Everyone who wants to visit Hellas Verona and the Stadio Bentegodi should ready the cult classic 'A season with Verona' from writer Tim Sparks first. But with this mini-guide we'll help you a little bit on your way to the best football hotspots in this beautiful city.
In the great book 'A season with Verona' from 2002 writer Tim Sparks starts his adventure with the hardcore Hellas fan in the Zanzi Bar. A café that still exists, near the Stadio Bentegodi, at the corner of the Viale Sansovino. In the stories of Sparks it's a raw fan bar where the 'Brigate Gialloblù' used to gather. That's true, of course, but on week days it's a quite regular bar. Next to the door there's a lot of Verona stickers, but inside you can drink a good cup of coffee or a cocktail. Just the bars in front of the windows give away that there used to fly some chairs around here.
Many football fans thought it was an 'ugly' tournament, but 'Italia '90' was in some ways also the last old fashioned World Cup, just before the commerce took over in football. In the Stadio Bentegodi you'll imagine yourself back in 1990: there hasn't changed much since. The stadium of Hellas (due to financial problems the other home team, Chievo, doesn't have a first team currently) is classic Italian, with a running track and a lot of concrete. Since the renovations it's completely covered, and is a little bit comparable with the Stadio Olimpico of Rome en the Stadio Diego Armanda Maradona of Naples.
The area where the Bentegodi is located is named 'Stadio', at the west side of Verona. The area is in stark contrast with the wonderful city centre, also named 'Little Rome'. Stadio is a typical Italian suburb with its monotone apartment blocks, but you'll find a lot of true football fans here.
In the area of Stadio, a little east of the Stadio Bentegodi, you'll find the great Osteria Riki & Mauri. You can't just eat very good for a good price here, but it's also a real Hellas Verona hotspot. Fans gather here on match days, having a couple of beers in the pub part of the place. During the week it's a classy and classic restaurant with football shirts and old Hellas pictures on the wall.
When visiting Verona you simply can't ignore the breathtaking Arena di Verona, one of the best preserved amphitheatres of the world, dating from the year 30 A.C. The most beautiful is the Arena when you can visit a concert (mostly classic or opera, but also rock bands like Pearl Jam, The Who and Black Sabbath have played here). The club Hellas uses the famous theatre regularly as the decor of photo sessions or press presentations. So had it been used in 2019 for a special christmas photo with all 500 members of the club. In 2026, the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics will be held here.
The romantic city centre of Verona is sort of a open air museum, but there's also some football to discover as well. The club shop 'Hellas Store' is located at a beautiful place in the city, at the Via Carlo Cattaneo. And the historic Scudetto of 1985 was celebrated superb at the Piazza Bra, right next to the Arena di Verona. A little further from the city centre you'll find 'Bar Hellas' at the Via Girolamo Campagna 6, a fun coffee shop in the blue and yellow club colors.
The Stadio Bentegodi is actually way too big for Hellas Verona and because of that it's never sold-out. Tickets can be bought at Vivaticket, an Italian ticketing site used by several clubs. The general sale usually starts one week in advance of the match.
At motorway A22 you'll see at exit Verona Nord the little football already on the signs. Take the exit, follow the ball and the signs with 'stadio' and you'll reach the stadium in a couple of minutes. From the centre of the city you can take the bus to the Bentegodi: line 11, 12 or 13, stopping at Piazzale Olimpia. The buses pass train station Verona Porta Nuova as well, the main railway station of the city. From this station you can walk in about 15 minutes to the stadium as well.
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