Day trip from Verona to Padua: the plan for one day

Is a day trip from Verona to Padua worth it?

Yes, for most visitors who have a spare day in Verona. Padua sits on the main line towards Venice, so you are not tied to one or two trains: Italo and Trenitalia run direct through the morning and evening, and the ride is short enough that the day is spent in town, not on the train. A day without a car or a transfer is all it takes.

What Padua gives you is something Verona does not: Giotto's frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, the pilgrimage Basilica of Saint Anthony, a university where Galileo taught for eighteen years, and the oldest academic botanical garden still in its original place. Around Palazzo della Ragione, Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta are working market squares, and the city feels more local and less crowded than Verona or Venice.

The price is planning, not travel time. Padua has more than one day can hold, so you choose: the walking tour covers the classics in order, and the inside of the Scrovegni Chapel only works with a timed ticket booked ahead. If you have just one day in Verona itself, spend it there; Padua deserves its own full day.

Who this day trip suits

• Art lovers, because Giotto's fresco cycle and the Baptistery are reason enough for the ride
• Travellers interested in faith and history, because the Basilica of Saint Anthony has drawn pilgrims for centuries
• Visitors curious about science and student life, because Palazzo Bo and the Botanical Garden tell the story of one of Europe's old universities
• Food and market fans, because the daily squares around Palazzo della Ragione are where the city shops
• Anyone who wants a calmer, more local city after Verona's crowds

Go if you already know Verona and want a short train ride to world famous frescoes and a lively university town; skip it if you have only one day in Verona or would rather spend the day at the lake.

Other day trips from Verona

• Bologna52 minBologna is a slightly longer ride and a bigger, louder city built around food, towers and its own porticoes; pick it if eating is the point of the day, pick Padua if Giotto and Saint Anthony are.
• Venice1 h 30 minVenice takes about twice as long by train and is far busier; it is the trip for canals and Saint Mark's, while Padua gives you comparable art on the same line without the crowds.
• Milan1 h 55 minMilan means the longest ride of the three and a big modern city; choose it for shopping and a metropolis, choose Padua for a compact old centre you can cover on foot in one day.

Verona to Padua day trip itinerary

Day plan for: Tue–Sun

The day is anchored by the direct Trenitalia train in the morning and the early evening Trenitalia train back, with the walking tour in Padua between them and lunch at Prato della Valle.

1. Morning08:49 – 09:32

   Take the direct Italo train shortly before nine from Verona Porta Nuova, arriving in Padova around half past nine. Walk about a quarter of an hour into the centre and be at the Scrovegni Chapel before ten.

   This train gets you there in about three quarters of an hour without rushing breakfast, and the first churches and the basilica are already open.

2. Tour10:15 – 12:45

   Open the walking tour in your browser at the Scrovegni Chapel. The AI Tour Guide greets you there and tells the story of Giotto's chapel from outside, then leads you to the Church of the Eremitani, on to the Basilica of Saint Anthony, the Botanical Garden and Prato della Valle, asking what you want to hear more about as you go.

   The Church of the Eremitani closes at midday and the relics area of the basilica also has a lunch break, so these stops belong in the morning; Prato della Valle is a natural last stop before eating, with trattorias in the streets around it.

   1. 1Scrovegni Chapel
   2. 2Church of the Eremitani
   3. 3Basilica of Saint Anthony
   4. 4Botanical Garden of Padua

   Start the Padua tour

3. Lunch12:45 – 13:45

   Have lunch after Prato della Valle and before Palazzo Bo. The streets around Prato della Valle have simple trattorias such as Trattoria al Prato, where bigoli with duck ragù is a local classic.

   The trattorias near Prato della Valle are better value than the cafés around the basilica, and many smaller places close in the afternoon, so lunch should not slip later.

4. Afternoon13:45 – 17:00

   The guide picks up the walk at Palazzo Bo and continues to Palazzo della Ragione, Piazza dei Signori and the Baptistery of Padua Cathedral, ending at Ponte Molino. Optional: use the spare time afterwards for a spritz at Caffè Pedrocchi in the city where Aperol was born, as long as you leave by five.

   The afternoon stops sit close together in the old centre, the Baptistery runs its visits in half hour slots through the afternoon, and finishing around four leaves about an hour of slack.

