Cathedrals, canals, and castles… lots of fantastic photos in this post!

We left Florence with little plans on how to fill two weeks before heading out on a Regal Princess Mediterranean cruise at the end of October. All we wanted was to see more of Italy, avoid the crowds, and have great food and wine.

Spoiler alert – it all worked out!

Verona, Veneto, Italy

We took a cushy two-hour train ride up to Verona with four nights booked in advance. We weren’t sure if we’d like the hotel, its location, or the vibe in Verona. We ended up having a fabulous time exploring the old medieval town.

We bought a “city pass” card that was good for 48 hours. It was a great deal as we were able to visit many sights for one low cost. The hard part was squeezing in all the activities without running out of time.

Highlights

The views

Verona is a stunner! It’s a charming town nestled into the Adige river. It had brighter colored buildings than Florence which made the streets pop out and invite you down for a wander.

There are a lot of places to grab photos but one of my favorites was a little salami shop near a bridge. They specialize in picnics.

You order some meat and cheese or other side dishes, and some beer or wine, and they prepare a “basket” for you to take outside.

Across the river there is a steep hill with an old castle on the top (Castel San Pietro). You can hike or take a modern funicular to the top.

This has the absolute best views of the city. Don’t believe me? Twist my arm… here are some photos! The sky wasn’t clear this day. The air was quite hazy while we were there. Apparently that’s a regular occurrence.

We took the funicular up and walked down so that we could visit the archeology museum and Roman theater.

Old Things

Being an old city, Verona has a handful of ancient sites that can still be visited. These include the old Roman theater and the amphitheater (arena). Both were interesting but not unlike the ancient Roman venues we have seen in Spain, Bulgaria, and Pula.

Juliet’s Sites

When in Verona, you must embrace the tourist spirit to see Juliet’s balcony and tomb.

Juliet’s balcony is located in the courtyard outside of Juliet’s house, which houses a museum. The courtyard is just around the corner from a large piazza and can be entered without purchasing a ticket to the museum. Our card allowed us entry into the museum (filled with costumes and other items) but when we arrived at the museum at opening time, we witnessed a woman attaching a note to the front entrance doors. No, it was not a love letter, it was a hand-written note that the museum was temporarily closed. We were not able to squeeze in a visit later so we never saw what the museum actually houses.

Juliet’s tomb is an empty sarcophagus in the crypt of a deconsecrated 13th Century church. Juliet is a fictional character, but the legend is based on some embellished facts. This is the only Franciscan monastery that would have been outside of the city walls at the time of the events of Romeo and Juliet, and thus, it is where the finale of the play would have taken place. Like many relics and tales related to churches, there may be a combination of some grains of truth along with centuries of legends.

The facility is no longer in religious service, and is now a beautiful museum with a pleasant courtyard. A staircase leads down to the crypt and Juliet’s tomb.

They lure you in with the tomb but want you to stay to view and learn about frescoes!

We highly recommend walking through the various rooms to check out the artwork. My favorite part was learning how they move frescoes from their original place and transfer them to museums and other places for viewing posterity.

The Churches

Verona has splendid and interesting churches. We visited four. Technically Corey visited four and I visited three. We split them up over two different days and I was not appropriately dressed so I attended happy hour instead.

Side note: Out of respect it is best to be dressed for the venue. This typically means covering your shoulders and knees. I haven’t seen a church in Europe enforce dress codes, but I don’t want to be “that person.” Typically it’s easy to carry a scarf, cardigan, or lightweight pants or long skirt to throw on for entry. While prepping for the day, we tend to ask ourselves in the morning if we will go inside any churches that day and dress/pack accordingly.

Here are the photos from each church. They all had a unique look and feel.

Castelvecchio (the Old Castle)

Built in the 14th Century, this old castle protected the then-ruling family from invasions and insurrections. It includes a bridge over the Adage, so that they could retreat back to their home in Tyrol if needed (now a part of Austria).

The bridge and much of the castle were destroyed in 1945 by retreating Nazi soldiers, but was rebuilt and reconfigured as a museum and event space.

The property now has a large collection of paintings and armor displayed in the rooms. We also enjoyed crossing the bridge, walking around the castle walls, and checking out the views.

