Verona

Veronetta & Teatro Romano

The far bank: Verona's Roman theatre, its best viewpoint, its finest garden — and behind them a scruffy, cheap, genuinely lived-in university quarter that no day-tripper ever crosses the river to find.

Who it's for: Second- and third-day visitors, anyone who wants a view of Verona rather than a view from inside it, garden people, and travellers who would rather eat in a student quarter than on a piazza.

Things to know

  • The Museo Archeologico al Teatro Romano is €9.00 full, €6.00 reduced, €2.00 for EU citizens 18–25, free under 18 and with a VeronaCard, €1.00 on the first Sunday November–March. Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:30; closed Monday.
  • The Giardino Giusti is NOT on the VeronaCard. The card gets you the reduced rate of €10.00 instead of the €14.00 full price. Students, groups of 15+, Verona residents and FAI/Touring Club members pay the same €10.00.
  • The Castel San Pietro funicular is also not covered by the VeronaCard. It is €2.50 return, €1.50 one way, with reductions to €2.00 or €1.50 for residents, groups, under-10s and over-65s. Summer (May–October) 10:00–21:00, last run 20:45; winter (November–March) 10:00–17:00, last run 16:45.
  • The viewpoint at Castel San Pietro is free and always open. The funicular only saves you the climb — there is a stepped path up from beside the Roman Theatre that costs nothing and takes about ten minutes.
  • The barracks building at Castel San Pietro is not open to the public. You are going for the terrace and the view, not for an interior.
  • Santa Maria in Organo is free, and its inlaid choir and sacristy by Fra Giovanni da Verona are among the finest Renaissance marquetry anywhere — but opening depends on the parish rather than on a ticket desk. Phone ahead if it is the reason you crossed the river.
  • Veronetta's osterie keep tight, old-fashioned hours and several close two days a week: ai Osei shuts Tuesday and does lunch only on Monday. Check before walking over.
  • Prices drop noticeably as soon as you cross the river. A traditional Veronese meal here runs roughly a third less than the equivalent on the right bank, which is the main practical reason to eat in Veronetta.