Nice little town

Verona is not as famous as other italian cities, but believe me, it's worth a visit. Its historical, full of nice palaces and churces and...history visit it, you wont regret it

Verona has to be seen to be appreciated. Comments based on having spent four years in Verona (stationed there at a NATO headquarters, 1972-76, and a couple of subsequent visits). This is a great little city in northern Italy that has a lot to recommend it. It is somewhat touristy, but not overly so. There are many attractions for such a relatively small city; lots of Shakespeare-related sites (Juliet's balcony, Romeo's house, and others you have to search for - get a guidebook), a magnificent Roman amphitheater (the Arena) that hosts oper productions in the summer, the main piazza (Piazza Bra', Piazza Erbe, and lots of other sights. The Adige River meanders through town, with several picuresque and historic bridges. Food is just great (prices probably are moderate to steep these days, I'd guess). Great veal dishes, rice dishes (northern Italy grows and exports rice!), and pasta (if you don't care about cholesterol and fat, try tortellini alla panna, which are small ravioli in a white cream sauce - really delicious). The wines are all great - Bardolino, Valpolicella, and Soave are pretty much local, and it's hard to go wrong with them. The Veronesi are a bit reserved, but they are nevertheless polite and correct. The local dialect is tough to understand (it differs a lot from Italian itself, but everyone speaks Italian as well as the dialect, which is true for all of Italy). English wasn't spoken much when I was stationed there, but that probably has changed. German or French may be good substitutes. Hotels are decent, and prices used to be decent as well. Shopping was pleasant on Via Mazzini, a pedestrian only street running between Piazza Bra and Piazza Erbe. Basically, anything you want to see in Verona is within walking distance of everything else. It's well worth a two or three day stay on any Italian itinerary. It's also close to other good destinations, mainly Lake Garda, and places like Valeggio sul Mincio (that had some outstanding restaurants in the '70s). I highly recommend it (but not during the winter season - fog in Verona, and the whole Po River Valley area, can be unbelievably bad and long-lasting, sometimes for a week or more without seeing the sun).