Venice, Verona and the Asolo Hills

Venice in two windows the day-trippers leave empty, Roman-arena opera in Verona, then an arcaded hill town above the Prosecco terraces where you stop moving.

• Stop: Venice
• Stop: Verona
• Stop: Asolo

• Common scams — bill-shock restaurants, water-taxi overcharge, station pickpockets: Near San Marco and Rialto, avoid places with no printed prices or where fish is sold 'by weight' (al etto): confirm the price of every dish and the cover charge (coperto) before ordering, ask what a portion actually costs, and check the itemised bill — €1,000 tourist bills have made the news and drawn heavy fines. From the airport, Santa Lucia station and Piazzale Roma, agree a water-taxi fare up front or, far cheaper, take the public vaporetto; ignore touts offering 'free' rides to Murano glass showrooms, which are commission traps. Pickpockets work the vaporetto queues and the crowds at Santa Lucia, Rialto and San Marco — keep bags zipped and in front.