# Verona Arena > The Verona Arena is a 1st-century Roman amphitheatre in the centre of Verona and one of the best preserved in the world. By day you can climb the stone tiers for views over the city; in summer it hosts the famous open-air opera festival, with Aida, Carmen and Turandot staged on a giant stage by candlelight. Daytime entry is paid and takes about an hour; an opera night runs three to four hours. Web page: https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/verona-arena - City: [Verona](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona), Italy - YesGo score: 60/100 (Yes, go) - Time on site: 1 h 15 min - Entry: Paid - Opening hours: Visits by day; opera on summer evenings - With kids: Fine with kids - By day: Paid visit to the amphitheatre - Opera: Summer, tickets on the festival site - Highlights: The tiers, the 'Wing', the Piazza Bra view - Built: Around AD 30 - Time needed: About an hour; opera takes an evening - Location: Piazza Bra, central Verona - Coordinates: 45.43889, 10.99444 - Facts checked: 11.11.2026 ## Key facts - **c. AD 30** — the amphitheatre was built (source: English Wikipedia) - **c. 30,000** — spectators in Roman times (source: English Wikipedia) - **1913** — the first opera festival, Verdi's Aida (source: English Wikipedia) - **4 arches** — survive of the outer ring, the 'Wing' (source: English Wikipedia) - **Among the best** — preserved Roman amphitheatres (source: English Wikipedia) ## History of the Arena The amphitheatre was built around **AD 30**, when Verona was a thriving Roman city. It stood outside the walls and held some **30,000 spectators**, more than the entire population of the town, who came from all around for shows, games and festivals. The Arena has survived almost whole, with its oval of tiers and inner ring of arches intact. Of the pink-stone outer ring, only a four-arch section remained after a 12th-century earthquake; the Veronese call it the **'Ala', the Wing**. In the Middle Ages it hosted tournaments and fairs, and the townspeople looked after it, repairing it stone by stone. ## The opera festival In **1913**, for Verdi's centenary, **Aida** was staged in the Arena, and every summer since it has hosted one of the world's best-known opera festivals. The huge stage sees Aida, Carmen, Turandot, Nabucco and La Traviata, with crowd scenes and gigantic sets. By tradition, audiences on the stone tiers light small **candles** before the curtain, thousands of flames in the dark bowl that make the evening worth it alone. Around 13,000 to 15,000 people attend each performance, and the stone bowl's acoustics carry the singers without amplification. ## What to see at the Arena - **The stone tiers** — climb to the top rows. - **The Wing** — the four surviving outer arches. - **Corridors and arches** — the inner galleries. - **The Piazza Bra view** — cafés and gardens from above. - **Festival sets** — giant scenery stacked by the walls. - **An opera night** — candles on the tiers. > **Choosing opera seats** The cheapest seats are unnumbered places on the stone tiers: arrive early, bring or hire a cushion and take a jacket for the evening. Numbered seats in the stalls cost more but are comfier. Performances start late and end after midnight, and rain can postpone or cancel them. ## By day: visiting the amphitheatre By day the Arena is open to ticketed visitors. Walk the arched inner corridors, step onto the arena floor and climb the stone steps to the top rows, which look over Piazza Bra's cafés and gardens, the old-town rooftops and the hills around Verona. In summer part of the tiers and floor is taken up by sets for evening performances, and daytime visits may be shortened on show days. In winter it's quiet, and you can take your time over the ancient pink Verona marble. ## How to get to the Arena 1. The Arena stands on **Piazza Bra**, Verona's main square. 2. From Verona Porta Nuova station, 15 minutes on foot or 5 by bus. 3. From [Juliet's House](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/juliets-house), 7 minutes along Via Mazzini. 4. The entrance is on Piazza Bra, through the ground-floor arches. ## Tips for your visit For the opera, buy tickets early on the festival's official site; popular dates sell out months ahead. Bring water and a warm layer, as the stone bowl gets cool at night. There's no strict dress code, but plenty of people dress up. An hour is enough by day. Combine it with a walk round Piazza Bra, the shops of Via Mazzini and the market on Piazza delle Erbe. If you're not going to the opera, sit at a café on the square in the evening; you can hear the performance from outside. ## Before you go Tick off what's ready — your ticks are saved in this browser. - [ ] Book opera tickets early, or a daytime visit - [ ] Bring a cushion and a jacket for the evening - [ ] Climb to the top tiers - [ ] Find the Wing, the four outer arches - [ ] Sit at a café on Piazza Bra ## Historic Verona: compare and choose Places in Verona rated by YesGo. - [Verona Arena](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/verona-arena) — YesGo score 60/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 15 min · Paid - [Piazza Bra](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/piazza-bra) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free - [Juliet's House](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/juliets-house) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Courtyard free, museum paid - [Lake Garda](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/lake-garda) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 8 h · Free; castle and ferries paid ## Verona in half a day Piazza Bra and the Arena, then along Via Mazzini to Juliet's House. 1. [Piazza Bra](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/piazza-bra) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Free 2. [Verona Arena](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/verona-arena) — YesGo score 60/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 15 min · Paid 3. [Juliet's House](https://yesgo.io/italy/verona/juliets-house) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · Courtyard free, museum paid ## Don't mix it up The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre, not a stadium: football is played elsewhere in Verona. Nor is it Rome's Colosseum; Verona's is smaller but better preserved and still works as a theatre. ## Tips - Book opera tickets early. - It's cool in the bowl at night. - An hour is enough by day. - Piazza Bra and Via Mazzini are next door. ## Questions ### How do I get tickets for the opera at the Verona Arena? From the festival's official site; the cheapest are unnumbered seats on the stone tiers. ### Can you visit the Verona Arena during the day? Yes, with a ticket; daytime visits may be shortened on performance days. ### When is the Verona opera festival? In summer, roughly June to September. ### When was the Verona Arena built? Around AD 30, in Roman times. ### How long is an opera at the Arena? Usually three to four hours; shows start late and end after midnight. ## How we checked History and festival from English Wikipedia. Prices and schedules weren't confirmed with an official source — hence the 'checking' badge. ## Sources - English Wikipedia: Verona Arena and Arena di Verona Festival - Official festival site, arena.it --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.