Verona in 4 Days: a guidebook for getting the most out of your visit

The city of Verona is located in a strategic position in the Italian territory. It is at a midpoint between the landscapes that define the Veneto region and the countryside of Emilia-Romagna. For that reason many of the best things to see and do in Verona involve a sightseeing tour of the city as well as its stunning surroundings.

For your convenience, I have compiled several plans and activities that will keep you busy throughout a four-day trip. This is plenty of time to leisurely explore the city and even venture out to some of the interesting destinations nearby.

The first day of your trip to Verona will always be a very special day. It is your first opportunity to tour this famous city located on the meandering Adige River.

The city itself is one of the tourist wonders of Italy and throughout its extension you can see how there are very specific areas of the city that are distinguished from others by their architecture as well as for its commercial offer.

So on the first day of your visit to Verona I have taken care to find plans that allow you to explore the city in a quick, practical and enjoyable way.

Take a walking tour of downtown Verona

The center of Verona is quite an interesting area, as it is somewhat divided into two sections. The first is the Città Antica and is the oldest area of the whole city. The second is the Cittadella and is an area that is just as touristy and urban, but characterized by slightly more modern buildings.

So in this context a walking tour of the city center is an excellent idea and is definitely a very appropriate investment of your time and money. If it is a guided tour it is likely that the activity will start around 10 am and ideally you can choose an alternative that is available for small groups of people.

As for the accompaniment you have to know that it is always a guide specialized in the history of the city. The activity usually lasts about two hours in total and this means that at the end of the morning you will be able to participate in other tourist plans. Undoubtedly this type of tour is one of the best tours in Verona.

Afterwards you could go to the Arena of Verona

Right in the heart of the center of Verona between the boundaries of the Città Antica and the Cittadella is located the Arena of Verona.

For many it is the most important tourist attraction in the whole city and is an excellently preserved Roman amphitheater that was designed to have an adequate capacity for 20,000 people. During the summer this site hosts the city's opera festival and throughout the year other special events may take place.

Exactly for this reason it is a great idea if you decide to visit this place as your second tourist activity on the first day of your visit to Verona. Ideally you should also pay for one of those guided tours, as this way you can learn all the interesting details associated with this World Heritage Site.

At the same time the surroundings of this site are full of authentic Italian restaurants. Which means that sitting down for a coffee and a break to look up information about visiting the Arena di Verona is one of the best things you can do before your visit to get informed, recharge your batteries and get on with the rest of your day.

Attend a gelato making class

Gelato, also known as gelato, is one of the great gastronomic treasures in Italy and, specifically, the city of Verona is one of the most outstanding in terms of the creation of this peculiar dessert.

With that in mind, a hands-on class to learn how to prepare artisanal gelato under Italian parameters can be an excellent entertaining activity for the first day of your visit. Especially for the fact that it can be an escape from the heat as well as an excellent learning experience to take home.

These types of plans usually take place in the afternoon and therefore can be the third activity in the itinerary. Most often the class itself lasts two hours and includes payment for the professional chef who will instruct you in this technique, as well as payment for the recipe book and all the ingredients you will need to prepare the gelato.

So this plan can be one of the best things to do in Verona during the summer because it is an indoor, air-conditioned activity that can take up the hottest part of your day.

End with a night tour of Verona's dark history

There are those who when planning a trip also need night plans due to the fact that they want to take advantage of every minute and every second they have at their disposal in the new tourist destination. For this reason, for the first day of your visit to Verona I propose as the last activity the idea of participating in a night tour focused on the darkest and most complicated history of the past of this city.

Basically, it is a walking tour that takes place in some of the most important areas of the city, but in each of them the approach that the local guide will handle the strongest and shocking events of the centuries of antiquity that has this locality.

This is undoubtedly one of the best things to do in Verona at night, especially because it is a very entertaining approach that is handled in this type of tours and at the same time is a way to get familiar with the most attractive areas that the night of this Italian community offers.

The second day of your visit to Verona is the perfect opportunity for you to further explore the city as well as its culture and identity.

Therefore, the activities I have prepared for you continue to take place within the historic center, as well as in some of the best surrounding neighborhoods.

Start the day with a bike tour of Verona

Bicycle tours are usually an excellent tourist alternative, as it is a good way to incorporate exercise into your visit to the city. In the case of Verona they become a good plan for the fact that you will get out of the heart of the city to ride along some of the paths of the surrounding green areas, as well as the privileged neighborhoods full of mansions over 200, 300 and even 400 years old.

This plan as such usually lasts about three hours in total and when you hire this type of tour you usually pay a fee that includes both a local licensed guide, as well as the bike and the safety helmet you need to be able to circulate.

If this plan is not interesting for you, but you are still looking for a means of transportation with which to have a good tour in the morning of your second day in the city, then you can take one of the best tour buses in Verona.

Both ways of touring the city are very convenient because they usually have a meeting point in the city center and after about two hours allow you to speed up the exploration that would take you several days with a conventional walking tour.

