Rome in March: Weather, Events and the Best Tours
Written and checked by the Best Rome Tours editorial team. .
March is the most complicated month of the ten and the most useful to plan properly. The entire of Holy Week falls in March this year, Easter Sunday is 28 March, the clocks go forward the same day, and the free last-Sunday opening at the Vatican Museums is cancelled as a result.
Quick pick: the best Rome tours in March
| # | Tour | Best for | Duration | From | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Entry Ticket | The single essential Vatican ticket | Varies | £28 | 4.5 (153,443) |
| 2 | Vatican Museums & St Peter's Basilica Tour | Museums, Sistine Chapel and Basilica in one go | Varies | £59 | 4.3 (81,707) |
| 3 | Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Skip-the-Line | Independent visitors in a peak-demand fortnight | Varies | £35 | 4.4 (16,773) |
| 4 | Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Skip-the-Line | One guided sweep of the whole Vatican | Varies | £51 | 4.6 (10,483) |
| 5 | Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill Tour | Ancient Rome in spring weather | Varies | £42 | 4.8 (87,363) |
| 6 | Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & Basilica Tour | A guided route with a curated selection | Varies | £59 | 4.7 (17,015) |
| 7 | Colosseum Arena Floor, Palatine & Forum Guided Tour | Standing on the arena floor | Varies | £33 | 4.5 (26,331) |
| 8 | St Peter's Basilica Pre-reserved Ticket | Holy Week at St Peter's on a budget | Varies | £10 | 4.3 (1,150) |
| 9 | Colosseum & Forum with Audio Guide App | Going at your own pace in a busy month | Varies | £36 | 4.2 (29,332) |
| 10 | St Peter's Basilica, Dome Climb & Underground | The best view in Rome, back in season | Varies | £28 | 4.8 (5,531) |
Prices, ratings and review counts verified against live GetYourGuide listings on 28 July 2026. Duration varies by the option you choose at checkout.
Is March a good time to visit Rome?
Yes, with the calendar open in front of you. Average highs climb to 15.7C with seven rain days, and daylight passes twelve hours. But Holy Week falls entirely inside March this year rather than spilling into April, so the last ten days are the busiest of the ten months at the Vatican.
Two separate things happen in March and they collide at the end of it. The first is spring: temperatures rise from a 15.7C average high, the wisteria comes out, and the daylight passes twelve hours around the equinox. The second is Easter, which this year is as early as it realistically gets, putting Palm Sunday on 21 March and Easter Sunday on 28 March.
That matters more than any other single fact on this page. In a normal year Holy Week lands in April and March is a straightforward, cheap, pleasant shoulder month. This year the whole of Holy Week, Palm Sunday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday, sits inside March. Pilgrim demand, hotel pricing and Vatican queueing all move a month earlier with it.
The practical consequence is a sharply split month. Up to about 18 March, Rome is quiet, cheap and improving daily. From 19 March onwards it is peak season. If you have flexibility, the first three weeks of March are among the best-value dates in this entire ten-month window.
Rome weather in March
Average highs of 15.7C and lows of 6C, with 59mm of rain over seven days, the driest month of the winter half. Sunshine reaches six hours a day. Daylight passes twelve hours at the equinox and jumps again when the clocks go forward on 28 March.
| Measure | March | Annual context |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 15.7C | Ranges from 11.9C in January to 31.4C in August |
| Average low | 6C | Ranges from 3.5C in January to 19.8C in August |
| Rain days | 7 days, 59mm | Driest is July at 2 days, wettest is November at 9 |
| Daylight, mid-month | 11h 54m | From 9h 09m in December to 15h 12m in June |
| Sunshine per day | 6 hours | From 4 hours in December to 11 hours in July |
| Sea temperature | 14.5C | Tyrrhenian coast at Rome, peaks at 26C in August |
Temperature, rainfall, rain days, sunshine and sea temperature: Climates to Travel, Rome (Ciampino) 1991 to 2020 averages. Daylight is the length of day on the 15th, from timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables for Rome.
