Was going to do 4 nights Verona and then 2 nights somewhere else- like Lake Garda, maybe Mantua... but decided a lot of places are not that far from Verona, so better to stay put and include some day trips, vs spending the better part of a day changing towns and hotels.

So then started thinking- at 6 nights would an apt make sense? (Although I usually do make great use of a concierge- dinner recs, transportation help, etc.)

Does anyone have an airbnb or vrbo place to suggest? Or any thoughts on this idea generally? Have been looking at so many hotel specs my head is spinning!

What time of year? The Opera season in Summer will perhaps tie up more hotels than apartments. We've stayed in hotels in the past but have usually only been in Verona a max of three nights for performances.

Food in Verona is pretty heavy and rich if you are sticking to traditional restaurants, so I would find an apartment a nice refuge for lighter meals. Even if I were only staying 4 nights, I would prefer an apartment.

I probably wouldn't bother with switching locations to visit Lago di Garda, but one of the things I enjoyed most about Mantova is its unique cuisine, thus I would actually like 2 lunches and dinners there, so I would be tempted to switch locations for that. In addition, there are enough sights of interest in Mantova, somewhat spread out, to make a day trip rushed and 2 days leisurely.

It's been years since we've stayed in a hotel. I always prefer the extra space, the kitchen, sometimes two bathrooms and often historic charm that apartments offer us. Even for one or two nights we go the apartment route if possible and always feel "at home," no matter where we are in the world.

I always prefer apartment for anything longer than a night or two, no matter where in the world.

well, those are certainly some compelling reasons for an apt. This is for October, by the way, so hotels are available but I figure 6 nights will really add up.

Was hoping there might be some specific ideas for apts, so I wouldn't have to start from scratch. Any referrals welcome!

Mantova does sound like a great place to spend evenings, I'll have to think about that.

Apartment for sure! We loved our Verona apartment and the person that owns it owns others as well. It was in a great location and really big! The link is on our trip report at www.rovingrichards.com under trip reports/Italy/trip to verona. We also went to Sirmione from Verona so you can read about that too.

In October 2012 we stayed 9 nights in this apartment in Verona.

http://www.flipkey.com/verona-condo-rentals/p357674/

We had a rental car and spent most of our days driving throughout the area including Lake Garda, Padua, Vicenza plus the wine festival in Bardolino. As usual we had more places to visit than time allowed

The apartment was a good choice for us as it gave us easy access driving out of the city but we could still walk to the major sights in Verona.

I hope you enjoy Verona as much as we did. Have a great trip. Deborah

Believe me, there is/are a wide variety of places to eat in Verona. The meals are NOT necessarily "heavy" unless you want them to be.

The traditional cuisine of Verona is heavy, no two ways about it. You can of course find creative menus, modern eateries and non-Veronese restaurants, including non-Italian restaurants. But the classic dishes are rich with corn, potatoes, butter-based rice dishes, duck, horse and donkey meat, beef, and high fat content salume and soft cheeses. Not for seafood and veg lovers or light eaters. Even their pasta with beans is a belly buster. Veronese deserts are buttery and creamy generally.

As to what one "wants": If you don't want to eat the classic specialties while there, you can find restaurants serving pasta with tomato sauce, pizza, and other pan-Italian dishes or salads for tourists, if you want. But the slow food restaurants and historic restaurants of Verona serve the old fashioned stick to ribs stuff, with lakes of polenta.

Anyway, here is a link to a website for apartments with Verona, which also includes a run down of the typical dishes and recipes if you decide you can handle them twice a day!

http://www.veronapartments.it/Dettag...IDLingua=en-US

http://www.veronapartments.it/Lista....IDLingua=en-US

I'm with Dukey, we found the cuisine in Verona no more heavy than anywhere else. At every restaurant we set at there were plenty of choices to suit everyone.

thank you all for the comments about both apts and cuisine- we've been to Italy before, and try to just balance things out- if a big lunch, then a more modest dinner, or vice versa. Well, sometimes that works! And I'll have to think about that donkey...

Monica, enjoyed your blog. And that apt looks nice,- any downside to it?

Deborah, I can see that with having a car, that location made sense for you.

thanks everyone. Looking forward to returning to Italy!