10 Things to Do in Rome in Spring

Want to discover what Italian "Dolce Vita" is all about? Spring is the best time to do so. Rome's parks and gardens are filled with flowers, the temperatures are very pleasant, and the calendar is marked by one of the most important holidays of the year: Holy Week in Rome.

Take note of the 10 things you can do in the Italian capital during spring, the most colourful season. You'll be surprised!

Travelling to Rome during Holy Week means witnessing a thousand-year-old celebration. The dates usually vary each year, but it is normally celebrated between March and April. Here is a preview of the main events:

• Palm Sunday: thousands of pilgrims gather for this mass, which is one of the most exciting moments of Holy Week.
• Holy Thursday: commemorates the Last Supper.
• Good Friday****Way of the Cross: the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord is performed and the impressive Way of the Cross is celebrated on the Palatine Hill.
• Day of reflection on Holy Saturday
• Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of Christ: the Pope officiates Holy Mass from St. Peter's Square.

If your spring trip does not coincide with Holy Week, you can always book tickets for the Papal Audience to add a more spiritual touch to your trip.

We already know that Rome has the best pizzas and the best ice cream, but did you know about Easter eggs?

Made with chocolate and a symbol of good luck, they are a tradition during Holy Week in Italy. You'll find them in dark chocolate, liqueur, filled, with a surprise inside... Something for everyone!

During Easter, restaurants also prepare special menus with lamb and savoury pies. Here are 10 places to eat in Rome so you can choose the one that appeals to you most.

The 'colomba' or Easter dove

Those with a sweet tooth should also try the colomba, the typical Easter cake in Italy, which is shaped like a dove and symbolises peace.

The dough is made with flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, butter, sugar and almonds. There are countless varieties and you'll find it hard to choose just one, as there are coconut, limoncello, raisin... and even piña colada flavours!

To try all the typical Easter dishes, it's also a good idea to book a food tour of Rome so that an expert guide can show you the tastiest treats of the season.

Can you imagine attending a parade with more than 2,000 gladiators from Ancient Rome? Every year around 21 April, the anniversary of the birth of the Italian capital is celebrated: Natale di Roma, with thousands of people dressed in period costume.

You can watch gladiator fights, chariot races and historical re-enactments at the Circus Maximus and the Roman Forum. And if you want to round off your Roman day, I recommend booking a guided tour of the Colosseum with access to the arena.

The programme also includes dancing, fireworks, parades and shows throughout the city. And if all that fighting whets your appetite, you can enjoy Roman cuisine.

Spring is the best season to book a guided tour of the Borghese Gallery, one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world, home to great works by Caravaggio, Raphael and Rubens, among others.

Here is the definitive guide to what to see and do in the gardens of Villa Borghese at this time of year. They look better than ever!

Its gardens are also worth a visit because it is one of the largest and most beautiful urban parks in Europe. There is even a zoo. The Bioparco zoo, which has more than 100 years of history, is dedicated to the conservation of endangered species. If you are travelling to Rome with children, they will love it!

The best way to enjoy the views of Rome is to book a boat tour on the Tiber River. At some point during your trip, you will need a little time to relax after hours and hours of walking and exploring the Eternal City.

Spring, with its milder temperatures, is the best season to enjoy this activity.

It will allow you to see the monuments of the metropolis from a different perspective and discover another side of Rome. And if you're feeling peckish after sightseeing, check out the best restaurants in the Italian capital.

In May, you can avoid the long queues in the sun to enter the art galleries by taking part in Museum Night, an initiative that usually takes place at the end of May and allows you free entry to the art galleries.

If you visit Rome in spring but don't coincide with this event, I suggest that if you are feeling very hot, you take the opportunity to visit one of the city's museums, as they have air conditioning and you will be more comfortable while you discover Italy's most important works of art.

I recommend booking tickets to the Capitoline Museums, considered the first in the world and with more than 2,000 years of history inside.

