Verona

Immortalized by Shakespeare, Verona enchants with its picturesque plazas, labyrinthine lanes and elaborate architecture. The Ponte Scaligero inspires awe with its momentous span across the Adige, while the Arca di Cansignorio is an ode to the Scaligeries taste of the Gothic style. From the Museo di Castelvecchio to the Galleria d'Arte Moderna at Palazzo Forti, Verona bares its penchant for the arts with pride; a legacy that has endowed the historic city center with a voluminous collection of grand palaces, elaborate churches and splendid plazas. Hidden gems languish around every corner and along the way are restaurants that wield the sumptuous harvest of the fertile Veneto hinterland to the delight of gourmets. At the heart of it all lies the mammoth Roman amphitheater, a 1st-century relic that has been revitalized as the host of the city's annual opera festival. Nestled between Lake Garda and the Adige, Verona is a city for lovers of art, food, history and heritage, as much as romantics seeking to walk in the footsteps of the ill-fated Romeo and Juliet.