Spring holidays from Heathrow: Rome

Rome is beyond beautiful all year round, but in Spring it feels extra-inviting: tourist havens are that much quieter, flights are a little cheaper and the weather’s warm enough to happily explore the sights of the city without having to enjoy a delicious gelato in the shade.

Rome is delicately brushed with wonderful wisps of wisteria this time of year and the Spanish Steps covered with its annual azaleas: it’s a city you really should explore by foot and rather chastening sights lurk around every corner, charming architecture and ruins bursting with colourful new life.

If picnics are your thing, May Day is a national holiday and sumptuous seasonal produce – like Romanesco artichokes, strawberries and fava beans – can be procured and enjoyed in the Villa Borghese, Villa Pamphili or in the city’s striking rose garden – Roseto Communale – open from April to June.

Easter is a big thing in Rome and the Pope runs the show conducting the Stations of the Cross by the Colosseum on Good Friday and traditional Easter Sunday mass at the Vatican. Fevered celebrations take place annually on 21 April too, with parades, gladiatorial combat and fireworks a city-wide ode to its founder Romulus, back in 753BC.

It’s not an overstatement to say that in spring Rome feels like a city reborn. Its myriad charms seem a world away, but you can be there in a jiffy from TW6.