Verona, Italy

You can see a video of our visit to Verona here: Verona & Juliet's Courtyard

The one thing that I recommend the very most when visiting Verona, if you love the story of Romeo and Juliet, is to reserve your hotel room at Relais Balcone Di Giulietta. It is a tad bit more expensive than staying in other hotels, but it is definitely worth the money! The entrance to the hotel is inside the courtyard where the Juliet statue is. At night when the courtyard is locked to the public, you get the entire courtyard all to yourself! Here is their official website:

Relais Balcone di Giulietta

Juliet's Courtyard after hours

Entrance to the hotel, inside the Juliet courtyard

We arrived by train in Verona. Our train had been cancelled and rescheduled due to a train strike, so we were running late for our appointment to enter Juliet's House, which I'd reserved tickets for before leaving on our trip. Juliet's House is not the same as the hotel -- in order to stand on Juliet's Balcony or leave a letter in Juliet's mailbox, you have to purchase tickets to enter Juliet's House. Inside the house you will also see the original Juliet statue, which was moved inside because it was starting to show damage from the countless people who had rubbed her right breast in hope of receiving good luck and true love. Now she is behind a roped area inside the house, but if you look at the statue close enough you can see a small hole in her right breast. Here is the official website to purchase tickets to Juliet's House:

Casa di Giulietta

Tickets cost 22 euro, and are definitely worth it if you are a Romeo & Juliet fan. Obviously, since Juliet is a fictional character, the home is not really where "Juliet" lived, but it is tradition that this was her house and her balcony. The home was said to have been owned by the Cappello family, who were supposedly the inspiration for the Capulets. The Juliet statue is visited by over a quarter million people each year, although they may not know that the statue in the courtyard now is a duplicate of the original which was made by Nereo Costantini in 1968. It was moved indoors and replaced with a duplicate statue in 2014.

The original Juliet statue, which is inside Juliet's House

From the Verona Porta Nuova train station we found a taxi driver who dropped us off in a huge crowd of people, saying that our hotel was about a block to the left. Walking through the very crowded streets with our suitcases, we found Juliet's House. We decided to take the chance that they would let us in with our suitcases because we knew that we were already late for our appointed ticket time, and that Juliet's House would be closing soon. Thankfully, they agreed to hide our suitcases behind their front counter while we toured the house.

We climbed the stairs to each floor and each room. There are some openings in the walls where people have left locks on cords. There is a mailbox where one can leave a love letter for Juliet. And finally, there is the line to wait in to take a photo on the balcony. We stood in line several times because we wanted several different vantage points of the balcony. Upstairs there is a window that is perfectly situated to catch a photo of someone standing on the balcony. I also went out in the courtyard to catch a photo of my daughter standing on the balcony. Juliet's House was about to close, so we had to retrieve our suitcases from behind the counter and go out into the courtyard, which stays open until 7 p.m. We tried to get photos with the Juliet statue, but the courtyard was completely packed, and people kept crowding around Juliet to take photos, so when my daughter did finally have a chance for a photo it was very rushed. We were disappointed, but decided we had better make our way through the large crowd and figure out where our hotel was. We were about to leave the courtyard, when I looked over to the right and saw steps leading into what appeared to be a hotel entrance. I decided to try it, and the door was locked. Luckily, a guest to the hotel came at that exact moment and explained that we needed to ring the bell for entrance to the hotel. I rang the bell and was soon greeted by a member of the hotel staff. This was indeed our hotel - the entrance is inside Juliet's courtyard. He brought us inside and gave us the code to enter the hotel, as well as a key to the exterior gate so that we could come and go during our stay.

Letters to Juliet mailbox

view from the balcony of Juliet's House

Locks in the wall at Juliet's House

Our room was amazing! I had chosen a room that overlooked Juliet's Balcony, and it also had a jetted tub in it! It was very modern, very beautiful, and very comfortable. My only regret is that I had chosen not to purchase the breakfast when booking the hotel, and I found out once we were there that breakfast would have been delivered to our room. If I ever go back to Verona, I will pay the extra amount for breakfast. I am sure it would have also been amazing!

