Casa di Giulietta, Verona

My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
My love as deep; the more I give to thee,
The more I have, for both are infinite.”
— William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Although it was four summers ago now, I remember Verona like it was just yesterday. Everyone knows the famous Shakespeare story of Romeo and Juliet. It has been told and re-told, played and re-played time and again and is considered to be one of the most famous love stories of all time.

Traveling with two girlfriends from the North to South of Italy, our main decision for stopping in Verona was to see Juliet’s balcony and have an entire day dedicated to Romeo and Juliet. As we walked through the arched entrance of Juliet’s balcony, our eyes were met with thousands of colorful notes and letters stuck to the wall that is known as Juliet’s wall. After taking a few moments to scan them over, it is clear that the majority of the notes on the wall come from young girls and women from all over the world. And, not surprisingly, the majority of them are love notes.

Despite the house being quite old, the balcony has no connection to Juliet and was actually added on to the house and declared Juliet’s balcony in the late 1930’s. Juliet’s balcony has become a popular tourist attraction after being deemed the balcony of Juliet. Nevertheless, myself and many others swarm to the balcony to take photos, leave notes on the walls, take a touristy photo of grabbing one of the boobs of Juliet’s statue for luck, and even write a letter to Juliet and send it in the post! Apparently, volunteers actually respond to some of these letters but I’ve been waiting four years and have still had no letter back.

You can even pay a small fee to go explore inside the house and stand out on the balcony for yet another touristy photo. Budget traveler bonus? Coming to Juliet’s balcony is free unless you want to go in the house!

Despite the lack of true connection to the real Juliet, taking a trip to see “her” balcony and explore “her” house would make a nice activity for you Romeo and Juliet fans or those of you that are just die-hard romantics. As much fun as we ended up having that afternoon, if you’re not a Romeo and Juliet fan or you simply don’t feel like you have the time, skipping Juliet’s balcony isn’t a huge loss. I found it to be a bit over-rated and basically just another tourist trap. But, if you are a fan of that sort of thing, it gives you butterflies and warm fuzzies for the rest of the day!