York is absolutely buzzing with things to see and do over the Easter period.

The first York Chocolate Festival runs from Good Friday to Easter Monday. The four-day festival will celebrate the many chocolate products that have been created in the city – including Chocolate Orange, Smarties, Aero and Kit Kat. It will focus on local artisan chocolatemakers and skilled chocolatiers who fill York's restaurants, shops and hotels with the most delectable cakes, pastries, chocolates and desserts.

A Chocolate Market will showcase the fine quality creations from local chocolatemakers, while venues and attractions throughout the city will tell their own story of their role in York’s chocolate story. There will be chocolate tastings, workshops and specialist insights into the history, technology, product development and industry that is still strong in the city today.

For details about event bookings, visit yorkchocolatefestival.co.uk or call (01904) 898393.

The Lord Mayor’s Easter Egg Hunt takes place on Saturday, April 7, from 10am-1pm (participants must start no later than noon). Collect your treasure sheet from the Jorvik museum and set out on a city-wide quest for chocolate. Solve the puzzles to visit six locations, with a treat at each stop. The cost is £1.50 per child, which includes admission to the Mansion House and Micklegate Bar Museum.

At the Yorkshire Museum, a new exhibition called 1212: The Making Of The City opens on April 7.

In 1212, the city of York was given the power to collect its own taxes by the king. Gaining independence from the Crown marked a pivotal moment in the history of the city and paved the way for the success that was to flourish over the following centuries.

Colour, sound and film will capture the vibrancy, artistic expression and imagination of the medieval city at its height, bringing 800 years of York’s heritage back to life and complementing the return of York’s Mystery Plays to the Museum Gardens. The Yorkshire Museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm. For more information, go to yorkshiremuseum.org.uk or telephone 01904 687687.

Another new exhibition, starting on April 1 at Fairfax House, is Views Of York: Portrait Of A City – 1610 To The Present Day.

For a full list of events, visit visityork. org/2012, call (01904) 550099, or e-mail info@visityork.org.

The 11th York Open Studios event concludes this weekend, with more than 60 professional artists opening up their homes, studios and exhibitions to the public.

For more details, call (01904) 470196 or visit yorkopenstudios.co.uk.