"Verona" a Verona Travel Page by leffe3

Finally. After several attempts to get to Verona, finally made in in 2001.

After Rome, Venice and Florence, the city of Verona was on my 'must see' list of Italian cities. A frequent visitor to Innsbruck in Austria, in theory it was one of the easiest places to go - train or car straight down the Brenner Pass. Many false starts (including an attempt foiled by the International Marble Fair - I assume the stone and not the game! - when all hotels were booked, another one when we made thje 'mistake' of stopping at Malcesine on Lake Garda and not moving), but the wait was worth it.

What a fabulous city Verona is. Like so many Italian cities and towns, it is steeped in history but is stylish too. The centre is fairly compact and so easy to move around: downside is that the crowds tend to be concentrated in a small area (and during the Opera Season, pretty impossible!). And of course the crowds are to be found in their 000s outside the little balcony claimed to be the setting of Romeo & Juliet.

Its zenith was under the Scaligeri family in the 13th century - many of the fine buildings date from this period (other than one obvious exception - the stunning forum) and artists such as Giotto and Dante were their guests. It eventually came under first the rule of Milan, then absorbed into the Venetian Republic rule until the arrival of Napoleon.

Whilst it has some great attractions, it is not a city overrun by tourism (except the centre). This is predominantly to do with its location - perfectly sited for north-south and east-west traffic - 'across' the prosperous northern part of Italy as well as Italy-Austria/Germany routes.