A local's guide to what's on in Rome in April.

April in Rome sees the Italian capital in full bloom, basking in spring sunshine, making it a perfect time to visit the Eternal City.

Here are some tips for the best events and things to do in Rome in April 2025.

Gardening festival

The rooftop gardens of Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone host the 14th edition of the Festival del Verde e del Paesaggio from 4-6 April. The gardening festival is devoted to landscape gardening, designer gardens and terraces, showcasing classic designs as well as new trends.

French cinema

Rendez-Vous, the Festival of new French cinema, returns to the Cinema Nuovo Sacher in Rome with special guests and screenings from 2-6 April. Rendez-Vous opens with actress Valeria Bruni Tedeschi who will present, together with director Carine Tardiue, the film L’Attachement.

Free museums

State museums and archaeological sites across Italy, as well as Rome's city-run museums, open their doors for free on Sunday 6 April. The free landmark sites in Rome range from Castel Sant'Angelo to Palazzo Altemps and the Capitoline Museums to the Museo Forma Urbis.

Pick your own tulips

Rome's TuliPark, which allows visitors to pick their own tulips for purchase, is open every day until around the middle of April. There are tens of thousands of tulips from more than 100 different varieties growing at the flower farm on Via dei Gordiani 73.

Roma Film Music Festival

The fourth edition of the Roma Film Music Festival, the first and only Italian festival dedicated to performing live movie soundtracks, returns to Rome from 6-12 April. Experience the magic of Avatar and the tension of Profondo Rosso with the Orchestra Italiana del Cinema.

Spanish Steps in bloom

It wouldn't be spring in Rome without the city decorating the Spanish Steps with hundreds of azalea plants. This time-honoured and much-photographed tradition sees the 18th-century landmark burst into bloom from around mid-April until mid-May every year.

Artichoke Festival

The coastal town of Ladispoli outside Rome holds an artichoke festival from 11-13 April. The Sagra del Carciofo Romanesco gives pide of place to Roman dishes with artichokes as well as specialities from other Italian regions, along with live music and entertainment.

Hanami

This popular event, taking place on the weekend of 12-13 April, is dedicated to the blossoming of the cherry trees in the Japanese Garden of Rome's Botanic Gardens in the Trastevere district.

Appia Run

Rome will hold the 26th edition of the Roma Appia Run, a unique sporting event along the ancient Appian Way on 13 April, with two competitive and non-competitive routes - 16.9-km and 9.9-km - as well as a 5-km non-competitive route for those who prefer a short run or walk.

Via Crucis

The Via Crucis or Way of the Cross ceremony, one of the Church's most evocative Easter traditions in Rome, will take place at the Colosseum on the evening of Good Friday, 18 April. The solemn torchlit procession - which dates to the 18th century and was revived in 1964 - attracts thousands of faithful who listen to meditations re-enacting Christ's crucifixion.

Rome's birthday

The Eternal City celebrates its 2,778th birthday on 21 April, in a popular tradition called Natale di Roma. The annual celebration is based on the legendary founding of Rome by Romulus in 753 BC. Rome marks its birthday with historical re-enactments of ancient Roman rituals and gladiator fights in the Circus Maximus along with a spectacular parade through the city.

Rose Garden

Rome celebrates spring by reopening the Roseto Comunale, the municipal rose garden, on 21 April. Located on the slopes of the Aventine hill overlooking the Circus Maximus, the rose garden will be open for free every day until the middle of June.

Liberation Day

Italy on 25 April celebrates the Festa della Liberazione which marks the country’s liberation from German occupation and fascist rule at the end of world war two. A public holiday across Italy, all state schools and offices will be closed on Friday 25 April, resulting in a long weekend.

Butterfly House

The Casa delle Farfalle, a tropical greenhouse in the Appia Pignatelli area, offers the chance to admire hundreds of butterflies, including the world's most spectacular varieties. Visitors can observe the butterflies upclose and watch them flying freely in an environment that reproduces their natural habitat.

Classical music, opera and theatre

Rome's opera house stages a production of Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, conducted by Philip Ellis with choreography by John Cranko, from 3-9 April.

The April programme of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia includes Daniel Harding leading the Chorus and Orchestra in Robert Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust, on 11-13 April, and a Family Concert on 27 April.

The famed Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil stages its classic Alegría in Rome, under the big top at Tor di Quinto, until 13 April.

Exhibitions in Rome

The Rome exhibition that everyone is talking about is the Caravaggio blockbuster, hailed as among the most important and ambitious showcases ever dedicated to the Baroque genius. Other big new exhibitions in Rome include Munch at Palazzo Bonaparte, Flowers at the Chiostro del Bramante, and I Farnesi at the Capitoline Museums.

We update the information on this list regularly and add new events as they are announced. For more events and things to do in Rome see our What's On guide, while for daily News from Italy in English see our News section.