Easter is high season in Rome. It is not yet possible to foresee which rules will apply at Easter 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis. Here you will always find the latest information about Easter in Rome and how to avoid queues.
Rome Easter Museums
Easter in the Colosseum
The Colosseum can only be visited by reservation. It is always open at Easter with the exception of Good Friday afternoon.
8:30 – 19:15, the entrance closes at 18:15.
On the evening of Good Friday, the Pope may celebrate the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum and it will then be closed. The Colosseum metro station will also be closed.
Colosseum Good Friday April 2, 2021 8:30 – 13, the entrance closes at 12:00
National museums and City museums
The museums of the Municipality of Rome, the Borghese Gallery and many national museums can only be visited by reservation and are open on Easter Sunday as on every Sunday. Some smaller museums are closed on Easter Monday as on every Monday.
Rome Easter in the Vatican
Sistine Chapel and Vatican Museums
The Vatican Museums can only be visited with a reservation on the Internet. They are closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday.
Opening times of St. Peter’s Basilica and the dome
St. Peter’s Basilica has the following opening hours:
Basilica 7 – 19
Dome 8 – 18
Treasury 8 – 18:30
Grottoes 7 – 18, unless they are closed for mass celebrations
St. Peter’s Basilica, dome and grottoes are closed during the Pope’s masses and audiences. You can find more information on this in the calendar.
To avoid queues at entry, reserve an audio guide or an official guided tour. You will then be let in at a special entrance.
Avoid queues
One of the most important rules during the corona pandemic is to avoid crowds of people. So avoid any queues and book all tickets in advance on the Internet. This also applies to tickets for the metro and buses.
Read our information on the coronvirus in Rome.
Shopping
All shops are open on Good Friday. Good Friday is a normal working day in Rome. Easter Sunday and Easter Monday are similarly high holidays in Rome as Christmas. Easter Sunday – Pasqua – is a family day, on Easter Monday – Pasquetta – the Romans visit friends and have lunch together. The shopping centers and many shops in the center and all shops in the periphery are closed. The shops in Termini Central Station and individual small fruit and grocery stores in the center are open. The luxury supermarket with restaurants Eataly is open 
. It is behind the Pyramide / Ostiense train station, metro B, tram 3.
The Porta Portese flea market is also open on Easter Sunday. Here you will find everything from junk to antiques. Be careful of pickpockets! Tram 3 + 8 8 – 13
The so-called minimarkets are also open. There, however, you pay very high prices.
Cirque du Soleil – Totem
The Cirque du Soleil is in Rome for Easter with the show “Totem”. Do not miss this impressive spectacle!
Eating out on Easter Sunday in Rome
Sweet Easter bread, Easter eggs, boiled eggs and Easter pizza are part of the Roman tradition of Easter breakfast. The Romans are not used to an extensive breakfast, but it must be at Easter.
Many also combine a late breakfast with lunch for a brunch lasting several hours. Artichokes are still in season until the end of April and are prepared in a variety of ways. Pickled as “Carciofi alla Romana” or fried as “Carciofi alla Giudia”, in pancakes “Frittata” or with offal “Coratella con Carciofi” are just a few of the preparation options.
As some restaurants may be closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, a reservation is recommended. Many Romans go to the sea and therefore you won’t find a table in Ostia without a reservation.
The temples of Roman cuisine include Armando al Pantheon , as the name suggests, at the Pantheon in the Salita dei Crescenzi.
Roman cuisine can be found in the ghetto, and on the Tiber island at Sora Lella . Also in Trastevere you will find a variety of trattorie and restaurants.
For brunch and lunch on Easter holidays, I have gathered some ideas for you. In any case, you should make a reservation.
In the heart of Trastevere, Via Natale del Grande 52, you will find Eggs . The name is program with egg dishes and variations of Carbonara. On Easter Sunday and Easter Monday you will get a classic Roman Easter breakfast here.
In the Pigneto district you will find a lunch menu in the Bistrot Pigneto 1870 , Via del Pigneto 25. Bus 81, local train RMG from Termini, departure at the exit of the regional train station, opposite the hotel Radisson Blu, until the stop Ponte Casilino.
