Verona with your dog: a walk around the Arena, and where dogs may go in
The Arena admits small dogs in a bag, never at the opera. Then a leash-only walk to Castelvecchio, the Adige and Castel San Pietro, with the rules for museums and buses.
Inside the Arena: small dogs in a bag, no dogs at the opera
As a monument, the Arena admits small dogs only inside a dog bag. They cannot come in during guided tours, special exhibitions, or when the dog is sick, pregnant or in heat. The same rule applies at Castelvecchio, the Archaeological Museum and Roman Theatre, the Maffeiano Lapidary Museum, the Cavalcaselle Fresco Museum and the Scaliger Tombs (source: Musei Civici di Verona).
At the Arena Opera Festival and other shows, animals are not allowed, except registered guide dogs (source: arena.it). For an evening at the opera, your dog stays at the hotel: check first whether your hotel lets dogs stay alone in the room.
Bigger dogs: the Natural History Museum is the one civic museum where dogs walk in on a leash with a muzzle; dogs over 25 kg need a behaviour check first.
A walk from the Arena
Start in Piazza Bra under the Arena walls and follow the old town on foot. Verona's tourism board lists, as open to dogs on a leash: the courtyard and bridge of Castelvecchio, the walk along the Adige (Lungadige), the courtyard of Juliet's House, the Giardini Giusti, and the funicular up to Castel San Pietro, where a muzzle is required, for the view over the city (source: visitverona.it).
The tourist train and the City Sightseeing bus take dogs too; on the sightseeing bus, small and medium dogs on a leash and with a muzzle.
Rules to keep in mind
In the city and in museums the leash is at most 1.5 m, with a muzzle at hand. Pick up after your dog. Dogs run free only in the marked dog areas; the tourism board lists them district by district (source: visitverona.it, Musei Civici di Verona).
For museums, carry the microchip and vaccination records: the civic museums ask for them, together with the owner's liability insurance.
Getting around by bus
On ATV city buses small dogs travel free in your arms or in a carrier. Medium and large dogs pay a passenger fare and travel on a leash with a muzzle; on a very crowded bus the driver may refuse them. Guide dogs always travel free (source: visitverona.it).