Verona

The Italian city of Verona is synonymous with romance; legend has it that the lovers Romeo and Juliet carried out their illicit affair here, and you can visit the balcony from which Juliet received her lover's affection. Today, the city remains the perfect location for an amorous break - it's a pretty city, full of pink-tinged medieval buildings and reminders of Verona's Roman past, including the Arena, one of the world's largest Roman amphitheatres at the Piazza Bra. You'll encounter many other architectural delights as you wind your way through the city's maze of cobbled streets, including the city's distinctive red-and-white-striped Duomo and the Romanesque Sant'Anastasia church, the largest in the city. To experience true Italian exuberance, make time for a visit to the lively Piazza dell' Erbe. The city's main meeting point, it houses a bustling market and is lined by a variety of eye-catching buildings, including the Casa Mazzanti, elaborately decorated with 16th century murals.

But all visitors to Verona eventually end up at the Casa di Giulietta. It's from the balcony of this pretty building that Juliet gazed down at Romeo, and although the lovers are widely believed to be fictional characters, no one can deny that the 14th century house and its pretty courtyard exude enough romance to melt even the hardest of hearts.