Exploring Verona and the Veneto

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Mostly, this itinerary assumes you can do everything listed either with or without a car. In certain cases, specific suggestions will be made.

Day 1
Arrive and get settled.

Day 2
Begin exploring Verona itself: the area around the Piazza delle Erbe, including the Palazzo della Ragione, Piazza dei Signori, the Loggia del Consiglio, the Scaliger Tombs, the church of Sant'Anastasia, and the Cathedral. Finally, visit the world-famous Arena, where opera is held in summer months. Evening walk along the Adige, one of our favorite pastimes in Verona, one which we think you'll want to do over and over again.

Day 3
Vicenza, just a half-hour's train ride or drive from Verona. A most dignified city, famous for its villas and public buildings designed by Palladio, Jefferson's inspiration for Monticello. Unmissable: the "Basilica", a Palladio structure dominating the Piazza dei Signori. Also, the Teatro Olimpico, one of Palladio's most famous buildings. Be sure to stop into Vicenza's tourist office for a current list of opening hours at the various Palladian villas in a 30-mile radius of Vicenza; ask about organized bus tours you might sign up for later in your stay. Also on this day: be sure to visit Villa La Rotonda, on the immediate outskirts of Vicenza (if you're carless, it's a short cab ride). This is Palladio's most famous building. It's just a short, lovely, classic walk from there to the Villa Valmarana ai Nani, not by Palladio, but a gorgeous "Villa Veneta" containing some incredible frescoes by Tiepolo.

Day 4
Car or train to Lake Garda - make the circuit of the lake if you have a car (but never on a weekend). If you don't have a car, train to Desenzano, from which boats and hydrofoils will take you all up and down the lake, perhaps the best way to see it.

Day 5
Train to Padova for the day: The most important things to see are the Giotto frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel. Also worth seeing: the University of Padua, with its famous Teatro Anatomico; the Palazzo della Ragione; the Botanical Garden; and most important, coffee at the Caffe Pedrocchi, recently restored.

Day 6
A full day back in Verona exploring two things: first and most important, the wonderful church of San Zeno Maggiore, one of our absolute favorite churches in all of Europe. Then, perhaps after lunch, visit the little churches on the eastern side of the Adige, plus the Roman Amphitheatre and ending up at the Giusti Gardens for
a relaxing walk overlooking the entire city.

Day 7
Relax.

Day 8
Daytrip to Mantova, one of Northern Italy's most civilized cities. Excellent restaurants, museums, shopping.

Day 9
Back to Vicenza to take an excursion to the Palladian villas in the surroundings. Either rent a car for the day, or get on one of the organized bus tours organized by the Vicenza Tourist Office.

Day 10
Excursion - either drive, or get yourself a good train/bus schedule - to some of the wonderful smaller cities in the Veneto: Montagnana, Este, and Monselice make a delightful such trio.

Day 11
Go to the Verona Tourist Office and see about bus routes (or hire a cab) in the Monti Lessini, a beautiful area of villas just outside Verona itself.

Day 12
Day in Bologna. Look at a guidebook to see the myriad things to do in this cosmopolitan university city. Fabulous food everywhere.

Day 13
Daytrip to Venice: Verona actually makes an excellent base from which to visit La Serenissima for the day.

Day 14
Last day in Verona itself regretting you haven't done even half the above.

Ciao!