3 days in the Veneto: Verona cicchetti, Prosecco hills & Padua markets

Eat your way across Italy's Veneto beyond Venice: cicchetti and risotto all'Amarone in Verona, Prosecco tastings on the UNESCO hills between Conegliano and Valdobbiadene, tiramisu where it was invented in Treviso, and Padua's ancient market halls and Giotto chapel. A food-first 3-day route by train and car.

1. Day 19 am – 9:30 pm · 6 stops
2. 9 am 1

   Morning market at Piazza delle ErbeVerona

   Verona's market square since Roman times: produce stalls, cheesemongers and street snacks under the old palazzi. Come hungry and graze — this is where the day's eating starts. Mornings are liveliest.

   8 min walk · 550 m
3. 10:30 am 2

   Arena di Verona from Piazza BraVerona

   The Roman amphitheatre that still hosts summer opera. Walk the outside and Piazza Bra first; if you go in, the upper tiers give the best sense of its scale. The food angle: this is the square for a first spritz later.

   8 min walk · 600 m
4. 12:30 pm 3

   Cicchetti lunch at Antica Bottega del VinoVerona

   One of Italy's oldest wine bars (Corte Sgarzerie 10), with a deep Valpolicella cellar and a counter full of cicchetti. Order a glass of Amarone or Ripasso and a few small plates — baccala mantecato, polpette, crostini — standing at the bar like a local.

   9 min walk · 650 m
5. 2:30 pm 4

   Castelvecchio and the Ponte ScaligeroVerona

   The Scaliger castle and its fortified bridge over the Adige, restored by Carlo Scarpa into one of Italy's great museums. A palate cleanser between meals — and the bridge is Verona's best sunset walk.

   8 min walk · 600 m
6. 4:30 pm 5

   Aperitivo at Osteria del BugiardoVerona

   Corso Porta Borsari 17/A. A Valpolicella producer's own osteria — the house Ripasso by the glass with polenta, soppressa and lardo crostini. The classic Veronese aperitivo stop before dinner.

   6 min walk · 450 m
7. 7:30 pm 6

   Dinner: risotto all'Amarone at Osteria SottorivaVerona

   Via Sottoriva 23, under the riverside porticos. Order the risotto all'Amarone — risotto cooked in the region's great red wine — plus polenta and a glass of Valpolicella. Book ahead; it is small and popular.

8. Day 29 am – 6:30 pm · 6 stops
9. 9 am 7

   Castello di Conegliano above the Prosecco hillsConegliano

   The 10th-century castle at the eastern end of the Strada del Prosecco, with a small museum and the best orientation view over the UNESCO Prosecco hills. Start here to read the landscape before tasting it.

   22 min by train or taxi · 22 km
10. 11 am 8

    Prosecco tasting at Nino FrancoValdobbiadene

    Via Garibaldi 147, Valdobbiadene. Founded 1919, one of the reference houses of Prosecco Superiore DOCG — Rustico, Brut and the single-vineyard Grave di Stecca. Tastings are by appointment (about 18 euros for three pours); book directly before you travel.

    8 min by train or taxi · 3.2 km
11. 12:45 pm 9

    Lunch at Osteria Senz'OsteValdobbiadene

    The host-less osteria on Strada delle Treziese: buy Prosecco from the vending machine, take bread, salumi and cheese, and eat among the vines overlooking the valley. The quirkiest lunch on the Prosecco Road.

    13 min by train or taxi · 13 km
12. 2:30 pm 10

    Molinetto della Croda watermillRefrontolo

    A 17th-century working watermill on the Prosecco Road between Valdobbiadene and Conegliano — the postcard stop of the hills, and a good leg-stretch between tastings.

    31 min by train or taxi · 31 km
13. 4 pm 11

    Treviso's Isola della PescheriaTreviso

    Treviso's island fish market on the Cagnan river, ringed by canalside arcades. Wander the stalls and the lanes around Piazza dei Signori — Treviso is the softest landing in the Veneto and rewards a slow hour.

    3 min walk · 150 m
14. 5:15 pm 12

    Tiramisu where it was invented: Le BeccherieTreviso

    Piazza Ancilotto 9. Le Beccherie calls itself the house of tiramisu — the dessert was invented and first codified here in 1972. Have the original tiramisu with a glass of Prosecco DOCG; the restaurant also serves a modern take on Treviso cooking if you stay for dinner.

15. Day 39 am – 9 pm · 6 stops
16. 9 am 13

    Mercato Sotto il Salone under Palazzo della RagionePadua

    Europe's oldest covered market hall, running under the Salone since the 1200s: butchers, cheesemongers, fishmongers and panini counters. Graze the stalls and pick up picnic supplies; the squares either side (delle Erbe and della Frutta) hold the open-air market.

    7 min walk · 500 m
17. 11 am 14

    Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni ChapelPadua

    Piazza Eremitani 8. Giotto's 1305 fresco cycle, one of the great artworks of Europe. Entry is timed and strictly limited — book ahead online. Allow the full slot; the decontamination chamber and the 15-minute viewing are part of the ritual.

    8 min walk · 650 m
18. 12:45 pm 15

    Lunch: bigoli al ragu d'anatra at Osteria L'AnforaPadua

    Via del Soncino 13. A Slow Food osteria serving traditional Paduan cooking at modest prices — the dish to order is bigoli al ragu d'anatra, thick wholewheat pasta with duck ragu. Dim, crowded and noisy in the best way; book ahead.

    12 min walk · 900 m
19. 2:30 pm 16

    Prato della Valle and the Basilica of St AnthonyPadua

    One of Europe's largest squares, ringed by 78 statues, with the Basilica of St Anthony at its edge. An afternoon stroll and a gelato stop after lunch; the Saturday market here is worth timing a trip around.

    14 min walk · 1.0 km
20. 4:30 pm 17

    Aperitivo at Caffe PedrocchiPadua

    Via VIII Febbraio 15. The historic 1831 cafe without doors — open day and night since its founding. Order the Pedrocchi mint coffee or a spritz and watch Padua's students and professors argue at the next table.

    5 min walk · 350 m
21. 7 pm 18

    Dinner at Osteria dal CapoPadua

    Via degli Obizzi 2, in the old Jewish ghetto. A decades-old trattoria for traditional Veneto cooking — fegato alla veneziana (liver and onions), grilled polenta, raw fish antipasti. The right last dinner for a food-first trip.