March is the driest month between October and May at 59mm, which is a useful thing to know if you are choosing between March and April for a walking-led trip. It is also the month with the widest day-to-day variation: a mid-March week can deliver 20C sunshine or 11C and rain, sometimes in the same week.
The equinox falls on 20 March, when day and night are close to equal. What actually transforms the month is the clock change on 28 March: sunset jumps from about 18:16 in mid-March to about 19:34 by the 31st, which puts a full extra evening back into every day.
Wind is still a factor early in the month, and the Roman spring often arrives in a rush rather than gradually. Do not pack for the average; pack for both ends of it.
Crowds, prices and what to book ahead
A month of two halves. Up to about 18 March, Rome is still in the low season with same-week museum availability. From 19 March onward, Holy Week demand takes over, and Vatican queues, hotel rates and restaurant bookings all move to peak-season conditions.
If your dates are fixed and they include Holy Week, book everything now. Vatican Museums entry, Colosseum tickets, the Borghese Gallery and restaurants in the centre all need advance commitment for the last ten days of the month, and the papal liturgies of Holy Week are ticketed separately through the Prefecture of the Papal Household with demand far exceeding supply.
If your dates are flexible, the first three weeks of March are one of the genuine bargains of the year: spring weather, winter prices, and the museums still quiet. The only fixed closure in that window is 19 March.
The Borghese Gallery is unaffected by any of this in the sense that it never admits anyone without a timed reservation, but its slots for the Easter period disappear a long way ahead. Book it before anything else if it is on your list.
The best tours in Rome in March
March's ranking is shaped by Holy Week. Vatican and St Peter's options move up because that is where demand and the significant events are, and the low-cost pre-reserved Basilica ticket enters the ten for the same reason.
1. Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Entry Ticket
4.5 out of 5 from 153,443 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £28 • Varies
Top on review volume and the item to book first this month. With Holy Week inside March, availability in the last ten days tightens more than in any other month here.
Best for in March: The single essential Vatican ticket
2. Vatican Museums & St Peter's Basilica Tour
4.3 out of 5 from 81,707 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £59 • Varies
Ranked up for March. During Holy Week the security queue on St Peter's Square is at its longest of the year, and the guided internal route avoids rejoining it.
Best for in March: Museums, Sistine Chapel and Basilica in one go
3. Vatican Museums & Sistine Chapel Skip-the-Line
4.4 out of 5 from 16,773 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £35 • Varies
Ranked up. The plain Vatican queue in Holy Week is the worst of the ten months, so the value of skipping it peaks here.
Best for in March: Independent visitors in a peak-demand fortnight
4. Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Skip-the-Line
4.6 out of 5 from 10,483 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £51 • Varies
Ranked up sharply for March. If you are visiting in Holy Week, one guided entry covering all three sites is worth considerably more than three separate attempts.
Best for in March: One guided sweep of the whole Vatican
5. Colosseum, Forum & Palatine Hill Tour
4.8 out of 5 from 87,363 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £42 • Varies
The most-reviewed guided route in Rome. March's 59mm of rain makes it the driest month of the winter half, so the open sections of the walk hold up well.
Best for in March: Ancient Rome in spring weather
6. Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel & Basilica Tour
4.7 out of 5 from 17,015 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £59 • Varies
Highest-rated of the high-volume Vatican guided tours. Book it for the first three weeks if you can, when slots are still available at short notice.
Best for in March: A guided route with a curated selection
7. Colosseum Arena Floor, Palatine & Forum Guided Tour
4.5 out of 5 from 26,331 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £33 • Varies
Arena floor capacity is capped and Easter demand empties it fast. If your trip is in the last ten days of March, this is the second thing to book after the Vatican.
Best for in March: Standing on the arena floor
8. St Peter's Basilica Pre-reserved Ticket
4.3 out of 5 from 1,150 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £10 • Varies
New to the ten for March. The lowest-priced listing in our Rome set, and it puts you inside the Basilica in the one month of the year when that building is the centre of everything.
Best for in March: Holy Week at St Peter's on a budget
9. Colosseum & Forum with Audio Guide App
4.2 out of 5 from 29,332 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £36 • Varies
Self-paced entry is the right format when the city is full: you are not tied to a group's schedule in a fortnight when everything is running late.
