The city of Verona, a UNESCO World Heritage Site rich in history, culture and monuments, is a beautiful place to visit at any time of year. But if you don’t mind the cold and want to experience it as the locals do, a visit during the festive season could be a great idea.
Verona at Christmas: 5 things to see and do for a magical Christmas
At this time of year, not only is Verona decked out with lights, colours and decorations, making it even more charming than normal, but it also offers visitors a wide range of interesting activities suitable for the whole family.
Especially if it’s your first time in Verona, I’d recommend you draw up a list of must-sees in the city and explore the old town: the Christmas lights, the festive crowds, the Christmas markets and the decorations make the atmosphere, already magical all year round, truly special and memorable.
But if you want to make a detailed to-do list for your holiday to make sure that you don’t miss anything that the city has to offer at Christmas, here’s my own list of the 5 things to see and do in Verona over Christmas; I hope you find it useful!
1. Christmas markets 2024 in Verona
The Christmas markets in Verona are famous throughout Italy and are an absolute must if you really want to soak up the Christmas spirit. From 15 November until 26 December 2024 you’ll find the 15th Verona Christmas Markets 2024 in Via del Pallone.
This event is staged in collaboration with Nuremberg’s Christkindlmarkt, with more than 100 exhibitors selling their wares from the traditional wooden huts. The focus is on typical local products, both artisan crafts (glass, wood and ceramic) and food and drink (in particular the delicious Christmas confectionery, with the pandoro definitely reigning supreme), but you’ll also find numerous gift options for your friends and family.
The Christmas stalls are open every day, from 15 November until 26 December 2024, around Via del Pallone between the junction with Stradone San Fermo and the traffic lights on Via del Pontiere. The opening hours of the Verona Christmas Markets are as follows:
- Sunday-Thursday: from 11.00 to 21.00;
- Friday, Saturday and the days before public holidays: from 10.00 to 23.00;
- 24 December: from 10.00 to 17.00;
- 25 December: from 16.00 to 23.00;
- 26 December: from 10.00 to 18.00.
If you’re visiting with children, you could also get a Christmas passport. You can pick up this document from the tourist information centre on Via delle Costa and it can be stamped every time you visit a Christmas site. Once you’ve completed the tour, the stamped passport can be exchanged for gifts at the Christmas markets.
To visit the Verona Christmas markets, you can park your car in one of the city’s public carparks. Visit the Municipality of Verona website to check real-time availability of spaces.
2. Nativity Scenes from the World exhibition
What could be more Christmassy than a nativity scene? If you’d like to see how this Christmas tradition can be turned into a real art form, make sure you visit the exhibition “Nativity Scenes from the World in Verona”, from 23 November 2024 until 19 January 2025 at the Verona Arena.
For this exhibition, organised by the Verona per l’Arena Foundation, the Arena’s arcovoli (or entrances) will house over 400 nativity scenes and other nativity-themed artworks. The works, displayed within a truly beautiful setting (also featuring the huge Stella Cometa [Star of Bethlehem] sculpture designed by Rinaldo Olivieri), offer visitors an overview of the tradition of the nativity scene throughout the world.
The displays are enhanced by special effects, bringing to life a multisensory exhibition in which music, light and projections play an important part. Both the exhibition, with its 400+ pieces, and the Verona Star of Bethlehem (currently the largest architectural sculpture in the world) are listed in the Guinness Book of Records. If you want to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere in Verona to the full, set aside a morning or afternoon to visit this exhibition; you won’t regret it!
The “Presepi nel mondo a Verona” exhibition is open all day, every day, from 09.00 until 20.00, even on public holidays. The full entry fee for adults is €8, discounted tickets (children aged 6 to 12 years, over 65s, groups of at least 20 people) cost €7 and tickets for schools are €5. Entry is free for children under 6 years of age. You can buy your ticket at the Arena itself (Arcovolo 14) or online, on the official website of the exhibition.
3. Outdoor festivities and events
If street life is your thing, Verona is just the city for you. At Christmas in particular, you’ll come across numerous events and activities throughout the city’s streets and squares. The temperatures may be a bit harsh, but not to worry; you can always warm yourself up with a nice glass of mulled wine!
Taking part in events and activities is also a great way of spending time together as a family. Here are some of the events and festivities not to be missed in Verona over the Christmas period, especially if you have children with you:
- the feast of Santa Lucia in Piazza Bra (10 to 13 December), with stalls selling confectionery, doughnuts and other sweet specialities.
- Father Christmas Run or “Babbo Running” (virtual edition), the 14th “corsa dei Babbi Natale” will take place from 8 to 24 December 2024 in aid of scientific research into childhood tumours. You can walk or run wherever you are, dressed up as Father Christmas. Visit the Babbo Running official website.
- “Verona Christmas Run”: a similar event to “Babbo Running”, to be held on 15 December and setting off from Piazza Bra. You can choose a 5km or 10km route and, at the finish line, you can collect your Christmas parcel.
- “Brusa la vecia”: in Piazza Bra, the evening of 6 January sees the return, since last year, of the tradition of “burning the old woman” (or the “Befana”, the witch-like old woman who brings gifts to children on the night before Epiphany), with no bonfire, but with a beautiful light show.
In addition, a calendar full of activities all over the city will be announced by the Municipality of Verona within the next few days.
4. Lights and the Star of Bethlehem in Verona
But if you’d just prefer to stroll through the centre of town, admiring not just the monuments but also the Christmas decorations, then make sure you include:
- the Star of Bethlehem at the Verona Arena (Piazza Bra), as mentioned earlier. Reinstalled every year now since 1984, it has become a real symbol of Verona at Christmas;
- the enormous Christmas tree in Piazza delle Erbe, sponsored by the Italian bakery company Bauli.
I would also advise you not to miss the ice-skating rink that will be installed in front of the former Austrian military arsenal, the Arsenale.
5. Visit Santa’s Village in Bussolengo
The Verona Christmas Village is not actually in Verona itself, but in Bussolengo (around 20 minutes away), but it’s a place you just have to visit if you happen to be in these parts over Christmas, especially if your children are with you: we’re talking about the famous Flover Christmas Village, also simply known as “Father Christmas’s Village”, open from 2 November until 6 January.
The village offers much more than the traditional stalls and artisan crafts: visiting Father Christmas’s Village means immersing yourself completely in the spirit of Christmas.
Entry to the village is completely free, and you’ll find various attractions for young children to enjoy and which will bring out the child in you too! From Father Christmas’s House to the ice rink, from the Flover Express train to the carousel, all the attractions create an enchanting, slightly retro atmosphere.
There are also restaurants and bars in the village, offering various types of cuisine, as well as a Christmas shop and a shop (“Mother Christmas’s Pantry”) selling typical food items. So there’s everything you need for a lovely family day out and a bit of shopping.
Ready to spend Christmas in Verona? I’m positive you won’t regret this decision; in fact, you’ll want to do it again next year!
Have a great trip!
