Verona's Soul: Small-Group 2-Hour City Highlights Tour

We had a city walking tour booked at 10 so we picked up our coats and walked outside in to the chilly air. The meeting point was only a few minutes away so Deb sat in a café and I wandered around to see what was nearby and was shocked to turn the corner and see a huge medieval fortress. Luckily, when we started our tour with Isabel that was the first stop although we didn't actually go inside. The castle was the Castelvecchio and I will be returning tomorrow to visit it properly! It also had a wonderful bridge attached that had been destroyed by the Germans in 1945 and lovingly restored by the locals by 1951. Next to the castle was the Arch of Gavi, a 1st century AD Roman arch that was originally outside of the city on the Via Postumia road. Napoleon demolished the arch in 1805 and it was then moved to its current location and reconstructed in 1931. I'm not quite sure Napoleon had such a thing for destroying Italian cultural heritage but he was French. The tour continued through the old Roman streets, past the Porta Borsari - the marble front of the original Roman city gate, the brickwork behind and the towers having long since decayed. After walking past a variety of beautiful buildings we reached Piazza dell Erbe, the square we were in yesterday with the beautiful 15th century frescoes on the buildings. We turned down a side street in to another pretty square, Piazza dei Signori, which had a stunning Venetian palace as well as the entrance to the Torre dei Lamberte viewpoint. The architecture changed for the splendid tombs of the Scala family, a series of 14th century outdoor mausoleums in an incredible Gothic style, housing the remains of the medieval ruling family. We also nipped in to the courtyard of Juliet's family house to see the 1930s creation, using an Egyptian sarcophagus, that is such a successful marketing achievement. The tour ended at Verona's arena, the 1st century AD amphitheatre that predates the Colosseum by about 30 years. Although the outer tier of the building has long since been looted the two inner tiers that remain are still imposing and impressive. Having recently been restored they are in continual use both as a tourist attraction and also for the Verona Opera Festival, where 13,000 people can sit in the arena and listen to the music.

My friend and I wanted to learn more about Verona's history and this was a great way to do it. We walked past all the main attractions and learned more in a small group setting

Frank was very nice and accommodating. He explained everything about Verona very well. I would request him again next time.

Beautiful place to visit and the Gladiator Arena was stunning. The price was 12 euros Entry and 9 euros for Oaps.The time we went was late November

Maria was a fantastic guide. Extremely informative. She took the time to answer questions and did a great job condensing a lot of history and archeological information into 2 hours

Wonderful tour with fantastic guide Maria who imparted her knowledge of Verona and its interesting history. Highly recommend!

Isabella was fantastic in providing history and cultural background to so many landmarks and locations throughout Verona. She was able to add laughs and depth to our tour in a memorable day.

Isabella was a wonderful guide and told us a lot about the city's history. One of the biggest pros when booking is the fact you get to skip the line at both the Casa di Giulietta and the Arena with your guide. And yes, I recommend booking both trips. Seeing the Arena from the inside was the highlight.

Frank was super nice a make the tour really fun and engaging! During the tour he told fun facts for us to known cool things more than history and at the end he gave us some recommendations about food and places. 100% recommended if you go to Verona. THANKS FRANK!!!

This is a super way to see Verona, so informative & interesting. Learning the history & background of this gorgeous city.