My husband and I flew from Gatwick to Verona for 10 day tour around Verona and Lake Garda. Verona is a compact yet a beautiful city. Unfortunately the nights we stayed there had no opera performance. It would otherwise made our trip even better. We took a train to Venice (about one hour journey). It is very interesting place and full of tourists (too busy for our liking, but still a worth visit). Away from busy Venice, we then hired a car to tour around the lake. We picked a small hotel near Salo for 2 nights and finishing the tour with a luxurious hotel in a small village called Custoza. Travelling by a car allowed us to stop and visit as we felt like. We both really liked Sirmione; beautiful view as well as many small shops to browse. Lovely food, lovely scenery, it was a great holiday.