Atlantic City

For Valentine’s Day: some surprisingly romantic cities

Flying somewhere for Valentine’s Day?

Consider visiting one of the “Surprisingly Romantic Places” I discovered for a slide-show story on Bing Travel.

There’s Verona, Italy, which is finishing up the annual Verona in Love festival today with love-themed concerts and dance performances, a heart-shaped market, a minute-long community kiss and free entry to historical sites, including Juliet’s home and tomb. For Valentine’s Day, the Juliet Club awards a “Dear Juliet” prize to the best of more than 5,000 letters that arrive in town each year seeking advice in matters of love.

In Atlantic City, where the slogan is “Always Turned On,” the Convention and Visitors Authority hosts a free Valentine’s Day group wedding, civil-union and renewal of vows ceremony. A champagne toast and wedding cake are included, but you’ll need your own New Jersey marriage or civil union license, available after a three-day mandatory waiting period.

Love doesn’t always last, but in Zagreb, Croatia, lost love is at least lovingly memorialized at the Museum of Broken Relationships. Two artists — they were once a couple themselves — curate a collection of memorabilia, love tokens and other items donated by those whose broken hearts are now, hopefully, on the mend.

Find more Surprisingly Romantic Places.