   1. 5Prato della Valle
   2. 6University of Padua (Palazzo Bo)
   3. 7Palazzo della Ragione
   4. 8Piazza dei Signori
   5. 9Baptistery of Padua Cathedral
   6. 10Ponte Molino
5. Return17:00 – 18:38

   Leave Ponte Molino by five, walk back to Padova station and take the Trenitalia train around a quarter to six, arriving in Verona Porta Nuova around a quarter to seven.

   The walk to the station takes about 20 minutes, plus a quarter of an hour of buffer, and you are back in Verona in time for dinner.

Arrival to return departure: 8 h 8 min. Time for your visit: about 7 h.

Realistically you get about seven hours in Padua; if you arrive late, shorten the end of the tour by dropping the Baptistery or Ponte Molino rather than rushing the morning stops.

Padua walking tour in one day

Opening hours as of 22 October 2026.

1. 
   1Stop 1

   Scrovegni Chapel

   The small chapel next to the old Augustinian monastery holds Giotto's fresco cycle, including what is often called the first kiss in the history of art.

   Hours (optional interior visit)

   Daily: 09:00–19:00 (last admission 18:45)

   Website

   cappelladegliscrovegni.it ↗

   Price

   Optional entry · Scrovegni Chapel: €15

   Location

   Scrovegni Chapel on Google Maps ↗

2. 
   2Stop 2

   Church of the Eremitani

   The church of the Augustinian hermits, dedicated to the apostles Philip and James, is the quiet companion to the Scrovegni Chapel right beside it.

   Hours

   Mon–Fri: 07:30–12:30, 15:30–19:00
   Sat, Sun: 09:00–12:30, 16:00–19:00

   Price

   Free

   Website

   diocesipadova.it ↗

   Location

   Church of the Eremitani on Google Maps ↗

3. 
   3Stop 3

   Basilica of Saint Anthony

   Padua's great pilgrimage church, where the relics of Saint Anthony draw believers from all over the world.

   Hours

   Mon–Fri: 06:15–18:45
   Sat, Sun: 06:15–19:25

   Price

   Free

   Website

   santantonio.org ↗

   Location

   Basilica of Saint Anthony on Google Maps ↗

4. 
   4Stop 4

   Botanical Garden of Padua

   Founded by the Venetian Republic in 1545, it is the oldest academic botanical garden still in its original location.

   Hours

   Mon: closed
   Tue–Sun: 10:00–19:00 (last admission 18:15)

   Website

   ortobotanico1545.it ↗

   Price

   €10

   Location

   Botanical Garden of Padua on Google Maps ↗

5. 
   5Stop 5

   Prato della Valle

   An elliptical square of 90,000 square metres, the second largest in Italy, ringed by a canal and statues.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Prato della Valle on Google Maps ↗

6. 
   6Stop 6

   University of Padua (Palazzo Bo)

   The seat of the university since 1493, home to the oldest anatomical theatre in the world and to the lectern where Galileo taught.

   Hours

   Mon–Fri: 10:00–18:00
   Sat, Sun: 09:00–18:00

   Website

   unipd.it ↗

   Location

   University of Padua (Palazzo Bo) on Google Maps ↗

7. 
   7Stop 7

   Palazzo della Ragione

   The medieval market hall and palace of justice, with the town's administration once housed in its vast upper floor.

   Hours

   Mon: closed
   Tue–Sun: 09:00–19:00

   Website

   padovanet.it ↗

   Price

   €8

   Location

   Palazzo della Ragione on Google Maps ↗

8. 
   8Stop 8

   Piazza dei Signori

   For centuries the stage of Padua's civic ceremonies, while the market life played out on the neighbouring squares.

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Piazza dei Signori on Google Maps ↗

9. 
   9Stop 9

   Baptistery of Padua Cathedral

   The baptistery of Saint John the Baptist on Piazza del Duomo, its walls covered from floor to dome in frescoes.

   Hours

   Mon: 14:00–17:30
   Tue–Thu: 10:00–17:30
   Fri–Sun: 10:00–17:30

   Price

   €15

   Location

   Baptistery of Padua Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

10. 
    10Stop 10

    Ponte Molino

    A bridge over a branch of the Bacchiglione that dates back to the late Roman Republic and is still crossed every day.

    Price

    Free

    Location

    Ponte Molino on Google Maps ↗

Getting back from Padua to Verona