Glorified by William Shakespeare in “Romeo & Juliet”, Verona is a strategic point to visit the Garda Lake and the wine region of Valpolicella.
You should start your visit from Piazza Bra, the main square of Verona and the iconic Arena, one of the best preserved ancient amphitheaters worldwide. The building, constructed by the Romans around the mid 1st century AD, once hosted various types of performances, from gladiator fights to hunts of wild and exotic animals. The amphitheater has continued to host performances and events over the centuries, and it is still famous worldwide for the Verona Opera Festival. If you are into Roman history, you should also check the Roman theatre and its archeological museum, as well as the Ponte Pietra, built by the Romans at the same time as the Arena.
Right by Piazza Bra, you will find Viale Mazzini, the main shopping street. At the end of it, you end up in Piazza Erbe, which used to be the old market square. Here you will find Palazzo Maffei, which today hosts an art museum.
I do not advise visiting Juliet’s house, even though the Capuleti family really lived there in medieval Verona. Due to overtourism, the house can be accessed only with a booking and the famous balcony was added to the house only in the 1940s.
If you are genuinely interested in the history of noble families in Verona, you should check out the Scaligeri graves. It is a monumental Gothic-style funerary complex of the Della Scala family intended to contain the "Arche" (i.e. the tombs) of the most illustrious representatives of the family. Moreover, you should not miss Castelvecchio, once a military monument of the Della Scala family and now one of the most important museums in the city. You can still cross the fortified bridge on the Adige river. Not too far away, you will find the Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore from the 13th century. It is a Romanesque church and is famous for the warm colours of its façade, due to the alternated use of tufa stone and bricks.
If you want to enjoy a panoramic view over the city of Verona, you should cross the Ponte Pietra and head up Colle San Pietro to reach the castle.