Verona — Romeo and Juliet City

Verona lies about 115km west of Venice in western Veneto and is one of the easiest and most rewarding day trips from the lagoon, reached in roughly an hour and twenty minutes by frequent high-speed Italo or Trenitalia trains from Venice Santa Lucia. The compact UNESCO-listed historic center sits within a bend of the Adige river and is entirely walkable from the Porta Nuova station, a ten-minute bus or twenty-minute stroll away, so no car is needed. A natural one-day arc begins in the morning at the Arena di Verona, the remarkably intact first-century Roman amphitheater on Piazza Bra, then heads up Via Mazzini, the city's smart shopping street, to the Casa di Giulietta, where visitors crowd the courtyard balcony said to have inspired Shakespeare's Juliet. From there the bustling Piazza delle Erbe, ringed by frescoed palazzi and a daily market, and the adjacent Piazza dei Signori with Dante's statue make a fine spot for a mid-morning coffee. The afternoon suits Castelvecchio, the crenellated Scaligeri fortress and its art museum, the fortified Ponte Scaligero over the river, and a climb or funicular ride to Castel San Pietro for a panorama over the rooftops; the Roman Theatre on the far bank is another worthwhile stop. Verona is a city of good food and wine, the heart of Valpolicella and Soave country, so lunch might be bigoli pasta, risotto all'Amarone, or pastissada di cavallo in an old osteria, followed by a pre-dinner Spritz on Piazza delle Erbe. In summer the Arena hosts a world-famous open-air opera season, with performances on warm evenings under the stars; tickets are separate and should be booked well ahead. Spring and autumn offer the most comfortable sightseeing weather, while July and August are hot and busy. With trains running late into the evening, the city works equally well as a long day trip or an opera night out.