Verona

Verona is probably best known as the setting of "Romeo and Juliet." Despite high lodging prices, today the city is an intriguing mixture of high art, excellent food, fashion, and ancient monuments.

Transportation
Trains connect to Verona from pretty much every major city, including Milan, Rome, Bologna, Naples, and Venice. The Verona card provides a discount by being a pass to nearly all the museums and sights in the city, and can be purchased at museums or churches.

Sights
First, the basics: Casa di Giulietta is a brick house on which the Capulet family (of "Romeo and Juliet") is said to have lived, even though this is not true. Still, you can take a picture here, in front of the Juliet statue. (The Montagues' supposed house, on the other hand, is not open to the public.)

The center of the city is Piazza Brà. From there, view the amphitheater, built in the first century A.D., with an "arena" area made of pink marble. The Basilica of Sant'anastasia is the largest church in Verona, and contains frescoes, reliefs, and other artwork, as well as an attached medieval manuscript collection. Fiardino Giusti is a 16th-century garden with statues, fountains, and an ancient labyrinth. If you're an opera lover, try to schedule your trip during the Verona Opera Festival. This notable event attracts international audience members and opera stars. The reserved seats, however, are expensive, and general admission is slightly more affordable.

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