A Love Letter to Northern Italy | Redbrick Slider (Travel)

I spent a lovely week in Verona during Easter with my girlfriend, as a break from the stress of final year and dissertation deadlines approaching. We stayed in Veronetta, a lively, bohemian neighbourhood, only a short walk across the River Adige from the main attractions. There was a lovely vegan cafe called ‘Zazie’ close to where we were staying which had delicious pastries and friendly staff, so it is definitely worth a visit if you’re close by.

We visited Giusti Gardens, a beautiful 16th century palace and renaissance Italian garden. We spent hours there, taking our time to explore the greenery and stunning viewpoints. It was extremely peaceful, with multiple people settling down to read or have a picnic whilst taking in the views. Afterwards, we dined in one of the many restaurants by Plazza del Erbe, the main square in Old Town.  

Of course, whilst in Italy, we had to visit a vineyard. We had a private tour of ‘Tenuta Santa Maria Valverde’, a family-run 17th century winery in Valpolicella. The vineyard was gorgeous, and the tour was extremely informative allowing us to explore both the vineyard and the wine cellars. After our tour, we ate a lunch consisting of lovely bread, home-made olive oil and cheese, whilst also trying three bottles of the winery’s best red wine. The view from the terrace was incredible, with stunning views of the hills filled with grapevines. I would highly recommend visiting if you’re in Verona as it was one of the best experiences I’ve had whilst travelling.

One of the best parts of our trip was visiting Castle San Pietro, an amazing viewpoint close to the city’s Roman theatre. Unfortunately, the castle isn’t open for visitors but don’t let this deter you as the panoramic views of the city are phenomenal and there are two restaurants at the top to enjoy food and drinks. There are multiple places to stop and enjoy the view, so we took a picnic with us to enjoy whilst resting from all the climbing. Don’t worry though – there is also a cable car that can take you up and down. This was by far one of my favourite parts of the trip.

After taking the cable car down we headed back towards Old Town where we visited Juliet’s balcony: a must-visit for any ‘Letters to Juliet’ fans. It was so interesting walking around the medieval house filled with displays of traditional outfits and art. There is also a post box to post letters to Juliet, and of course the opportunity to stand on the famous balcony! It was extremely busy, so I recommend booking in advance.

My favourite day was our day trip to Sirmione, a resort town on the coast of Lake Garda. The town was stunning, and Lake Garda was beautiful. We trekked up to Jamaica beach at the tip of Sirmione where we found a cute spot to sit, relax and even brave a dip in the freezing-cold lake. A great spot for lunch is ‘Marghe’, a beautiful restaurant with a terrace on the lake and a landing for diners to get dropped off via boat. After lunch, we had a 25-minute boat tour, for only €10 each, that took us all around Sirmione – there are options for group or private tours but book ahead as they were almost fully booked when we went. We ended the day with dinner at ‘The Bounty Bar Restaurant’ whilst we watched a beautiful sunset.

Towards the end of our stay in Verona, we climbed the ‘Lamberti Tower’. There are nearly 400 steps but the view at the top is definitely worth it. From the top of the tower, you can see stunning views of the city’s red roofs as well as both bells: the Marangonga, which signals the hours of the day and the Rengo, which was previously used to gather citizens. The white tower itself is beautiful and can be seen clearly from the streets throughout Verona. 

We also visited the Castelvecchio Museum’s courtyard which was stunning before heading to the redbrick fortified Castle Vecchio bridge. The bridge and the turrets, which can be reached by stairs leading up to the top, both have great views of the courtyard and river. The last spot we visited was the spectacular Verona Arena amphitheatre in Plaza Bra which is still used for opera performances such as the new Egyptian performance we could see being set up for when we were there.

Verona was an incredible city to visit, full of so much history and amazing food (that I’m still thinking about!). It is a beautiful city and a lovely place to visit for a romantic getaway. A week with two-day trips to the vineyard and Lake Garda was the perfect amount of time – however, without the day trips I would recommend going for a long weekend rather than a week.

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