Brunch is available at Rosti in Pigneto, there is also a garden. Via Bartolomeo d’Alviano 65, Metro C Station Pigneto.
You get an organic brunch in the Testaccio district at the Ketumbar , via Galvani 24, Metro B station Piramide.
Near the metro station Cipro is the Bistrot Secondo Tradizione , in via Rialto 39. Here you will find Roman cuisine.
Between the Parliament and the Pantheon in Piazza Capranica is the wine bar Collegio . The family owns a well-known winery in the region. Here too you will find traditional cuisine.
At the end of the market Porta Portese, at Lungotevere Portuense 200, you will find the restaurant Pasticcio on the 5th floor Pasticcio . Here you can enjoy a well-kept brunch with a view.
A classic for an extensive brunch is Momart between Via Nomentana and the metro station Piazza Bologna in Viale XXI Aprile 19. This place is one of the best for a brunch in Rome.
A popular bistro with organic products is Vivi Bistrot in the Villa Pamphili, just the thing for the holiday in the parks of Rome. There are now several branches, in Palazzo Braschi at Piazza Navona, in Via della Mercede 50 in the center and in the Rinascente department store in Via del Tritone.
For a trip to the countryside we propose you the Via Appia Antica. You simply take bus 118 from Piazza Venezia and get off at the Calixtus Catacombs or at the Catacombs of St. Sebastian. It’s about a two miles walk from the Circus Maximus on Via di Porta San Sebastiano. By bus 218 from San Giovanni you can get off at Quo Vadis or at Ardeatina / San Sebastiano. More about the Appia Antica>
A noble and well known place is the L’Archeologia opposite St. Sebastian. Opposite the mausoleum of Cecilia Metella is the nice and simple garden restaurant Il Giardino di Giulia e Fratelli . Right next to it you will find the top location Hostaria Antica Roma, which is owned by the same family.
The Pope’s Way of the Cross at the Colosseum · Via Crucis
This year, the Way of the Cross will probably not take place at the Colosseum, but at St. Peter’s Square. In addition, only a limited number of visitors will be allowed.
In the event that the Way of the Cross should take place at the Colosseum, you will find the relevant information here:
If the Pope celebrates the Way of the Cross on Good Friday at the Colosseum, the Colosseum and the Colosseo Metrostration are closed in the afternoon.
Pope Way of the Cross at the Colosseum 21:15 – 22:45
There is a lot of crowd and the only way to see the Pope is through binoculars. It is of course very impressive to celebrate the Way of the Cross with so many believers. But it’s also very exhausting and you have to be there very early to find a good spot.
Watch the Way of the Cross 2019 on Youtube.
Vatican Calendar Easter 2021
March 28th, Palm Sunday
10:00 Papal mass blessing of palm branches (usually olive branches). St. Peter’s Basilica is closed until the end of mass. The mass will be broadcast on the internet.
12:00 Angelus prayer of the Pope in St. Peter’s Square Angelus prayer on the Internet
March 31, 9:30 am General audience of the Pope
April 1, 6:00 p.m. Papal mass for the Last Supper in St. Peter’s
April 2nd Good Friday
18:00 Mass celebration with the Pope in St. Peter’s Basilica
21:00 Stations of the Cross – Via Crucis probably on St. Peter’s Square, not public with broadcast on the Internet .
April 3 Holy Saturday
8:30 p.m. Papal Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Easter Vigil service with broadcast on the Internet .
Easter Sunday April 4th, 2021
11:00 Papal mass with broadcast on the Internet .
12:00 Blessings Urbi et Orbi in St. Peter’s Square with broadcast on the Internet
Easter Monday 5.4.2021
12:00 Regina Caeli on St. Peter’s Square with broadcast on the Internet .
April 7th 9:30 General audience of the Pope
On March 27, 2020, on a Friday during Lent, Pope Francis held a moving ceremony on the occasion of the corona pandemic and gave the blessing Urbi et Orbi