After 7 o'clock had passed and the huge crowds had been sent out of the courtyard, we ventured out of the hotel. We were completely alone in Juliet's courtyard. We were able to take many photos in peace, although tourists were standing outside the gates taking photos of us as we took photos with Juliet. Then we unlocked the gate and went out into the streets. Each time we came out or went in the gate, people outside the gate asked us to let them inside. We felt bad telling them no, but did not allow any of them to enter, even those planning to only take a quick photo.

Juliet in the courtyard

Gate to Juliet's' house

Juliet's balcony

The empty courtyard from Juliet's point of view, looking at the entrance to the hotel

We walked the busy, crowded streets at night and did some shopping and ate dinner. Piazza della Erbe was magical at night. Even more magical, was visiting it at 8 in the morning the next day when it was completely empty! It was almost like two separate worlds, seeing it completely full of people verses completely empty, as well as seeing it at night and then in the morning. We found a bakery to buy some breakfast before leaving the hotel and heading to a corner on Piazza della Erbe where we saw "Taxi" posted. We rode the taxi to our rental car company, which was right next to the train station. We rented our car from Locauto, which was right next to the Verona Porta Nuova train station. Their address is Piazzale 25 Aprile, 6 - 37138 in Verona. Their workers were friendly and spoke English. Their website is here:

Locauto Verona Train Station

First we drove the car to church, because it was a Sunday. Then we followed the car's navigation and also our Google maps on our phone to visit Veja Natural Bridge. Ponte di Veja is a 35 minute drive from the Verona train station. It is a beautiful, winding drive through the mountains to the parking lot for the trailhead. The parking is free in the trailhead parking lot. It's a very easy walk to stand on top of the arch, which is level with the trail. It's also an easy and very short walk down to admire the arch from below, to walk under the arch, and to hike behind the arch. We did the hike in our Sunday dresses and shoes. Ponte di Veja is the largest natura bridge in Europe. It is 150 feet high, 120 feet long, and 60 feet wide. There are fences on top of the arch to prevent people from falling off it. By contrast, the famous Delicate Arch in Utah is only 52 feet high.

We drove back to the rental car office just in time to drop off the car and catch our train to Florence. It was a great stay in Verona!

Ponte di Veja

Piazza della Erbe, or Erbe Square at 8 in the morning before it fills up with people

Original Juliet

The sign outside the gates of Juliet's courtyard

Balcone di Giulietta

The entrance to the hotel is inside Juliet's courtyard

This unassuming entrance is easy to overlook when you're in the crowded courtyard

Inside the hotel

The hotel lobby

The hotel elevator

Our room - I chose one overlooking the Juliet courtyard

We were stunned when we entered our room!

It was amazing!

The view from our room - the balcony can barely be seen over the top of the greenery

Slippers for both of us

A variety of snacks that were included in the hotel price

Drinks were also included in the hotel price.

Our bathrobes and towels in the cupboard

This was the very large key to the outside gate -- it would have been impossible for us to forget this in our pockets or purses!

Reading material on the shelves

This is a lobby meeting area - if you are staying with a group you could meet up and socialize in this area

Juliet out on the courtyard alone

Juliet and her balcony

A look up at our room window

I cannot stress enough how much I recommend staying at this hotel! Despite the extra cost, it is very, very worth it, and I would come back to Verona just to stay here again!

To get in and out of the hotel we unhooked this chain by the steps

My daughter with Juliet in the morning before the gates were opened

My daughter and I with Juliet in the morning before the gates were opened

Juliet's empty courtyard in the morning

The hotel entrance

The jetted tub

View from our window out onto the courtyard

Packing up to leave in the morning

Inside the elevator

The tv in our room welcomed us

Outside the gates of Juliet's courtyard people were always taking photos

My daughter and I outside the gates to Juliet's courtyard

The sign above the gates

This is the location of the hotel Relais Balcone di Giulietta in comparison with Juliet's House

The google maps location of Balcone di Giulietta is here: Juliet's Balcony Hotel

Casa Di Giulietta
The entrance to Juliet's House

The original Juliet statue that has been placed inside for safekeeping

You can see the hole in her right breast, from so many people rubbing it over the years

My daughter on Juliet's balcony

My daughter and I on Juliet's balcony

Juliet's balcony

The stairs leading to the higher floors inside Juliet's House

You can write a letter to Juliet and put it inside the mailbox

My daughter wrote her letter. She has yet to receive a response...

