Rick Steves Italy 2015

Verona is a great town to sample the aperitivo ritual. All over town, locals enjoy a refreshing spritz, ideally on Piazza Erbe between 18:00 and 20:00. Choose a nice perch, and then, for about €4, you’ll get the drink of your choice and a few nibbles (olives and/or potato chips) and a chance to feel very local as you enjoy the passeggiata scene.

$$ La Rosa dei Venti is an affitta camere just a couple of blocks from the beach. Enthusiastic Rosanna and her son Marco rent five super-clean rooms with dark hardwood floors, comfy rugs, and a hodgepodge of glittery seashore decor (Db-€110, Tb-€135, includes homemade breakfast, air-con, Wi-Fi, free parking, behind Enoteca Tumelin across from Piazz

Edi’s Rooms manages one double room and 12 apartments. You pay extra for views (Db-€70-80, apartment Qb-€140-180, reserve with credit card, office open daily in summer 8:30-20:00, in winter 10:30-12:30 & 14:30-18:00, some apartments involve climbing a lot of steps—ask, some have air-con, Wi-Fi in office, closed Jan-Feb, reception at Via Colombo

Gastronomia “San Martino,” warmly and passionately run by Moreno, is a tiny, humble place with almost no ambience (except for a couple of outdoor tables) that serves inexpensive quality

Pizzeria la Smorfia—the local favorite for pizza—cooks up good pizza to eat in or take out. Pizzas come in two sizes; the large can feed three (small pizzas-€6-8, large pizzas-€14-19, Fri-Wed 11:30-24:00, closed Thu except June-Aug, Via Vittorio Emanuele 73, tel. 0187-818-395).

surprisingly well-produced 3-D movie about the city, offering tasteful and evocative slices of Florentine life and lingering images of the big landmarks (free, 13 minutes, in Italian with English

If you’re staying the night, ask the TI about concerts. The monthly entertainment guide, Carnet Verona, sold at newsstands is in Italian only (€2).

Pizzeria-Focacceria da Emy (not to be confused with Ristorante Ely, up the street) makes airy focaccia and thick-crust pizzas for casual seating or takeout (€5-9 pizza, €3 focaccia, daily 10:30-20:00, later in summer, along the skinny street next to the church, Emiliano). In the New Town,

Pescato Cucinato shop, where Laura fries up her husband Edoardo’s fresh catch; grab a paper cone of deep-fried seafood as a snack.