Easter falls in spring in the Northern Hemisphere and early autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, making it one of the year's most versatile travel windows. Our hotel gurus chose these five countries because they offer some of the most delightful Easter experiences. Spain, and Seville in particular, is renowned for its Holy Week celebrations; Italy, too, does a pretty special Easter week; and Argentina revels in the cooler temperatures and fiesta spirit. Head to Mexico for cities or beaches (or a combination of both), or book a stay in Malta for extraordinary street processions and fabulous seafood.

Spain

Easter in Spain is Semana Santa — Holy Week — and there's nothing quite like it anywhere in the world. The processions that move through the streets of Seville, Malaga, Granada, and hundreds of smaller Andalucian towns are not primarily tourist spectacles: they are living religious traditions maintained by the brotherhoods (cofradias) that have carried them since the 16th century. The floats depicting scenes from the Passion, the penitents in their robes, the brass bands playing saeta flamenco laments, and the extraordinary devotion of the local crowds make Semana Santa one of Europe's great cultural events.

• Triana House is a boutique hotel in the Triana neighbourhood of Seville — the neighbourhood that gives its name to the ceramics and flamenco traditions that define much of Andalusian culture — across the Guadalquivir River from the main Semana Santa procession routes. Its intimate scale, neighbourhood character, and proximity to Seville's extraordinary Semana Santa make it a compelling Easter base.
• Parador de Toledo is the Spanish national parador chain's property in Toledo, the medieval capital of Castile, set on a hill above the city with extraordinary views over the El Greco city that barely looks different from the 16th-century paintings the artist made of it. The parador is a former convent, and Toledo's Easter religious atmosphere, with its own Semana Santa processions, is quite exceptional.
• Gran Hotel Miramar is the finest hotel on the Malaga coastline, a monumental 1926 palace overlooking the Mediterranean with 200 rooms, a spa, and a position that makes it the grandest Easter base in coastal Andalusia. Malaga's Semana Santa is second only to Seville's in scale and emotional intensity.
• Parador de León is one of Spain's most extraordinary hotel buildings: a 16th-century hostelry attached to the collegiate church of San Marcos, with 211 rooms in a building of palatial grandeur, set in the centre of one of Spain's finest Romanesque and Gothic cities.

Italy

Italy at Easter is Rome, Florence, and the Italian countryside at their most spiritually and culturally charged. The papal Easter Mass in St Peter's Square, the Easter Monday Scoppio del Carro firework display in Florence (when a mechanical dove ignites a cart of fireworks in the Piazza del Duomo), and the Easter week ceremonies across the country all give the season a dimension unavailable at other times of year. The spring light in Italy in March and April, and the beginning of the artichoke and asparagus season, make it one of the finest times to visit.

• Residenze Argileto is a boutique apartment hotel in the heart of Rome, between the Pantheon and the Campo de' Fiori, with individually furnished rooms in a beautifully restored historic building that gives a genuinely residential experience of the city at Easter.
• Palazzo di Camugliano is a stunning property in the heart of Florence, whose lavish interiors are ideal for those looking for romance as well as a great location which puts you within walking distance of all the main sights and shopping.
• Tenuta San Masseo is a wine estate hotel in Assisi, the hill town of St Francis, where Easter has a particular spiritual resonance. The estate's organic wines, swimming pool, and views over the Umbrian valley make it an excellent base for exploring one of Italy's most culturally significant small towns.
• Hotel Gardenia al Lago is a small, well-regarded hotel on the shore of Lake Garda, with views across the water to the mountains beyond. Lake Garda in Easter week — the water cool, the lemon groves of the Riviera degli Olivi in blossom, the old harbour towns of Sirmione, Riva, and Gargnano at their most atmospheric — is one of the finest spring destinations in Italy.

Argentina

Easter is early autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, and in Argentina, the heat of Buenos Aires has broken, the wine harvest in Mendoza is underway, and the landscapes of Patagonia and the northwest are at their most vivid. Easter (Semana Santa) is a significant holiday in Argentina, and Argentinians use the long weekend for travel and celebration, giving the country a particular energy at this time.

