Best Time to Visit Verona

Spring: green, mild and a bit showery

March is cool but pleasant, and the crowds are still thin. April rates Excellent, with mild days around 18°C. Showers are common, so keep an umbrella in your bag while you walk from Piazza Bra to Piazza delle Erbe. May is the wettest month, with rain on about 15 days. It's usually short rain, though, and the gardens at Giardino Giusti look their best.

Vinitaly, the big wine trade fair, usually takes over the city in spring. Hotels fill up and prices rise, so check the dates before you pick your days.

Summer: hot nights and opera

June is the sweet spot. It's warm, sunny and not yet sticky, and the evenings are lovely for a drink on a piazza. July is the hottest month at 31°C, with August close behind at 30°C. Afternoons can feel heavy, so do your sightseeing in the morning and rest in the shade of the Roman Arena or by the Adige river.

The Arena di Verona opera festival runs from about June to early September. Seeing an opera in a 2,000-year-old amphitheatre is the main reason many people come. Summer is high season, and August can feel quiet in the shops because many locals go on holiday. If you hate crowds, aim for early June rather than July.

Autumn: the easy choice

September and October both rate Excellent. September still feels like summer, at 25°C, and the opera season is wrapping up. October is softer, with golden light and cooler evenings. It's also a good time to try the nearby Valpolicella and Soave wine areas, as the grape harvest happens around then. Rain picks up, though, and November turns grey and damp with only about three hours of sun a day.

Winter: cold, quiet and cosy

December to February is chilly, with lows near freezing in January. Skies are often grey and the air feels damp. Still, you'll get the old town almost to yourself. Santa Lucia markets and Christmas lights bring a warm mood in December. In February, Verona celebrates love in its own way, since it's Juliet's city. Her balcony at Casa di Giulietta is packed around Valentine's Day, so visit early in the day or on a different date.