car/motorhome, Verona

I was really surprised by the rather small amount of trafic for a saturday afternoon. The different streets , leading to the centre of Verona are a bit confusing sometimes, BUT once that you are there, you will easily find a parking-spot rather close to the piazza Bra and Arena di Verona.
Follow the signs for ARENA !!
Smaller cars like the Smart and of course the Fiat 500 on my picture are even able to park in "Italian style"
In any case, try to avoid to go to the citycentre in your own car, you save a lot of nerves and maybe also time !

Verona has, as any other town, parking space along the street. But most of them are paying place and, worst of all, limited to 2 hours max.
So, a real parking is always the best option for a day trip.
There are big car-parks convenient to the center.
To have info on their available space, especially if coming from the lake on a summer rainy day (they tend to pack up, when business traffic adds up to the extra amount of tourists).

If you have an internet connected mobile (so frequent nowadays) just take a look at the link below: mobile-friendly and real-time updated site with all the available spaces in the main carparks of Verona.
To visit the Old center, in terms of distance, my advice is to go for:
1) Cittadella
2) Arena
3) Isolo
4) Zanconati or Arsenale

All of them, anyway, at close walkable distance from the center.

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This private, covered and obviously not free multistory car park is really near the Roman Arena (500 meter exactly).
It's four storeys, 3 of wich underground. Open 24/24 and 7/7.

For legal reasons of liability the park is declared "unguarded", but with an extra fee (5.2 euro) the car becames guarded.... And of course they fully respond of it.

The car entrance and exit is from the little via Kessler (south west of the buildig) but the walking entrance exit is towards north and the Arena.

For the price list, see picture #3

The carpark is handy for any visit to the center, but expecially for a opera night.

To avoid long lines at paying time after the operas, they sell on request during the day pre-payed cards allowing you to stay for the opera, and directly collect the car when it's over, without any queue. The price, 13 Euro, is the same of a whole day....

Take a look from the sky at the building (the green with 2 circles, ... it's a restaurant and pizzeria in a garden on the ceiling) by clicking here (google maps).

There are about 5 places shown as public parking inside the old city walls. First of all they are hard to find, secondly no doubt very costly and thirdly I am not sure you can drive into these areas. We tried and got shagged out after going around the arena.
We did find the closest public parking just one block outside the south walls on Corso Porto Nuova. Called Cittadelle. It cost 1.80 Euro an hour. I believe they all are around that price and the best bet is to park outside the walls. Otherwise, free parking is possible on the streets by the Arsenal, but a bit away from everything.

If you have a car, the core of the center (inside the bend of the river Adige) is forbidden most of the time, unless you booked with an hotel there.
The rest of the center, up to the circle of the old venetian/austrian walls, have some sort of restriction to car parking... mostly it's not free.

The bigger free car parking is, in fact, just outside these walls, on the northern side of Porta Palio. See the gate in the picture as seen from inside. The parking is on the right of it as seen in the picture.

On a map, just spot the line made by Corso Porta Palio - Corso Castelvecchio - Corso Cavour - Porta Borsari - Piazza Erbe, and the parking is on the external (South west) side of the line.
Oh, by the way, these streets are not in a line for a chance... This is the exact axis of the Roman Postumia road.... a little more than two millenniums old. Every expansion of the town produced a new gate, but on the same axis.

From the carpark, Castelvecchio is 10 minutes of easy walk, piazza Erbe 10/15 more.
The parking is crowded by commuters car in the morning (but yet it's not impossibile to find a place) and more free from afternoon. Of course it is unguarded, so don't leave anything valuable in the car.

User of GoogleEarth? i don't know how to attach a Placemark for a direct viewing, but here is the position of the entrance (it's in good resolution)
45°26'8.67"N
10°58'46.58"E

Since 2006 there is a new camper area close to the center, between Porta palio and the main train station of porta Nuova, and right where the freeway arriving from the A22 - Verona Nord enter the town:

Address is Via dalla Bona: 37 places available.

Prices (2008)
10 euro/day (including water supply and disposal)
5 euro / 4 hours (including water supply and disposal)
3 euro water supply and disposal only

See the PDF brochure at the link below, in 4 languages

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When youl find the sign in the picture, and the parking places along the road are marked in blue, you are in a paying zone.
Nearly all the streets around the historical city center are going to that (hated) system.

It's a "scratch and park".... you have to buy the needed ticket(s) in a shop or bar showing a "Verona park" banner (tickets available in 1 or half hour size), then you have to scratch them with the arriving time, and place them behind the windshield of your car.
Max 2 hours allowed... Well, you can pass again and - whistling but looking around -- change them.

Fares are 1,5 Euro/hour near the center, 1/hour in the rest.

I heard they want to place some regular automatic ticket machines but, at the end of 2005, i still haven't spotted any. *** 2007 update **** Machines are now in place and working, but the Verona Park system may be used as well.

The parking is free on sundays and other holydays.

As days hours, the paying period starts usually at 8am. The end varies from 8pm to midnight (near the center).

I am always travelling by car because it makes me feel free to visit whatever I want and to stop whenever I like it. Besides, Verona has great surroundings and some of them you can visit by car only. Well, it is not the whole truth coz there is always some kind of local transportation, even if you are going to visit hilly area of Valpolicella.
Don't miss to visit Lago di Garda, which is only 20km far from the town, or Soave where magnificent and huge Scaligeri fortification still stand.

NCC (Noleggio Con Conducente) is a car with driver, or Limo service.

These cars (service always more flexible, expecially for long distances, and sometimes cheaper than a regular taxi) may be very useful if you can share it, and have to go to places not so easy to reach with public transports. These service have a regular license, and the car has a little NCC plate like the one in the picture (every town may have a few difference)

I know only a company based in Verona. My wife tried them twice when i was away for short distance trips and found them reliable and reasonally priced. See the link below.

You have to book them to be sure, but just in case you may try and call the cell phone number and see if they have a car available. Their base is at 15 min (max) from the main train station, and 20 from the airpot. They should be able to give you a fixed price (of course based on distance and time of the day) for your transfert.

So, depending on your needs and pockets, such a service may be a plus when coming back on your own from the opera late at night, if your accomodation isn't in town, a trasfert from airport to Garda Lake, and so on... See the site for more.

In many streets and avenues is required a tiket for parking named "Verona Park".
The zone are often indicated by a very little blue label and by blue rows on the ground.
You can buy it in bar, tabac, news-stand and others.
Cost is 0.77 Euro for 1 hour, 0.39 E. for half hour.
You can use max 2 tikets for max 2 hours. Istructions are on the ticket's back side.