An upper floor window has a great view of Juliet's balcony

view from the upper floor

My daughter on Juliet's balcony, as seen from the upper floor window

Me on Juliet's balcony

view from the balcony down at the courtyard below

my daughter on the balcony above as I take a photo of her from the courtyard

My daughter with Juliet in the abandoned courtyard after 7

Me with Juliet

Piazza della Erbe

During the day and at night, the square was buzzing with people

The shops on the square

The Madonna Verona Fountain

St. Mark's Column with Palazzo Maffei in the background

The courtyard at night

Walking from our hotel the short distance to Piazza della Erbe in the morning

statue of Berto Barbarani

Before 8 in the morning Piazza della Erbe is empty!

Statue of Italian Civilization, commemorating the people who died in WWI. 29 civilians were killed when a bomb hit Piazza della Erbe near the location of this monument

We walked through the streets of Verona that led from the Piazza della Erbe

For breakfast there were few places open early in the morning, but we did find these wonderful pastries near Piazza della Erbe

Pizza & Cafe

We ate dinner at a wonderful outdoor restaurant close to Juliet's courtyard -- Pizza & Cafe located at Via Stella 34

The food was delicious and the service was great!

The restaurant Pizza and Cafe located near Juliet's House

The google maps location is here: Pizza & Cafe

Chiesa di San Giovanni in Foro

This church is very close to the Piazza della Erbe. It was built in the 12th century. The church reports to be open on Saturdays from 10 in the morning until 5:30 at night, although we entered on a Saturday night in March, and I am positive it was after 5:30 p.m. It is located at Corso Porta Borsari, 20 - 37121 in Verona. Its google maps location is here: Chiesa di San Giovanni in Foro

The location of the church compared to Piazza Erbe and the Juliet House

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Verona (Mormon Church)

Since my daughter and I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we wanted to attend church on Sunday in Verona. We were able to locate the church building after obtaining our rental car. Its google maps location is here: LDS Church in Verona Follow the google maps right to it, including driving up a very steep road to where the church is located on top of a hill with a gorgeous view.

It is in a very beautiful location:

our little rental car parked in the church parking lot

The hymns in Italian

Missionaries translate the hymns into English. Visitors receive headphones so they can hear the English translation

The baptismal font in the church

view from the church

the church in the background

Behind the church are extensive, beautiful grounds. We enjoyed walking around them.

The walk back down from the beautiful grounds to the church below

and back to our rental car

Driving through Verona to the Ponte di Veja

It is a 38 minute drive from the Verona train station to Ponte di Veja, or Veja Natural Bridge. I love arches and natural bridges, so I was determined to see this bridge while we were in Verona! It is located here: Veja Bridge Google Maps Location You can park in the parking lot and walk to stand over or underneath the natural bridge. The only practical way to see the bridge is to rent a car. There is a bus that sometimes goes there, but it is not available at all times and when I asked the Verona tourism webpage, they advised me to rent a car. Driving in and around Verona is not stressful like it is in Rome. We didn't have any issues at all. It was a very enjoyable drive through stunning countryside. My daughter took lots of photos of the drive:

leaving Verona

The drive from Verona train station to Veja Natural Bridge

Ponte di Veja

Ponte di Veja is the biggest natural bridge in Europe. It is 135 feet long, and 100 feet high. It is 60 feet wide. Dante is said to have visited the bridge and even included its description in the eighth circle of hell as part of his Inferno. In the fresco by Andrea Montegna in the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua, Italy, the bridge is very recognizable. The painting is on display on one of the signs by the bridge.

Veja Bridge is a very tourist-friendly area. There is free parking and there is no charge to visit the bridge. It is an easy walk, even for people in their Sunday clothes and shoes like we were. It is an easy 38 minute drive from the Verona Train station to Veja Bridge parking lot. We spent about an hour at the bridge. We were able to stand on top of it, look out at the view from both sides (there are fences on top of the bridge to keep people from falling), walk underneath it, and walk behind it.