Continue the afternoon with an Italian food class

After breakfast with a good Italian coffee and having participated in both a bike tour and a tour of Verona's tour buses, the idea of participating in an Italian cooking class is appropriate. Verona is one of the most important cities when it comes to gastronomy in this country. Which is no small thing knowing that the Italian culinary world is one of the most important in the entire planet.

These types of classes tend to be a bit expensive, as the approximate fee is usually around 100 euros per person. However, it is an activity that only takes up about three and a half hours of your afternoon and is limited to a very small group of people, which means that you will have the opportunity to learn how to prepare at least five Italian recipes while enjoying a good pairing of local wines.

The experience is always instructed by one of the best regional chefs. At the same time, if you are not seduced by this idea, you can still participate in one of the best gastronomic tours in Verona. These will take you to visit some of the best restaurants in the tourist area of the city and will be a good opportunity to explore the authentic cuisine of Verona.

End the day with an excursion to Sirmione and Lago di Garda

A great way to end your second day in Verona would be a short excursion to Lago di Garda. This is one of the most important tourist destinations in all of northern Italy and the activity as such is a guided tour that departs from the center of Verona and usually lasts about four hours in total.

The activity focuses on sailing the waters of this famous lake as well as the possibility to visit one of the most beautiful villages in the area known as Sirmione. It is an excellent opportunity to enjoy the natural scenery around this town and is undoubtedly one of the best excursions from Verona at any time of the year.

The excursion is usually restricted to a limited group of people and the guide usually conducts the tour in both Italian and English. The possibility of seeing part of the Grotte di Catullo is another interesting aspect of this plan, which also allows you to return early to the city so that you can get enough rest at the hotel to recharge your batteries for the next day.

For the third day of your trip it is appropriate that you focus on living all those experiences that you are missing to be able to say that you know Verona in all its splendor. The activities I have planned for you on this day fulfill this purpose.

Take a tour focused on the corners of Romeo and Juliet

The city of Verona is the setting for William Shakespeare's mythical literary work, Romeo and Juliet. The events of this story take place in what is known as the Città Antica. Therefore, there is the possibility of touring the area with an approach that takes you specifically to the corners that worked as inspiration for one of the most famous novels of the Western world.

In that context, a tour that takes you to Juliet's house or to the balcony that is historically considered as the argumentative scenario of one of the parts of this story is an excellent idea.

You have to know that this plan is part of one of the best things to do in Verona in October for the simple fact that the number of participants decreases considerably compared to the summer, which means you can enjoy it with more tranquility.

Take a guided tour of Villa Mosconi Bertani

A couple of kilometers northwest of Verona is the Villa Mosconi Bertani. This is a historic mansion that belongs to the Bertani family and is a site that played a fundamental role in the birth of amarone wine, which is produced in this Italian wine region.

The property today is one of the main tourist destinations of a company that has centuries of history in the manufacture of this beverage. In fact, for many specialists it is one of the greatest architectural and natural wonders in the surroundings of this city.

For this reason, it is an excellent idea that you decide to visit this area because you can participate in a guided tour that includes a wine tasting as well as free access to all the facilities of the Villa. You have to know that this is one of the best things to do in Verona at Christmas knowing that this particular site usually maintains a very peculiar and interesting festive atmosphere.

Experience a night poetry tour under the moon in Verona

Eventually, when you return to Verona you will most likely still have energy left to continue exploring the city. Therefore, a night poetry tour is a good way to get acquainted with the more sensitive and literary side of this city under the light of the moon and stars.

It is an activity that usually lasts about an hour and a half and is an excellent plan for those who are interested in understanding the cultural essence of a city that served as inspiration for one of the most important literary works of Western culture.

This type of tour usually takes place in the historic center of the city, but focuses on corners that usually go unnoticed in other types of itineraries.

For the fourth day of your visit to Verona there are still wonders to see. So I've taken it upon myself to find one last activity that might be appropriate for the whole family and give you a little better understanding of the beauty that characterizes this corner of Italy.

Take a private excursion to the Dolomites from Verona

The Dolomites are a mountain range located in the north of the Veneto region that has been declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco. It is one of the most interesting natural landscapes in the country and, therefore, an excellent way to end your visit to Verona is to take a private excursion departing from this city to this beautiful tourist destination.

The experience as such usually includes the accompaniment of a professional guide, a ticket for a funicular located within this natural park as well as the possibility of having lunch with expenses paid at one of the stops along the way.

It is not an inexpensive experience at all, as it is designed for very small groups of people. In fact, it is one of the best activities to do in Verona with children because it takes place in private vehicles that offer you the privacy you need for the younger children to feel at ease with the experience.

Party in local style on your way back to the city

The best way to close your trip if you have time and still have strength left is to go out partying. For this, it is advisable to go to one of the bars located in the Citadella, as these are establishments with an incredible atmosphere that are located in one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in the whole city.