Best for in March: Going at your own pace in a busy month
10. St Peter's Basilica, Dome Climb & Underground
4.8 out of 5 from 5,531 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £28 • Varies
Ranked in for March. The dome switches from winter to summer hours on 28 March, extending the climb window from 17:00 to 18:00 just as the evenings arrive.
Best for in March: The best view in Rome, back in season
The open-top bus tours are still out of the ten in March. They come back in April, when average highs pass 18C and the top deck stops being a novelty you regret. The Colosseum evening tours also stay out: sunset only moves past 19:30 in the final days of the month.
Events and festivals in March 2027
The whole of Holy Week falls in March this year: Palm Sunday on 21 March, Good Friday on 26 March, Easter Sunday on 28 March and Easter Monday on 29 March. The clocks go forward on 28 March, and the free last-Sunday opening at the Vatican Museums is cancelled.
| Event | Dates | Where | Free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vatican Museums closed, Feast of St Joseph | Friday 19 March | Vatican Museums | Closed all day |
| Spring equinox | Saturday 20 March | Rome | Not applicable |
| Palm Sunday | Sunday 21 March | St Peter's Square and churches across Rome | Free, ticket required for papal liturgy |
| Papal general audience | Wednesdays 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 March | Vatican | Free, ticket required |
| Good Friday | Friday 26 March | Colosseum and St Peter's | Free to attend the public liturgy |
| Easter Sunday, clocks go forward | Sunday 28 March | Nationwide | Free, ticket required for papal liturgy |
| Easter Monday, Pasquetta | Monday 29 March | Nationwide | Public holiday |
Easter falling on 28 March is unusually early, and it puts the entire of Holy Week inside March rather than April. Anyone comparing March and April for a trip should understand that this year the crowd pattern is reversed from the norm: March is the Easter month and April is the calmer one.
The papal liturgies of Holy Week, including Palm Sunday, the Good Friday Way of the Cross at the Colosseum and Easter Sunday mass, are free but ticketed through the Prefecture of the Papal Household, and demand is far greater than capacity. Apply directly and well in advance rather than relying on third-party offers.
The clock change on 28 March is worth noting separately, because it lands on Easter Sunday. If you are trying to make an early service, remember the hour goes forward overnight.
What is closed in March
March carries the single most important closure detail of the ten months. 28 March is simultaneously Easter Sunday and the last Sunday of the month, and the Vatican's own rule cancels the free last-Sunday opening when it coincides with Easter Sunday, so the Museums are closed that day.
| Site | Closed | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | Friday 19 March, Feast of St Joseph | On the Vatican's fixed annual closure list. |
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | Sunday 28 March, Easter Sunday | The free last-Sunday opening is explicitly cancelled when it falls on Easter Sunday, so the Museums are closed. This is the one to check before booking. |
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | Monday 29 March, Easter Monday, expected | The Vatican's published list carried the equivalent Easter Monday date in the previous year. Confirm the current calendar on the official site before booking. |
| Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel | Sundays 7, 14 and 21 March | Standard Sunday closure. Open Monday to Saturday, 08:00 to 20:00, last entry 18:00. |
| Vatican Gardens and Via Triumphalis Necropolis | Sundays and public holidays, including Easter Monday | A year-round rule. Both need advance reservation. |
| Borghese Gallery | Mondays | Open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:00 to 19:00. No admission without a timed reservation. |
Vatican opening days, hours and closure dates: Vatican Museums official days and hours of closure. The only official Vatican Museums ticket seller is tickets.museivaticani.va.
This is the detail almost every Rome guide gets wrong. Most sites list the last Sunday of the month as a free Vatican Museums morning without exception. The Vatican's own rule states that the free opening applies provided it does not coincide with Easter Sunday, 29 June, 25 December, 26 December or 31 December. This year the last Sunday of March is Easter Sunday, so it does not run and the Museums are shut.
That leaves a tight Easter window. The Museums are open on Saturday 27 March, closed on Sunday 28 March, expected to be closed on Easter Monday 29 March, and open again from Tuesday 30 March. If your trip covers Easter weekend, book the Saturday or the Tuesday.
