Easter weekend provides an occasion to relax and appreciate family, and is a good chance to travel as well. HomeExchange takes you around the world to discover a variety of Easter festivities. To find accommodation in each destination, click on the links below to browse homes available for house swap.
Our Top Picks for Easter Weekend
Sevilla, Spain
No matter where you’re from, whatever your religion, Sevilla is the place to be over Easter weekend. It’s the celebration of contrasts that brings everyone together in its streets: historical tradition and multiculturalism, revelry and respect, religion and art, music and silence. Sevillanos spend all year waiting for this festival.
The city and its inhabitants show off their finest garments on Easter Sunday, and it’s worth joining in. Put on your best shoes and wander the streets—enjoy the parade, dance with Sevillanos from all walks of life, listen to the emotive saetas chants, taste the best Iberian ham and wine, sample a churro and hot chocolate from one of the street vendors. Or even take a Flamenco class!
Burgundy, France
Located less than two hours from Paris, Burgundy is accessible by many of the main highways, and thus a wonderful region for an escape over Easter weekend. Burgundy holds the towns of Dijon, Cluny, Beaune, and Auxerre… All full of treasures for the whole family! Calm countryside walks and monuments to visit, the Abbey of Cluny and the Hotel-Dieu Museum.
What’s more, the children will love participating in one of the several Easter egg hunts that are organized over Easter weekend. Join a scavenger hunt for chocolate eggs in the garden of the Château de Sully, play knights and royalty and decorate your eggs with the team at Château Pierreclos, or visit the animals and discover a farm while searching for eggs at Les Animaux des Petits Bois.
Munich, Germany
Every year on Easter Sunday, the whole of Munich gets together at the Olympic Park for Osterfest (Easter event). Built for the 1972 Olympics, the enormous event/sports complex includes a stadium, a lake, and an event hall where people start to gather at 11am to celebrate all day. Between a variety of events, this party is sure to have something to offer the whole family. Children can hunt for Easter eggs on the huge terrain, paint eggs, or have their faces painted as bunnies.
The adults can have their own fun with activities, interviews, games, and competitions hosted by a local radio station. The Olympic Park also holds carnival rides, slides, and a huge trampoline. If you get a little hungry, there are numerous food stalls to satisfy any appetite.
Rome, Italy
For Easter weekend, the center of the festivities is in Rome! The city fills with a springlike atmosphere that makes strolling the city streets a pleasure. It’s the perfect season to visit all the Roman monuments, from the Colosseum to the Piazza di Spagna, and to visit the free exhibits put on by the major Roman museums.
The most important event in the city is the Holy Mass of the Pope, which attracts thousands of people from all over the world each year. You can also visit the Vatican City and the Holy See. After the Pope’s Mass and the museums, you can take a break and do some shopping and sample the famous Roman cuisine.
Montreal, Canada
Celebrate the return of spring in Montreal this year with good food and family fun! Take in a bit of culture on Friday evening at the Philharmonic Society’s concert in the Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste. Then spend your weekend relaxing! Treat yourself to a breakfast of hot cross buns or a full-blown brunch at one of Montreal’s many sugar shacks if you’re feeling up to it!
Escape the cold and dreary street and plunge into the fantastical Butterflies Go Free event at the Montreal Botanical Garden. Kids and adults alike will be awed by the thousands of species fluttering around your heads. Follow this up with a turn around one of Montreal’s many skating rinks and head home to a hearty dinner of maple-glazed ham. Don’t forget to stop by your local artisan chocolatier to pick up dessert.
Braga, Portugal
Located in the North of Portugal, Braga celebrates the Holy Week like no other. Visitors are in for a quite a show; believers celebrate the holiday by reenacting scenes from the Bible in huge parades through the streets. One of the most impressive parades is that of the Lord Ecce Homo. Revelers dress up as hooded penitents and walk the streets barefoot while carrying torches. An ambience of contemplation reigns.
On Easter Sunday, the mood shifts to joy as the bells of the church sound their chorus and people fill the streets with song. Children ring their own bells to the march of the procession, and the crowd of Portuguese and foreigners alike comes together to rejoice. Some celebrate the religious implications of the holiday, some celebrate the fresh start that comes with spring, and some come just to admire the spectacle.
Join the HomeExchange community to take advantage of all our homes this Easter holiday!
