As a Shakespeare enthusiast, Verona was a shining star amidst my country-hopping constellation. Friends and family members had also raved about this history and character rich town in northern Italy, so I was quite giddy upon arrival.  Additionally, our next and final stop was Switzerland, so it geographically made some sense.  Overall, Verona is a perfect blend of everything I love about Italy; medieval romanticism with the fictional Juliet’s balcony and the ruins of a fortress and a castle from the 1300’s atop the hill of San Pietro, an archaic big-city attraction of the 1st century Roman amphitheater known as the Arena di Verona,  a provincial small-town feel with its narrow alleyways and bustling piazzas, and hole-in-the-wall bars and pubs teeming with locals ordering Aperol spritzes.  The only thing it lacks is the sea, but it does boast a wide river called the Adige River and a stunning, pedestrian friendly bridge called the Ponte Pietra.    Alex and I splurged a little on our hotel here, but it was well worth it as we thoroughly embraced the rooftop bar where we could soak in Verona’s engaging and versatile landscape and skyline.

Highlights and moments:

-Walking. Our hotel overlooked the Arena di Verona, the Roman amphitheater that is still in use today for opera performances, which is in Piazza Bra, one of the biggest piazzas in Verona. Therefore, we were staying in a central location, ideal for walking…though, as long as you stayed within the city limits, I think you’d be fine for walking no matter where you chose to stay in Verona, it’s a manageable destination that begs to be taken in afoot.  Alex and I wiled away the morning, noon, and evening strolling the piazzas, bridges, alleyways and stairs.  We highly recommend burning some calories to reach the top of Castel  San Pietro to be rewarded by the highest view of the city beneath the shade of the trees lining the Piazzale. If birds-eye-view seeking is a goal of yours, as it often is ours, be sure to also visit the Torre Dei Lamberti, where you can climb the winding stairs to the top for unbeatable views of the terracotta jig-saw puzzled landscape below.  In addition to the high (literally) points of interest, Verona is ripe with gorgeous, only-in-Europe and Disney movies piazzas perfect for aimless strolling and fountain-side sitting. We recommend copping a seat near one of the fountains in any piazza in Verona to bemuse yourselves with people watching and a cacophonous soundscape of the pattering of the fountain, countless languages echoing against the stone and ivy walls, and street vendors chanting their persuasive hymns.

If you’re as much of a Shakespeare enthusiast as I am, you must visit Juliet’s “house” and “balcony”.  I put these in quotation marks because Romeo and Juliet were fictional characters.  In fact, it was said that Shakespeare had never even been to Verona, Italy.  Regardless, if you’re a fanciful bibliophile/escapist like myself, this reality-check minutia won’t detract from the whimsy of imagining Juliet Capulet gazing out from her balcony to find her Romeo in the courtyard proclaiming his love for her and setting the most timeless love tragedy into motion and subsequently influencing nearly all love story plots to come.  It’s super touristy and busy, no matter what time you visit, but again, in my eyes, worth it.

-Enjoy happy hour by the River Adige with a younger local crowd at Terrazza Al Ponte Verona.  After enviously eyeing what the locals had ordered and inquiring with our server as to what the orange colored concoctions were called, Alex and I enjoyed indulging in our first-ever Aperol Spritzes riverside.

-Many restaurants lined the main square near Arena di Verona, which was quite literally next door to our hotel.  We were pretty tired and hungry after walking the entire city and therefore didn’t have enough energy to quest for an off-the-beaten path gem for dinner.  This being said, we plopped down at one of the outdoor patios lining the square of Piazza Bra for underwhelming plates of pasta that very well could have been ordered from an pizza delivery joint back home. Nonetheless, the glow of the backlit Roman amphitheater and the echo of children’s laughter as they bobbled through the stony square created for a romantic ambiance.