Dolomites - Verona - Venice

Time constraints are to be considered, but here are some possibilities for Verona. You can check them out using Google and decide which ones interest you. Roman Coliseum, Roman theater, Ponte Scaligero, Basilica San Zeno, the Dante statue, Piazza Erbe, Della Scala tombs, and Castelvecchio. Avoid the fake "Juliet's Balcony" and her fake tomb -- just touristy come-ons, in our opinion. Enjoy the many restaurants between Piazza Bra and Piazza Erbe. Examine menus carefully because donkey and horse meat are frequently listed.

Hi,

We’ve been to Klausen/Chiusa and it is a very cute, charming town.

Brixen is a pretty town also. For a rainy day, visit the Diocean Museum in Brixen or head to Bolzano and visit the Museum of Archaeology including the fascinating Ice Man Exhibit.

We love the Dolomites!

Paul

Hello Spencer - sounds like a great trip,

Verona is a beautiful city and the old town area makes the city feel much smaller than it actually is. There is the old town - Città Antica - bordered by San Zeno on one side and Veronetta oh the other. On the Veronetta side their is the Roman Theater combined with the Archeological museum if that interests you. It is a great walking city with riverfront walks and bridges to cross. Like the Ponte Pietra from Verona to Veronetta - the white water under the bridge is created by the remains of the old bridge bombed in WWII - and the pedestrian only old protected castle bridge Ponte Scaligero.

Check the Verona arts calendar because the city is full of music, opera and art in the summer. There are events around the city with music in the old Roman theater and in the Roman arena for bigger events. It happens that 2023 is the 100th anniversary of their opera festival and it is going to be a big year of productions in the arena.

I'm biased because I really love Venice but if you can I would really give Venice another day. I appreciate your plan to avoid the sights and just enjoy the city but I think another day would really give the chance to settle into it more. With another day I would explore Burano and lagoon a bit more and get to see the city from the water. There was a thread on here recently about Venice off the beaten path if you want to look into more non-touristy things.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

I love Verona. It's a great town, really a pleasant surprise. We chose it primarily as a convenient stop. Will there be opera in the Ampitheater in July? If so, I'd try to book tickets one evening. We were there in October. The weather was pleasant, but the Ampitheater was only open during the day; opera season was over for the year.

We also loved Venice in October, I'm concerned it may be too hot and crowded for you to really enjoy in July. If so, plan to go back in the fall when it's less crowded and magical. Visit St. Marks cathedral when the interior lights are on. They don't have the lights on all the time. When they are on, the entire place seems to be made of gold - really spectacular.

Two nights is essentially one full day to tour. I'd consider this a minimum stay rather than a chance to explore and experience either Verona or Venice.

Of course in Verona you can visit "Juliet's Balcony," added to the building by the government in 1934 to boost tourism.

In Verona

Places to eat:
La Taverna di Via Stella
Osteria il Ciottolo
Trattoria al Pompiere
Osteria Il Bertoldo

The area around "Juliet's balcony" was a zoo and we tried to avoid it. It is, however, interesting to watch people visiting the courtyard of the balcony, especially what they do with the statue of Juliet: https://www.skylinewebcams.com/en/webcam/italia/veneto/verona/balcone-giulietta-romeo.html

‎We really, really enjoyed the sculptures around the entry door of the Basilica of San Zeno and even more the cast metal (bronze, I think?) doors inside. Also the church of San Fermo especially the wooden ceiling.

Kalausen great choice:

https://tinyurl.com/2vs99dxz

Juliet's Balcony was added to the building in 1934 by the government to boost tourism.

4 nights choose Venice or Verona.

Following.

Thank you everyone for your thoughts.

I lived in the Veronetta for 6 weeks in 2019. You really should try a dinner at Cafe Carducci. Very small the food is amazing. The chef is right there. I want to go back to Verona just to eat there again. On Via Scrimiari is a great little market. Buon Viaggio

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Hi. We are also planning to go to the Dolomites in July, likely staying in Orteisi but trying to logically figure out where to rent our car and how to get from place to place as we don’t want a car the whole time. We will be in Malcesine, on Lake Garda then likely going to get a car from Bolzano, if we can figure out how to get there, likely a mix of taxi and train. We are also Canadian and cannot find many air conditioned hotels in Orteisi - what’s why your post interested me. What hotel has a/c in Klausen? Everyone says that you don’t need the a/c because of the fresh air but no……heat waves always hit and the rooms do not cool by night. If you have any travel tips, I’d be grateful if you could pass them on. I think we will begin our trip by flying into Verona, then have a car/taxi to Malcesine then taxi again out of there to train station in Rovereto to Bolzano to get a car for the 4 nights in the Dolomites then drop it back in Bolzano and take the train to Innsbruck and return home …… does this itinerary make sense? As well, we have been to Venice in the summer, it’s very hot and very busy, your idea of taking it slow is great. Find the out of the way places to stroll and relax.

Hi Spencer - So great to hear you are staying in the lovely Klausen. Be sure to hike to the Sabiona Monastery high above the town. Amazing history and views! Also, if you go to Brixen and have an interest in wine and historic architecture, consider visiting the Abbey of Novacella just on the outskirts of town. It is one of the oldest operating wineries in the world. Have a wonderful trip!

Mhoffman, I don't think that AC would be completely necessary up in Ortesei, but Klausen is in the valley. We actually found an AirBnB in Klausen that has A/C.

Thank you for the suggestions Kate! I did come across those abbeys in my search and they both look great.