• Jardin Escondido is the Francis Ford Coppola private villa hotel in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. With a hidden garden and very personal atmosphere, it's an ideal base for exploring the city's tango culture, steak restaurants, and extraordinary bookshops at Easter.
• Puerto Pireo is a boutique hotel in Tigre, the delta town north of Buenos Aires where the Paraná River breaks into a maze of islands and waterways, with water taxis, rowing boats, and riverside restaurants as the primary entertainment. The delta in autumn is beautiful.
• Awasi Iguazu is a luxury camp in the private nature reserve adjacent to the Iguazu Falls — the world's largest waterfall system — with private vehicles and guides for each guest, and luxury accommodation in a forest setting. Easter at Iguazu, when the crowds have thinned slightly from peak summer, is very good.
• House of Jasmines is a colonial estancia in the Salta region of northwestern Argentina, on a working ranch with horses, gauchos, and the extraordinary mountain and valley scenery of the Andean northwest. The Salta region's colonial churches, llama herders, and ancient pre-Columbian cultures make Easter here a genuinely different experience from the estancias of the pampas.

Mexico

Mexico celebrates Easter as Semana Santa, one of the most significant events in the Mexican calendar — the country virtually shuts down during Holy Week. The celebrations are extraordinarily varied: from the sombre, atmospheric processions in Taxco and Oaxaca to the tourist-filled beach towns of Cancún and Puerto Vallarta. For the discerning traveller, the colonial cities, the indigenous communities of Oaxaca and Chiapas, and the cenotes and ruins of the Yucatán all reward an Easter visit.

• Quinta Real Oaxaca is a five-star hotel in a former 16th-century convent in the centre of Oaxaca, one of Mexico's most culturally rich cities. The arches and courtyards of the original building, the collection of pre-Columbian artefacts, and the restaurant serving traditional Oaxacan cuisine (mole negro, tlayudas, mezcal) all reflect the depth of a city that deserves more time than most visitors give it.
• Decu Downtown is a boutique hotel in Mexico City's Roma Norte neighbourhood with a strong design identity and well-appointed rooms that reflect the creativity of one of Mexico City's most compelling residential districts.
• Nomade Holbox is a bohemian hotel on Holbox island — a car-free barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico that is one of the most relaxed and beautiful places in the Yucatán — with open-air villas, hammocks over the water, and the extraordinary bioluminescence that makes swimming at night here so remarkable.
• La Purificadora is a design hotel in the Mexican city of Puebla, in a beautifully converted 19th-century water purification plant near the historic centre, with a rooftop pool overlooking the colonial city and a strong restaurant programme. Puebla's own Semana Santa celebrations are very atmospheric, and the city's culinary culture — mole poblano, chiles en nogada, cemitas — is as important to understanding Mexican food as Oaxaca's.

Malta

Easter in Malta is the most intensely Catholic Easter celebration in Europe outside Rome itself: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday bring extraordinary religious processions through the streets of Valletta, Rabat, Mosta, and the old cities, with life-size statues carried through narrow streets by hundreds of participants. The combination of the Knights of St John's extraordinary architectural legacy, the prehistoric temples (the oldest freestanding structures in the world), the warm early spring sunshine, and the island's superb fresh fish make Malta one of the most rewarding Easter destinations in the Mediterranean.

• The Phoenicia Hotel is Malta's historic grand dame, a five-star property outside Valletta's walls that has welcomed guests since 1947. The gardens, pool, recently renovated rooms, and proximity to the Valletta city gate and fortifications make it the most established Easter base on the island.
• The Xara Palace is a boutique hotel in the medieval fortified city of Mdina — the "Silent City" — with just 17 rooms in a beautifully restored 17th-century palazzo within the walls. Mdina has no cars, very few permanent residents, and the quality of silence and historical atmosphere that makes it one of the most remarkable small cities in Europe. At Easter, the torch-lit processions through the city's narrow streets are extraordinary.
• Lure Hotel is a contemporary boutique hotel on St George's Bay in St Julian's, well positioned for Easter celebrations across the island and for the restaurants and nightlife of the Paceville area.
• Valletta Suites is a collection of apartment-style suites in the heart of Valletta, the Maltese capital that was European Capital of Culture in 2018 and whose extraordinary concentration of Baroque churches, fortifications, and cultural institutions is best experienced from a base within the walls themselves.

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