10 Things to Do in Rome in Spring

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

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

To travel to Rome during Holy Week is to witness a millenary celebration. The dates vary from year to year, but it is usually celebrated between March and April. Here is a preview of the main events:

• Palm Sunday: thousands of pilgrims congregate at this mass and it is one of the most exciting moments of Holy Week.
• Maundy Thursday: the 'Last Supper' is commemorated.
• Via Crucis on Good Friday: the liturgy of the Passion of the Lord is performed and the impressive Via Crucis is celebrated on the hills of the Palatine Hill.
• Day of recollection during Holy Saturday
• Easter Sunday and the resurrection of Christ: the Pope officiates the 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 in Rome, but did you know about Easter eggs?

Made with chocolate and symbol of good luck, they are an Easter tradition in Italy. You will find them in dark chocolate, with liqueur, filled, with surprise.... There is something for everyone!

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

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 symbolizes peace.

The dough is made with flour, eggs, sugar, yeast, butter, sugar and almonds. There are countless varieties and you will have a hard time choosing just one, as there are coconut, limoncello, raisin... and even piña colada!

To try everything typical of Easter, it is also a good idea to book a gastronomic tour of Rome so that an expert guide can show you the most delicious of the season.

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

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

In addition, the program includes dances, fireworks, parades and shows throughout the city. And if so much fighting gives you an 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 and home to great gems 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 the year, which look like never before!

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

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

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

It will allow you to contemplate the monuments of the metropolis from another perspective and discover the other side of Rome. And if, after sightseeing, your guts are rumbling, take a look at the best restaurants in the Italian capital.

In May you can save yourself the long lines under the sun to enter the art galleries if you take part in the Night of the Museums, an initiative usually held at the end of May that allows you free admission to the art galleries.

If you visit Rome in spring, but do not coincide with this event, I suggest that if you are very hot you take the opportunity to enter one of the museums offered by the city, as they have air conditioning and you will be more comfortable while you know the most important works of Italy.

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

I recommend a visit to the Municipal Rose Garden, which houses about 1,100 species of roses from all over the world, even from such exotic places as China and Mongolia.

Among the most curious roses in the Municipal Rose Garden are the Chinensis Virdiflora rose with deep green petals; the Chinensis Mutabilis rose, which changes color 7 times in five days; or the Foetida rose, a beautiful yellow flower... Smelly!

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

Useful information about the Municipal Rose Garden of Rome

• Address: Via di Valle Murcia, 6/ Clivo dei Publicii, 3
• Opening: during spring blooming, at the end of April.
• Price: 5 € on weekdays and 7 € on holidays. Disabled persons, children up to 14 years old and seniors over 65 years old are free.

At the end of March, the classic spring marathon takes place, taking advantage of the rising temperatures and pleasant weather to practice this sport. Every year thousands of Italians and tourists participate in this challenge!

You will pass by all the emblematic 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 find yourself with the strength to survive the 42 kilometers, you can join the four-kilometer fun run . Suitable for everyone!

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

On this feast, thousands of people come from all over Italy to join the procession and watch the spectacle and the flower display.

The main street, Via Benardi, becomes a huge carpet of fresh flowers and petals on which local artists shape the original drawings. This celebration has more than 200 years of history - almost nothing!

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

Inside this park, considered by The New York Times as the most beautiful in the world, you will also see apple trees in bloom, magnolias, birch trees and a sensational variety of Japanese maples. It is a paradise on earth!

It is publicly accessible and it is like a fairytale city!

Useful information about Ninfa Garden

• Address: locality Cisterna di latina Via Provinciale Ninfina 68, seventy kilometers from Rome.
• Hours: from March to June: 9.00 am - 6.00 pm/ from July to September: 9.00 am - 6.30 pm/ from October to November: 9.00 am - 3.30 pm.
• Price: 15,5€ online ticket. Children up to 12 years old are free and people with disabilities pay a reduced entrance fee of 8€.
• Are dogs allowed? Of course!
• How long is the visit? Approximately one hour.

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

In this season the days are getting longer, we can enjoy more daylight hours and plans begin in the streets.

• Rome in March: sunrise at 6:20 am and sunset is at 6:20 pm.
• Rome in April: the days start to get longer. Sunrise is at 6:30 am and sunset is around 8:00 pm.
• Rome in May: sunrise around 5:47 am and sunset around 8:30 pm.
• Rome in June: sunrise around 5:30 am and sunset around 9:00 pm.

We have the best of summer: good temperatures, many hours of daylight, but without the heat of the summer season.

Much will depend on whether you make the trip in March, when temperatures are cool and you should bring a coat, or if you make it in June, when the weather is already completely summery. But, in general, it is a must:

• Comfortable shoes
• Neckerchief for the coldest days (March/April).
• Umbrella (there is a 25% chance of rain)
• Short sleeve T-shirts
• Jacket
• Jacket
• Sun protection and hat
• Shorts