While You're Here
Explore Verona& the surrounding cities
A few places we’d hate for you to miss — in the old city, and a short way beyond.
Sightseeing
Exploring Verona
Six places to start — about 50 minutes from the villa, all inside the old city and most within a short walk of one another.
01
Arena di Verona
A 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre that still hosts opera under the stars.
02
Juliet's House
The famous balcony in a medieval courtyard — go early to beat the crowds.
03
Piazza delle Erbe
Verona's lively market square, ringed by frescoed palaces and cafés.
04
Ponte Pietra
The city's oldest Roman bridge — beautiful at golden hour.
05
Castelvecchio Museum
Verona's art gallery inside a fortified castle — medieval and Renaissance paintings, and the Scaliger tombs in the courtyard.
06
The Church of Saint Fermo
Two churches stacked above the Adige — relics in the Romanesque one below, a ship's-hull ceiling painted with hundreds of saints in the Gothic one above. No booking needed.
Lake Garda
Italy's largest lake, about 45 minutes north by car — swimming, lemon groves and long lunches on the water. The ferry system is easy to navigate: hop on in one town and off in the next.
01
Sirmione
A peninsula town with a castle over the water, Roman ruins at the end of the point and gelato on the promenade. Park at the gate and walk in — the old lanes are closed to traffic.
02
Limone sul Garda
A lemon-grove village on the western shore, where the cliffs come straight down to the water.
The village's old lemon house, built into the rock in the early 1700s and restored by the town. A short walk up from the promenade, about half an hour, €2 — opening days change month to month, so check first.
Lemon gelato and sorbet made with the local fruit, served inside the lemon itself. Via Porto 19 for gelato, Via Monsignor Daniele Comboni 24 for the sorbet.
The sorbet is naturally lactose-free and gluten free.
03
Valeggio sul Mincio & Borghetto
A walled hill town with a castle above the river, and below it the old mill village of Borghetto strung out along the water. The local tortellini di Valeggio, thin rolled pasta in broth, is famous across the region — about an hour from the villa.
04
A hike with insane views: Sentiero del Sole
A wide, gentle path out of Limone along the base of the cliffs, with the lake far below the whole way — lemon groves, a walkway suspended over the water, a waterfall. About 9 km there and back in three hours, barely a climb. September is still warm and the path faces the sun: go early, take water.
05
A must see: Madonna della Corona
A church glued to a sheer rock face, 774 m above the Adige valley. Park at Spiazzi and walk down the old staircase, about fifteen minutes — a shuttle covers it in the warmer months, and cars can't go down. Free, open all year, and still an active church, so dress for it.
Modena
About an hour and a half south — engines, Parmesan, balsamic and one of Italy's great cathedrals.
01
Duomo & Ghirlandina
A Norman cathedral and its bell tower — UNESCO-listed, with the view to match.
02
Ferrari
Modena is car country, and the museums sit close to one another — pick a morning and do two.
Enzo Ferrari's birthplace and his father's old workshop, beside a sculpted yellow gallery — the man behind the cars.
Every model and the story of Horacio Pagani. Tickets on the day; the guided museum-and-atelier tour needs booking ahead, usually in English.
Open in Fiorano since 1967, run by the Paolucci family since 1985 — Modenese classics like tortellini in brodo, a short way from the Ferrari test track.
Reservations required — book ahead by phone on 0536 843910.
03
See how it's made: Parmesan cheese, with a tour
A guided visit to an organic Parmigiano Reggiano dairy — the vats, the ageing lofts and a taste straight from the wheel. Book online.
04
A drop of balsamic, straight from the barrel
Sweet, sour and a decade in the making. This family acetaia has aged vinegar since 1871 — walk the aging rooms among barrels older than the recipe, then taste. Patience, it turns out, has a flavor. Tours daily, by reservation.
Venice
The easiest day trip of all — about an hour and a quarter by direct train from Verona, under two hours by car. Leave after breakfast and be back for dinner.
More ideas in Venice01
St Mark's Square & Basilica
The heart of the city — golden mosaics, the cafés and the lagoon at your feet.
02
Doge's Palace
Venetian Gothic rooms and the prison cells beneath — book a timed entry.
03
Scuola Grande di San Rocco
Tintoretto covered every wall and the ceiling — he painted here for a quarter of a century. Go early and look up.
Schiacciata and focaccia sandwiches made in front of you, a few steps off the Rialto. QR menu in English.
Takeaway only — no seating, and the queue moves fast.
04
Ponte di Rialto
The marble bridge across the Grand Canal — shops along the span, and the best seat for the boat traffic. Go early or at dusk.
Milan
A longer run west — about an hour and a half by direct train from Verona, a little over two hours by car. Give it a full day of marble spires, galleries and window shopping.
01
Duomo di Milano
A rooftop of marble spires — take the lift up, go early, and take the guided tour if you can.
A tiny sandwich counter behind the university, a few minutes from the Duomo — each one made to order from hams, cheeses, fish and vegetables, or build your own. Vegetarian and vegan options.
Order: l'Intenso — deer salami, goat cheese and fig jam, one of the counter's most popular, and a good match for a Messina beer.
Open for lunch from 11 until about four, closed Sunday — few seats, so most people take theirs to go.
02
The Last Supper
Leonardo's painting in a convent refectory — timed tickets sell out months ahead and come out in quarterly batches, so watch for the quarter covering your week.
03
Galleria & Brera
The glass arcade, the cafés and the picture gallery, all on foot.
The gallery's drawing cabinet holds two sheets connected to Leonardo, but paper this old is shown only by appointment — don't build the day around it.
For Leonardo's drawings actually on display: 1,119 pages of his notes and machines, the largest collection of his papers anywhere, a couple of minutes from the Duomo.
04
Castello Sforzesco
A brick castle behind the old town's walls — courtyards free to wander, and inside the museums, Michelangelo's unfinished Pietà and a ceiling painted by Leonardo. Twenty minutes' walk from the Duomo.
Fried panzerotti — tomato and mozzarella in a crisp shell — from a bakery on this street since 1888.
Takeaway only — no seating, and the queue moves fast.
05
One of our favorites: Osteria Cornalia
A Milanese osteria a short walk from Repubblica — saffron risotto, ossobuco, fried meatballs and grilled meats chosen with care. A proper sit-down supper.
Open every day for dinner, and for lunch every day except Saturday — book ahead on the site or by phone on +39 02 89697710.