Hi guys,

Once again, I am taking you with me.
This time, I will leave Slovenia and cross the italian border to head towards Verona (-> map).
I went there (for 2 days) last February 2018 with my partner and our 2 years old child.
The adventure started in Italy at 07h30 at the train station of Monfalcone (near the Slovenian border).
We arrived at the central train station “Verona-Porta-Nuova” at 10 A.M.

 

From there, it took us just about 7 minutes on foot to reach “Porta Nuova”, a 16th century gateway to the city.
The weather was a bit rainy and cold but the beauty of the city center warmed me up as soon as we passed “Porta Nuova”.
Leaving “Porta Nuova” behind us, we went down the avenue “Corso Porta Nuova”.
15 minutes later, we arrive at “Piazza Bra”, near the famous Verona Arena.

“Piazza Bra” is really huge.
On this square, you’ll see the Verona Arena (very old Roman amphitheatre) .
It seems almost unbelievable to imagine that a 2000 years old Arena is still standing.

 

Though it was grey and a bit rainy, we could see the unique beauty of “Piazza bra”.
There are also a lot of restaurants around “Piazza Bra”.
If you are on the budget, do not eat in one of those restaurants because it is a bit expensive.

After leaving our luggages at the appartment that we rented, we went back to “Piazza Bra”.
Then, we walked along a long pedestrian street named “Via Mazzini” (nice pedestrian street with a lot of shops all along).
At the end of this street, a bit on the left, we ended up finding “Piazza delle Erbe”, one of the most beautiful square of the city.
Some of the building surrounding this square were very old and colorful.
From this square, if you look up, you won’t be able to miss the 12th century “Torre dei Lamberti” which is 84 meters high.
I specially liked the end part of the square with its old fountain and the statue of a winged Lion standing on a marble column.
The winged Lion at the top of the colomn is the symbol of the Republic of Venice.

If you pass under the Arch (“Arco della Costa”), you will arrive in a beautiful place named “Piazza dei Signori”.
It is a beautiful square with red bricks on the ground and gorgeous buildings all around.
Near this square, you’ll find the beautiful “Pallazzo della Ragione”.
Go in the courtyard of this Palace and enjoy the beautiful architecture of this place.
If you keep walking ahead on “Via Santa Maria in chiavica”. You’ll see the incredible “Arche Scaligere” and the church “Santa Maria Antica”.
If you have time, go inside this little roman catholic church. It is very beautiful inside.

The river “Adige” is not far from “Arche Scaligere”.
If you go there, look up on the left, you’ll see the castle “Castel San Pietro” a bit high up on its hill.

On my way back towards “Piazza delle Erbe”, I was curious to see what Verone was most known for.
We went to see the house of Juliet and its famous balcony.
Juliet’s house is just 2 minutes away from “Piazza delle Erbe”.
When we arrived there, the courtyard of the house was packed with tourists.
I guess they all read or heard about the “Romeo & Juliet” story and they all wanted to go there to take pictures.
It was funny to see all those tourists queuing up to be on a photo while they were touching the breast of the bronze statue of Juliet.
Nothing original AT ALL, most of the tourists were taking the same damn picture … it was funny to watch.
For me, the most interesting part there, was seeing the architecture of this old building, its courtyard and the balcony.

Not far from Juliet’s House, we found a beautiful square named “Piazza Independenza” with a huge bronze statue of “Garibaldi” on its horse.
The little garden at the center of that square is a nice place to stay for a couple of minutes.
Just sit there on a bench and enjoy your time in Verona among the locals.

18h15.
it was dark and very cold.
We decided to come back to the appartment.
We will resume our visit of Verona the next day after getting some well needed shut-eye.

 

To be continued … Click there -> Second day in Verona