Romeo Montague put it best: “There is no world without Verona walls” (Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare).
If you’ve read my articles befo
re, you know that I just recently recovered from Covid-19, and I was really in need of some alone time after quarantining with five other students. So I decided to treat myself to my ultimate getaway: a solo day trip.
I chose Verona since I’m taking a class on the historical relevancy of Romeo and Juliet, famously based in the Northern Italian town. In addition, it seemed like the perfect way to test my independence being only an hour and a half away from Florence; could I handle a trip myself?
The answer: Mostly.
Let me walk you through my fantastic trip to one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, give you my recommendations, and most importantly, help you prepare for taking on a small day trip by yourself. This way, you don’t have to make the mistakes that I did, and you can enjoy the freedom and independence of solo traveling!
A: Pre-Trip Planning
There are two very important things you need to do before the day you travel: buy your ticket and make sure you have everything ready to go the night before. The first is easy. If you’re in Europe, I recommend using trainline.com, but be prepared that you will need to go through the actual train site if you need to change your date or time. For me, that was Italo, an Italian train company, and this was a bit unclear. Be forewarned you also are at the mercy of the train company’s rules, which apply to the cancellation policy and rescheduling opportunities.
That second part, being prepared, was where I messed up. Think about your day and what you might need. I brought a sweater and a water bottle since I knew I would need both intermittently throughout the day, but there were things I didn’t think much about that I ended up wishing I’d had. The most important, and I cannot stress enough, is an external battery for your phone or at least a charger.
My phone houses my CDC card, train ticket, and google maps. I needed google maps to get everywhere, and my battery jumped from 90% to 40%, then 40% to 2%, which is when I freaked. It was 1% by the time the conductor checked my ticket and died before I got home. Thankfully, I knew the way from the train station to my apartment, but I really could have had an issue. So please, for the love of travel, get yourself an external battery!
B: Train Station to Downtown
Another important thing to note is how far the train station is to the center of town. With Downtown Florence being so close to the train station, I didn’t think much about what it would be like in Verona. Instead, it was a 30-minute walk in a rather sketchy area. Rather than having the morning to walk around, it was approaching lunchtime when I made it downtown, which put a slight damper on the mood. Also important was budgeting time to get back at the end of the day!
C: Attractions!
If you’re making a solo day trip, I have a hard truth for you: Pick two attractions. That’s all you get. Don’t try to do much more, as walking around, getting food, and picking up souvenirs will take up the rest of your time, and you don’t want to exhaust yourself. Verona, luckily, is pretty small. I chose the Casa di Giulietta (Juliet’s House) and the main square, and then I rode a bike around, passed the Castel San Pietro, Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore, Piazza Delle Erbe, Piazza Bra, and more. But I didn’t get to do everything. Unfortunately, in one day, you’re not going to be able to – and if you want to enjoy what you see, stick to one or two actual attractions (museums, tours, etc.) and spend the rest of the day doing smaller things, like walking along rivers, through main squares, or looking at hill-top rules.
D: Important Considerations
Lastly, I thought it’d be fun to give you some little tidbits of advice on what to do, wherever you visit. Using Verona as an example, something I’m glad I did was look up a few restaurants beforehand. I didn’t end up going to any of them, but they helped me figure out where most of the city’s restaurants were located, which helped me find a place. Another idea: consider looking into transportation options. I ended up renting a bike for two € a day, which helped me sight-see and feel like a boss as I biked around Verona. It also helped me back to the train station before my 5 pm train ride to Florence. When I visited Rome two weeks ago, I looked into the Metro system and found it very similar to Boston’s, and it saved me a ton of money and time getting around!
E: Final Thoughts
Verona was the perfect place to go for a day because it wasn’t too hectic or too big. Even still, I could only pass by or stop at about half of the attractions. I don’t recommend going on a day trip somewhere over 2 hours away since so much of your day will be devoted to traveling, and I don’t recommend going to a place bigger than 200 square km (about 125 square mi). For reference, Boston is about 230 square km, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone try to see all of Boston in just one day.
Now that you’re all ready for a day trip, go for it! Don’t be intimidated to do it yourself, especially if you have your own means of transportation, like a car or a bike. Verona was my favorite place I’ve visited so far on my exploration of Europe, and I’m so excited by the possibility that I can take more day trips in the future without fear.
So get out there, and happy traveling!
