Arena di Verona seating guide

How is the Arena di Verona laid out for the opera?

Three zones: padded seats on the floor (stalls and Tribune), numbered seats with backs on the lowest tiers (Verdi, Puccini, Rossini), and numbered places on the bare stone steps above (4th to 6th sectors).

Each zone has its own gates, and the even and odd seat numbers enter from opposite sides of the oval. Check both on your ticket before you queue. The full map for 2027, with the price of a regular night bought after 4 November 2026:

Are the stalls worth the money?

If voices and acting matter most to you, yes. The front half of the stalls is the only place where you see the singers' faces without binoculars.

The stalls cover the flat floor of the old arena, facing the stage. Platinum Premium is the first row (seats 1 to 63 and 2 to 64) and Platinum the first central rows. Gold, Silver, the 1st and 2nd Sector Stalls and the Tribune follow, each a step down in price. The sound in the Arena is unamplified for the operas. In the front rows it reaches you direct; at the back of the floor it is softer but clear.

The catch is the price gap. Platinum costs €300 on a regular night, the 2nd Sector Stalls €150, and you are on the same kind of padded chair. We think the 1st and 2nd Sector Stalls are the sweet spot for a first visit: close enough for the drama, far enough back to take in the set. Platinum makes sense for a once-in-a-lifetime night. The dress code applies to the whole floor, and men in shorts are turned away with no refund (see what to wear).

Under 30 on a weeknight? The 2nd Sector Stalls U30 ticket costs €30, which is the best value in the house.

What are the Verdi, Puccini and Rossini sectors like?

Numbered seats with a backrest on the lowest tiers of the cavea, without padding. You sit a little higher than the stalls, at a lower price.

Each place has a seat and a back, which matters more than it sounds after three and a half hours. Verdi is the 1st sector and the dearest of the three, Rossini the 3rd and the cheapest. The view is slightly raised over the stalls, so heads in front block less, and you see the set and the chorus movement better.

There is no padding. A cushion still helps here, and you can buy one inside. Rossini at €70 to €80 is the cheapest place in the Arena with a backrest, and we would pick it over the 5th or 6th sector steps for anyone with a bad back.

What is it really like on the stone steps?

Cheap, hard and wonderful. You sit on a numbered place on the original Roman stone, see the whole bowl and the sky, and hear well, but faces are tiny.

The steps are the Arena of the postcards: thousands of people above the stage, and at dusk the small candles lit along the tiers as the performance begins. Until a few seasons ago the steps were unnumbered and people queued for hours. Now every place is numbered and the gates for the 4th to 6th sectors are 6, 68, 11, 15, 59 and 63.

• 4th sector (€60 to €63): the lowest steps, the best of the three. You still see the singers as people.
• 5th sector (€43 to €45): the middle band. Good view of the staging, the voices carry well.
• 6th sector (€28 to €35): the top. You see everything, the singers are small figures, and on a hot night the breeze is better up there.

The stone holds the day's heat for the first hour and then cools after midnight. There is no backrest, and the person behind has their knees at your shoulders. Bring a cushion, or buy one inside the Arena, and a light layer. Small theatre binoculars are allowed; professional ones are not. Under 30 or over 65? The reduced steps tickets start at €23.

Which seat should you choose?

Match the seat to what you care about most: voices, the spectacle, comfort or price.

Our picks for a regular opera night in 2027:

One more factor: length. Aida ed. 1913 and Carmen run about 3 hours 40 to 3 hours 45 minutes with two intervals, Nabucco about 2 hours 45 with one. A long opera on bare stone feels longer. If you are on the steps, Nabucco or La Traviata is kinder. The 2027 opera guide has all the running times.

How do you find your gate and get in?

Gates open two hours before the start. Check the gate for your sector and your even or odd seat number, and be there at least an hour early.

The Arena has 64 internal stairways and 72 arches, and the walk round the outside from the wrong gate takes several minutes in a crowd. Security uses metal detectors and bag checks, and bags over 17 litres are refused. There is no cloakroom. Once the music starts, latecomers wait for the first interval to be seated, which on a long opera can mean an hour or more outside.

Step-free access to the stalls is through gates 1, 4 and 8, with a metal ramp from Piazza Bra and two accessible toilets in the stalls. Guests with steps tickets who cannot climb on the night must buy an upgrade, if seats are free. For accessible seating, request it through the Arena's disability form before buying.

Want to see the tiers before you choose? A daytime tour walks you up the steps and into the corridors. Our guide to visiting the Arena by day covers the times; on performance days it closes early.

Frequently asked questions