I recommend visiting the Municipal Rose Garden, which is home to some 1,100 species of roses from all over the world, including exotic places such as China and Mongolia.

Among the most unusual roses in the Municipal Rose Garden are the Chinensis Virdiflora rose with its intense green petals; the Chinensis Mutabilis rose, which changes colour seven times in five days; and the Foetida rose, a beautiful yellow flower... with a foul smell!

One of the most interesting areas of the garden is the collection of botanical roses, both ancient and modern, appreciated by visitors for their extraordinary beauty. The specimens grown here come from all over the world.

Useful information about the Municipal Rose Garden in Rome

• Address: Via di Valle Murcia, 6/ Clivo dei Publicii, 3
• Opening hours: during the spring flowering season, at the end of April.
• Price: €5 on weekdays and €7 on public holidays. Admission is free for people with disabilities, children under 14 and seniors over 65.

At the end of March, the classic spring marathon is usually held, taking advantage of the rising temperatures and pleasant weather for this sport. Every year, thousands of Italians and tourists take part in this challenge!

You will pass by all the iconic buildings, but at a good pace! The race starts at the Roman Forum and continues to St. Peter's Basilica, Piazza Navona, the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, ending at the Colosseum.

However, if you don't feel up to surviving the 42 kilometres, you can join the fun four-kilometre race . Suitable for everyone!

Just 30 kilometres from Rome is the picturesque village of Genzano, located on the Nemi crater. If you travel in late spring, in June, you can attend the Corpus Christi Sunday celebration (the Inforiata del Corpus Dominus).

Thousands of people from all over Italy come to this festival to join the procession and watch the spectacle and flower display.

The main street, Via Benardi, is transformed into a huge carpet of fresh flowers and petals, on which local artists create original designs. This celebration has a history dating back more than 200 years. No small feat!

In the Ninfa Garden, you can experience the magic of Japan and admire the cherry blossoms without leaving Italy.

Inside this park, considered by The New York Times to be the most beautiful in the world, you can also see apple trees in bloom, magnolias, birches and a sensational variety of Japanese maples. It's paradise on earth!

It's open to the public and it's like a fairytale city!

Useful information about the Ninfa Garden

• Address: Cisterna di Latina, Via Provinciale Ninfina 68, seventy kilometres from Rome.
• Opening hours: March to June: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m./ July to September: 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m./ October to November: 9 a.m. to 3.30 p.m.
• Price: €15.50 for online tickets. Children under 12 enter free of charge and people with disabilities pay a reduced admission fee of €8.
• Are dogs allowed? Of course!
• How long does the visit last? Approximately one hour.

• March: the minimum temperature is around 6º and the maximum reaches 15º C.
• April: the thermometer registers temperatures between 9º and 19º C.
• May: temperatures range between 13º and 23º C.
• June: the thermometer rises, recording minimum temperatures around 17ºC and maximum temperatures of 27ºC.

During this season, the days are getting longer, we can enjoy more hours of daylight, and outdoor activities begin.

• Rome in March: sunrise is at 6:20 a.m. and sunset is at 6:20 p.m.
• Rome in April: the days are getting longer. Sunrise is at 6:30 a.m. and sunset is around 8:00 p.m.
• Rome in May: sunrise is around 5:47 a.m. and sunset is around 8:30 p.m.
• Rome in June: sunrise is around 5:30 a.m. and sunset is around 9 p.m.

We have the best of summer: pleasant temperatures and long daylight hours, but without the heat of the summer season.

It will depend a lot on whether you are travelling in March, when temperatures are cool and you will need to bring a coat, or in June, when the weather is already fully summery. But, in general, you can't forget:

• Comfortable footwear
• A scarf for colder days (March/April)
• Umbrella (there is a 25% chance of rain)
• Short-sleeved T-shirts
• Light jacket
• Jacket
• Sunscreen and hat
• Shorts