St Peter's dome switches from winter to summer hours on 28 March, extending from 07:30 to 17:00 to 07:00 to 18:00. That change follows the daylight saving boundary rather than the calendar month. For the Colosseum, we could not verify the official hours or any Good Friday arrangements from a primary source, so check the official Colosseum site directly, particularly for 26 March.
What to wear and pack for Rome in March
March demands the widest wardrobe of the ten months. Highs average 15.7C but the range within a single week can run from 11C and wet to 20C and clear. Pack layers, a light waterproof, and something smart enough for a Holy Week church if that is why you are coming.
The Roman spring does not arrive on a schedule. A March trip can deliver shirt-sleeve afternoons in the Villa Borghese or a cold wet week that feels like February. Layers solve it; a single mid-weight coat does not.
If you are attending Holy Week services, the Vatican dress code is enforced more, not less, strictly, and you may be standing outdoors in St Peter's Square for a long time before an event starts. Comfortable shoes and a layer you can sit on are worth more than an umbrella, which is often not permitted in ticketed areas.
- Layers for a range that can run from 11C to 20C in one week
- Light waterproof for seven rain days
- Shoulder and knee cover, enforced strictly during Holy Week
- Comfortable shoes for long standing waits at ticketed liturgies
- Sunglasses, March sun is stronger than the temperature suggests
How we chose these tours
We start from verified GetYourGuide review volume, then re-order for the month so that the experiences that actually work in March's weather and daylight sit highest. Every price, rating and review count on this page was checked against the live listing on 28 July 2026.
- Popularity first. The base order is the verified review count on the live GetYourGuide listing, which is the only booking signal we can check independently.
- Then seasonal fit. A tour moves up or down for a specific, stated reason tied to that month: heat, rain days, daylight hours, sunset time or a closure. Every move is explained in the entry itself rather than left implied.
- Nothing is invented. Prices, star ratings and review counts come from the live product page. We do not publish an opening time, closure or festival date we could not confirm from an official source, and we say so where we could not.
- We earn a commission. Booking links go to GetYourGuide and pay us if you book. That does not change the ranking: the review counts are public and you can check every one of them against the listing.
FAQs about Rome in March
When is Easter in Rome this year?
Easter Sunday falls on 28 March, which is unusually early. That puts the whole of Holy Week inside March rather than April: Palm Sunday on 21 March, Good Friday on 26 March, Easter Sunday on 28 March and Easter Monday on 29 March. Anyone comparing March and April should know the usual crowd pattern is reversed this year.
Is the free Vatican Museums Sunday cancelled in March?
Yes. The last Sunday of March is 28 March, which is Easter Sunday, and the Vatican's own rule states the free last-Sunday opening applies provided it does not coincide with Easter Sunday, 29 June, 25 December, 26 December or 31 December. The Museums are closed that day. Most Rome guides list this Sunday as a free opening and are wrong for this year.
Are the Vatican Museums open over Easter weekend?
They are open on Saturday 27 March, closed on Easter Sunday 28 March, expected to be closed on Easter Monday 29 March, and open again from Tuesday 30 March. The Museums also close on Friday 19 March for the Feast of St Joseph, a fixed annual date. Confirm the published calendar on the official Vatican Museums site before booking.
When do the clocks change in Rome in March?
Summer time starts on Sunday 28 March, which is also Easter Sunday this year, so remember the hour goes forward overnight if you are trying to make an early service. The effect on sightseeing is large: sunset moves from about 18:16 in mid-March to about 19:34 by the 31st.
What is the weather like in Rome in March?
Average highs of 15.7C and lows of 6C, with 59mm of rain over about seven days. That makes March the driest month between October and May. Sunshine averages six hours a day. The day-to-day variation is the widest of the year: a single week can deliver 20C and clear or 11C and wet.
Should I visit Rome in March or April this year?
March is cheaper and quieter for the first three weeks, then becomes the busiest fortnight of the ten months once Holy Week starts on 21 March. April is warmer, longer in daylight and, unusually for this year, calmer because Easter has already passed. If your dates are flexible, the first three weeks of March are among the best value in this whole window.