Wine Festival

We also discovered a wine festival (we are so lucky!) that was scheduled while we were in town. It was different than the one in Pula, as it provided tokens for pours but was still fun to try regional Veneto wines.

It was a busy scene in the evening, and it was fun to sip wine outside with all of the beautiful architecture in the background.

Our hotel was a little dated but served up delicious breakfast and the staff were the friendliest in Italy. They also had a free shuttle that each day brought us either downtown or to the train station. If you don’t mind being several miles out of the old town, Hotel Saccardi was a great budget option with a lovely garden area.

From Verona we boarded a train to Friuli to spend a week exploring the northeast section of Italy. We took a day trip to Venice from there, but because Venice is part of the Veneto, we are going to include it with this post to keep the geography together.

Venice (Venezia), Veneto, Italy

This felt like a cruise ship stop since we only gave ourselves one day to take it all in. This is clearly not enough time and we knew that going in. We also knew that we were only going to be able to focus on the ancient portion of Venice, and would miss the lido and mainland portions, which means missing a significant portion of the overall city.

I’d been told by others that they absolutely loved or hated Venice, so I previously never felt comfortable planning a trip just to see Venice.

A 90-minute train trip into the city was perfect for seeing if this was a place I wanted to really delve into. As the train crossed the bridges and approached the islands the anticipation bubbled up like the fine bubbles in a glass of Prosecco. We were both really excited to see what all the hype is all about.

Most of the week in Friuli we had been flying out of the seats of our pants and this day was no different. Thankfully I had reached out to Krista for tips the night before and she was so helpful. Corey read some information from Lonely Planet while onboard the train, and I saved some sights onto Google Maps and put together a haphazard walking map.

Once we landed, we worked our way clockwise starting first with the Jewish ghetto. The main thoroughfare was packed with lots of tourists. So many people lugging massive suitcases over bridges to cross canals. It has been burnt into my memory to not be that person in the future!

We ducked down an alley and immediately left the crowds behind. It was so neat to stroll along quiet canals and hear the gentle lapping of nearby wakes hit the houses with the occasional smell of funk wafting through the air. The smell was not bad or persistent throughout the day.

After stopping at a Jewish bakery for impade (almond filled cookies), we continued clockwise to a different neighborhood.

We walked along a larger canal and stopped for a spritz and beer. It was unexpectedly warmer than we thought and the strong October sun felt good as we sipped on cold drinks and watched the people and boats drift by.

The cafe was… interesting and posted some funny signs.

We meandered some more and just missed touring the Church of Miracles (Santa Maria dei Miracoli), as it was closing for lunch. We appreciated the marble exterior and would make sure to time our walk better for next visit.

Then our maze run began. We twisted and turned into small alleys, and weaved through courtyards and over bridges until lunch.

We stopped at a place with a great private courtyard and had a good but overpriced meal.

Our DIY walking tour then brought us to the famed San Marco (St. Mark’s) square. The narrow street opened up into a vast open space framed with magnificent, awe-inspiring buildings and a bazillion people. It was a hectic square with long lines to enter the palace and St. Mark’s Church. We took in our surroundings, visited the Bridge of Sighs next door and walked along the water. The views were incredible.

We discovered a cute park which gave a nice brief reprieve from the selfie-takers and hawkers.

We visited a small church and enjoyed the architecture and window shopping for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Things we didn’t do but will next time we visit:

We didn’t hire a gondolier as planned. It was too much to squeeze into one day and we also didn’t know which route we wanted to take.

We didn’t pay or stand in line to see the inside of any buildings, churches, or museums. There are a few churches that require boat rides to get it, and other sights that require more time to fully enjoy. We would likely purchase the Venice city card (they offer discounts for advance purchases), and spend more time at indoor sights.

We also didn’t have dinner! We were so full from our large breakfast and lunch that we skipped a third meal. Our final neighborhood was Dorsoduro, home of a university and a bohemian scene. We stopped for a drink and watched the scene go by. Then on the way out, we discovered a quiet dark canal several osterias lined up, competing for customers with set dinners for under €20.

From there we headed to the train station and took a late train back to Friuli. Here’s a look at our evening photos from our walk back to the train station.