Should You Plan Rome or Florence Over Easter 2027?
Yes, if Easter itself is the reason you're going. Easter Sunday falls on March 28, 2027, and Holy Week in Rome means papal Masses, the Way of the Cross at the Colosseum and a city full of pilgrims. Florence answers with the Scoppio del Carro, a centuries-old tradition that ends with a fireworks cart lit in front of the Duomo. If you just want Rome's museums and restaurants, move your dates. The Vatican Museums are closed on Easter Sunday 2027, Easter Monday is a national holiday across Italy, and the Pope's biggest events draw crowds that shape the whole week. Our rule is simple: plan around Easter on purpose, or plan around it entirely. Arriving by accident is the version that disappoints.
What actually happens in Rome during Holy Week?
The Vatican publishes the Pope's Holy Week schedule a few weeks ahead; the 2026 program came out on March 7. The 2027 dates will follow the same pattern. Here's how 2026 ran under Pope Leo XIV:
Palm Sunday: Mass in St. Peter's Square at 10 AM.
Holy Thursday: the Chrism Mass in St. Peter's Basilica that morning, then the Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lateran in the evening.
Good Friday: the Celebration of the Lord's Passion in St. Peter's at 5 PM, then the Via Crucis at the Colosseum at 9 PM.
Holy Saturday: the Easter Vigil in St. Peter's at 9 PM.
Easter Sunday: Mass in St. Peter's Square at 10:15 AM, then the Urbi et Orbi blessing from the basilica's central balcony at noon.
For 2027, that puts Palm Sunday on March 21, Good Friday on March 26 and Easter Monday on March 29.
Do you need tickets for the papal Easter Masses?
Yes, for seats. Tickets to papal celebrations are free and requested online from the Prefecture of the Papal Household, the Vatican office that issues tickets to papal events. They're limited and given out while they last, so we make the request as soon as the Vatican opens it. Anyone selling you a "ticket" to Easter Mass is charging for a free ticket, a tour, or both.
The Urbi et Orbi blessing at noon is a different experience. It's given to the whole square from the balcony, so arrive early and expect to stand.
Can you still see the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel over Easter?
Yes, if you plan the day. The Vatican Museums are open Monday through Saturday and closed on Sundays, except the last Sunday of each month, when entry is free. That free Sunday doesn't happen when it falls on Easter. In 2027 the last Sunday of March is Easter Sunday, so the Museums are closed on March 28.
We put the Vatican on a weekday early in Holy Week, with timed tickets booked as soon as they're released, and we keep it well away from Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. The Museums set their holiday closures on a published annual calendar, and we check it before every booking.
What about Florence at Easter?
Florence's Easter belongs to the Scoppio del Carro, the "Explosion of the Cart." On Easter Sunday morning a towering wooden cart called the Brindellone is pulled by oxen from its depot on Via il Prato to the square in front of the Duomo. In the 2025 program it set off at 7:30 AM, reached Piazza del Duomo around 9:30 and was blessed during a 10:30 Mass. At 11 AM a dove-shaped rocket shoots out of the cathedral along a wire and lights the cart's fireworks. Florentines read the result as an omen for the year's harvest.
It's loud and packed, and the explosion itself lasts only minutes. We place clients near the edge of the square rather than in its center, and we book lunch away from the Duomo afterward, because every restaurant on the square fills at once.
Are museums and restaurants open on Easter Monday?
Easter Monday, called Pasquetta, is a national holiday in Italy, and the tradition is a picnic or a long lunch outside the city. Some state museums open specially for it. The Uffizi, which normally closes on Mondays, opened on Easter Monday 2026 from 8:15 AM to 6:30 PM, with booking recommended. Rome and Florence are both busy that day with Italian families on their own day off.
We treat Pasquetta as a day for the countryside: a winery lunch in Chianti from Florence, or Tivoli or the Castelli Romani from Rome. That's what Italians do, and it keeps clients out of the lines.
What if Easter isn't the reason you're going?
Then we usually make Easter Monday your travel day. Pasquetta is a national holiday, many shops and sights close or keep short hours, and Italians head out of town, so it's a poor day for sightseeing in the city. The high-speed trains keep running and private drivers work the holiday, so you can leave one city in the morning and be settled in the next by afternoon.
With a private driver, we often build the Pasquetta lunch into the drive, at a winery in Chianti or a hill town like Orvieto between Rome and Florence. You celebrate the holiday the way Italians do and lose no sightseeing day to closed doors.
What we tell every client
Decide what Easter means to you first. For the papal Mass, Holy Week is worth everything it costs. For the art and food, go the week before Palm Sunday or the week after Easter Monday.
Not here for Easter? Travel on Pasquetta. Easter Monday is the day we move clients between cities, by train or private driver.
The Vatican goes on a weekday early in the week. Never Easter Sunday, never the Monday after.
Request papal tickets the day they open. They're free, so there's no reason to wait and every reason not to.
Book Easter Sunday lunch months ahead. It's one of the biggest family meals of the Italian year, and good tables go early.
Plan Pasquetta outside the city. Go somewhere Italians go, and book the driver early, since everyone has the day off.
Pack for early spring. Late March can be cool and wet. Covered shoulders and knees are required in St. Peter's and are expected at every Holy Week service.
Give the week room. The Good Friday crowds around the Colosseum and the Easter Sunday crowds at St. Peter's slow everything down. One major thing per day is the right pace.
Rome or Florence: which one for Easter 2027?
If you're Catholic, or Easter is the reason for the trip, spend Holy Week in Rome. Then take the high-speed train to Florence for Easter Monday or later in the week. If Florence is the priority, arrive by Holy Saturday so you're rested for an early start on Sunday, and keep Rome for after the holiday. Multi-generation families often do best with Easter Sunday in Florence. Its celebration fits into one morning, and the city is easier to walk with grandparents and kids.
Frequently asked questions
When is Easter in 2027?
Easter Sunday is March 28, 2027. Palm Sunday is March 21, Good Friday is March 26 and Easter Monday is March 29.
Are the Vatican Museums open on Easter Sunday 2027?
No. The Museums close on Sundays except the last Sunday of the month, and that free opening is skipped when it falls on Easter. March 28, 2027 is both.
How do you get tickets to Easter Mass with the Pope?
Request them online, for free, from the Prefecture of the Papal Household once the Vatican opens requests for the year. Seats are limited, so request early.
What time is the Scoppio del Carro in Florence?
The cart is lit at 11 AM on Easter Sunday in front of the Duomo. In the 2025 program it arrived in the square at about 9:30.
Is Easter a good time for a first trip to Italy?
Only if Easter is part of the reason you're going. For a first trip built around museums and food, the weeks just before and just after Holy Week give you spring weather with fewer closures.
Planning Easter 2027 in Italy? Haus Travel builds Holy Week trips around the moments that matter to you, from papal tickets to the Pasquetta lunch.
