This pedestrian-only shopping district of Corso Porta Borsari begins with a grandiose arch built by the Romans. This ancient sun-bleached wall was built in the third century as part of the ancient city's "decumano" gate. Upon passing through these imposing walls one is greeted with a narrow street lined with multitudinous boutiques selling hard to find local products in addition to gourmet restaurants, wine bars, and cafés such as Caffè Tubino. The atmosphere is vibrant while retaining a small-town feel, which makes this historic street the perfect place to take a stroll and drink in fair Verona.
The Giardino Giusti contains all the features of a typical Renaissance garden: geometrical layout of flowerbeds and hedgerows, fountains, grottos, mask, mythological statues, avenues of cypresses and a maze. Mozart, Goethe, kings and emperors have all visited this garden, which, for four centuries has been one of the most beautiful and well-visited in the whole of the Veneto. The garden, designed by Agostino Giusti as a setting for the villa which bears his name, is made up of three sections: a lawn, a wooded hill with a ravine and cliff and landscaped terraces with a belvedere.
Gardaland is the best and largest theme park in Italy. There are many rides which have contributed to its success including: a journey amongst the pharaohs in "Valley of Kings" and a trip round a pirate village in "The Buccaneers" You can also visit the "Village of the Elves" and venture through the uncultivated jungle. However, the best rides are aimed at the bravest visitors: start with a terrifying free-fall from a height of 40 meters in "Space Vertigo", then wander through a Russian mountain range in "Blue Tornado" and finally explore some more traditional mountains in 'Magic Mountain'. There are hundreds of other attractions as well as live shows. The park which has been carefully put together, right down to the finishing touches, is also houses a number of restaurants and gift shops. Note that hours vary according to the season.
Experience a thrilling tour through the Adige river or the downtown waters when you take a rafting tour with Verona Rafting. An exciting experience for those who love the waters and people with an outdoorsy side, this rafting tour takes you through some of the most scenic spots in the city. Their guides are extremely knowledgeable and are always happy to answer your questions. This informative tour mingled with the right amount of adrenaline rush is a must try activity when in town!
The civic natural history museum is in the 16th century Palazzo Pompei, a masterpiece by Sanmicheli. The building was given to the town in 1854 by Count Alessandro Pompei for it to become an exhibition site for scientific and ethnographic collections, and for renaissance artifacts and art collections. While there was a time when the natural collections were few in comparison to the rest, the collection grew quickly with the passage of time. There were problems of space and it was only in 1936 that the art collections were moved to other buildings. Palazzo Pompei became an exhibition space exclusively for natural science. At present, there are 19 rooms in which you can see more than 2,000,000 examples of the world's animals, plants, geology, paleontology and prehistory. The fossilized fish from Bolca are a major attraction. They are contained in a weir which is 45,000,000 years old.
Castelvecchio was founded in the mid 14th century at the behest of Cangrande II della Scala, as a princely residence with fortress, and was called Castle of San Martino in Aquaro because it incorporated a small church dedicated to the saint. Around the beginning of the 15th century, after the viscounts built two forts on the hills (St. Peter and St. Felix), it acquired its current name. Over the centuries, it continued to have military functions - with the domination of Venice, it was the seat of an academy; with Napoleon, two new wings were added to the building. Then, with the Austrians, it played a strategic role in the general plan of fortification of Verona. In the 1920s, Verona municipality decided to move its medieval and modern art sections of the Civic Museum to Castelvecchio. The present layout of the building and its exhibitions are the result of a major rehabilitation and construction, between 1956 and 1964, by the architect Carlo Scarpa.