Me, in Tobago, Nov 2005 |
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Monk-San |
| Gender: | Female | | Lives in: | A Town Near Gatwick United Kingdom | | Registered: | 06 May 2003 | | Last visit: | 08 September 2006 |
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| Verona Review: Verona - Juliette's balcony and the beautiful Arena | | Written by Monk-San on 19 Jan 2005 about a trip in May 2003.
| Verona is a fairly compact city and you can easily get around on foot. There is a good selection of hotels in the central area - we stayed in the Accademia, which isn't listed on this site, but its a good quality, well located place to stay (Via Scala 12. Tel +39 045 596222 and web accademiavr it)
The heart of the city is contained within the looping Fiume Adige (River) and you can pass a happy morning strolling along the riverside.
Main points of interest are:
The Arena - second largest ampitheatre in Italy (1st being the Colosseum in Rome, of course) and venue for concerts still today. From mid June to August it is the opera season, and we saw a fantastic performance of Aida from the heights of the stone steps. (You might get a better view from the rows of seats lower down, but you can't beat the atmosphere of sitting on the steps. Close your eyes and picture the crowds that have sat there for hundreds and hundreds of years. Amazing) You can also visit the Arena during the day (Ex Mon) and have a good stroll round for the princly sum of 3.10 euros.
Juliette's House - (Or Guiliette). I'm still not certain exactly how much of this is genuine, as I had always assumed that shakespeare's tale was fictional! Anyway, the house itself is interesting and you can pretend to yourself that the balcomy is THE balcony. Wandering round the courtyard is free - to go round the house was about 3 euros. They have the very bed used in Franco Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliette, if you are a film buff!
Lion gate - This is a bijoux excavationette, just along the road from Juliette's house - have a look if you wander by!
Ponte Pietre - very attractive bridge, and route over the river to....
Castel San Pietreo - There's a stage here, which looked quite funky and an archeological museum. Thankfully you get to this by lift as its quite high up. Top views of the city without excessive exercise!
Piazze Erbe - close to Juliette' House
Piazza Bra - around the Arena
Both Piazza's are pretty and lined with bars and restaurants. You're spoiled for choice.
Castelvecchio - Castle and museum - again its about 3 euros for a good look round. My husband enjoyed the swords and stuff. I liked the paintings.
City gates - there are various gates dotted around, all very striking
Parco Regina Margherita - We though we could spend a nice afternoon sitting in the park, but when we got there, frankly, it was all a bit pikey. Not a place we felt comfortable in, which was quite a contrast to the city as a whole. You reach the park down a long straight road the Corso Porta Nuova, which starts from Piazza bra - I'd avoid this area, and avoid any accommodation down this way too.
Shops: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Fiorucci, Liu Jo, Bulgari, Armani - you can shop til you drop here on real stuff - the supply of tourist tat is very limited.
Well, those are the main things that we enjoyed - we did miss out on other museums that did look interesting (e.g. the Modern Art Museum) because it was so hot (35') that all we wanted to do was sit in cafes drinking!
If you want to see an opera, you'll need to pre-book and if you go for the stone seats, arrive early! Out tickets were priced at 23 euros each, (although we paid £20 each pre-booking through Thomas Cook). The agency that supplied the tickets is called vertours tel 0039 045 8005112
Had an excellent time especially seeing Aida in the Arena. It was absolutely scorching weatherwise - thank goodness for all those shady cafes! |
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