage remains, then the museum’s inscriptions, sculpture and archaeological finds. Return to your accommodation afterwards.
- Name
- Roman Theatre and Archaeological Museum
- Location
- Regaste Redentore, near Ponte Pietra Maps
- Hours
- Mon Closed
- Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00
- Essential fact
- Roman theatre and archaeological museum on the north bank of the Adige near Ponte Pietra.
Castel San Pietro’s view is best near the end of daylight. Take the staircase from the theatre area, or the funicular, which is accessible to visitors with disabilities. Drop the tower and optional church first when time is tight, then move the Roman Theatre to a slower third day if its visit no longer fits. In winter, see the viewpoint before resting. Descend for dinner in Veronetta.
Day 2: Castelvecchio, San Zeno and the garden
Times are estimates from your start time
- on foot
- 6.5 km
- getting around
- 1 h 29
- the day
- 10:00 21:00
Castelvecchio Museum
10:001 h 30 min
Explore Scarpa’s displays and the art collection.
Next doorOptional Castelvecchio Bridge
11:3520 min
Enjoy battlements and river views.
13 min1 kmOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
San Zeno
12:051 h
See bronze doors and Mantegna’s altarpiece.
Next doorLunch in Piazza San Zeno
13:051 h 15 min
Eat in the western neighbourhood.
29 min2.2 kmOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Optional San Fermo
14:5030 min
Visit the contrasting upper and lower churches.
11 min800 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Giardino Giusti
15:301 h 30 min
Explore formal planting, maze and terraces.
24 min1.7 kmOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Optional Gavi Arch
17:2515 min
Look for Roman ornament and inscriptions.
Rest at your accommodation
17:401 h 1 min
Take a break before the evening.
Evening in Piazza Bra
18:5040 min
Enjoy the square before dinner.
4 min350 mOpen in Google MapsShow mapHide map
Dinner around Corso Cavour
19:301 h 30 min
Try Veronese cooking.
Ends around 21:00
After the centre and river day, set off from your accommodation for Castelvecchio: Scarpa’s art displays, San Zeno’s bronze doors and Giardino Giusti’s terraces make a more expansive day, finishing in Piazza Bra and over dinner around Corso Cavour. The cross-city sightseeing walk covers about 6.5 km. Avoid Mondays, when Castelvecchio closes, and use Saturday for this route on a weekend.
At Castelvecchio, Carlo Scarpa’s display mounts, contrasting materials and use of light are part of the visit. Look for the equestrian Cangrande statue among medieval and Renaissance painting and sculpture. The museum also closes on 25 December and 1 January.
- Name
- Castelvecchio Museum
- Location
- Corso Castelvecchio Maps
- Site
- museodicastelvecchio.comune.verona.it
- Hours
- Mon Closed
- Tue–Sun 10:00–18:00
- Essential fact
- Medieval castle housing an art museum beside the Adige and Castelvecchio Bridge.
The optional Castelvecchio Bridge extends the castle’s fortified profile through battlements and towers, with views along the Adige.
San Zeno’s Wheel of Fortune rose window and bronze biblical panels lead to Mantegna’s altarpiece inside. Lunch in Piazza San Zeno keeps you in the neighbourhood before crossing town.
- Name
- San Zeno
- Location
- Piazza San Zeno Maps
- Site
- chieseverona.it
- Hours
- Mon–Sat 09:00–18:00
- Sun 13:00–18:00
- Essential fact
- Romanesque basilica in the San Zeno district west of the historic centre.
Optional San Fermo contrasts a wooden ship’s-keel ceiling upstairs with a columned Romanesque church below. Omit it when daylight or access limits the afternoon, and return from the garden earlier.
Giardino Giusti offers formal planting, a boxwood maze and upper terraces overlooking Verona, best enjoyed with daylight remaining. It opens year-round except on 25 December.
- Name
- Giardino Giusti
- Location
- Via Giardino Giusti, Veronetta Maps
- Site
- giardinogiusti.com
- Hours
- 10:00–18:00
- Essential fact
- Historic garden in Veronetta, on the eastern side of the Adige.
Annika of Nine · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited
Returning west, optional Gavi Arch has Corinthian columns, a coffered passage and a partly damaged family inscription. Rest at your accommodation before Piazza Bra’s evening pause.
Around Corso Cavour, try Amarone risotto, rice cooked with broth and the local red wine, finished with butter and cheese. Pearà is a peppery breadcrumb sauce with marrow and beef broth, traditionally served with boiled meats. The Arena’s opera season, usually June to September, offers an alternative evening.
One day, a late start or a slower third day
- One day: keep the Arena and central squares. Choose booked Juliet’s House entry or the Ponte Pietra and Castel San Pietro finish, rather than squeezing in both.
- Late start: drop Lamberti Tower and the optional churches first. Move the Roman Theatre to another day if its visit becomes tight.
- Early departure: put your priority, Castelvecchio, San Zeno or Giardino Giusti, on the earlier full day and cut optional stops around it.
- Three slower days: move the Roman Theatre and garden to a third city day, with lunch in Veronetta and dinner around Piazza Isolo. Keep the centre and western days lighter.
Rain favours Castelvecchio and the archaeological museum over the garden and viewpoint. In heat, remove optional stops to lengthen the accommodation rest. On short winter days, see Castel San Pietro before resting and move the theatre to the third day when needed.
Sources & fact-checking
Checks against the sources below cover: fares and charges, closures, and services. Route times and distances were calculated from geolocated stops.
- Verona Tourist Office (IAT Verona) — closures
- Casa di Giulietta – Home page
- Juliet’s Courtyard and House: new access procedures
- Comune di Verona Tourism — closures
- Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano — Home page
- Comune di Verona — Turismo — service
- Musei Civici di Verona — closures
- Associazione Chiese Vive — closures
- Giardino Giusti — closures
- Municipality of Verona — fares and charges
- Fondazione Arena di Verona — service
- Casa e cortile di Giulietta: approvate dalla Giunta le nuove tariffe per il percorso di visita
- Musei Civici di Verona — service
- AGEC (Azienda Gestione Edifici Comunali) — fares and charges
- Musei Civici di Verona — fares and charges
- Museo di Castelvecchio – Visita il Museo
- Associazione Chiese Vive — fares and charges
- Associazione Chiese Vive — service
- VeronaCard si rinnova: dal 1° settembre la card turistica diventa digitale
- Richiedere la VeronaCard
- Verona Card – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- Cosa vedere a Verona
- VERONACARD SI RINNOVA: DAL 1° SETTEMBRE LA CARD TURISTICA DIVENTA DIGITALE
