Paris in March is a hinge. The month opens with 11 hours of daylight and closes with nearly 12 hours 50 minutes, and on Sunday 28 March 2027 the clocks go forward and the sunset jumps from 19:14 to 20:15 overnight. In 2027 that same Sunday is Easter, which means the quietest weeks of the year and the first real crowd of the year both sit inside one month.
The clock change is the story
Most months change gradually. March changes in a single night. On Saturday 27 March 2027 the sun sets at 19:14; on Sunday 28 March, after the clocks move to summer time, it sets at 20:15. Nothing about the weather changes, but the shape of the day does – dinner before dark becomes possible, the river walk after the museum becomes possible, and the terrace at 19:00 stops being a joke.
If you can choose, book the second half. A trip running 24–31 March gets both versions of the month and ends with an evening; a trip running 1–8 March gets neither.
Weather: the least predictable month of the year
Highs average about 12°C and lows about 4°C, with rain on roughly twelve days. Those averages hide an unusually wide spread: a March week in Paris can deliver 18°C and blue sky, or 6°C with wind and horizontal drizzle, and it is common to get both in the same seven days.
Pack accordingly: layers rather than one warm coat, something properly waterproof, and shoes that survive a wet pavement. The wind matters more in March than the temperature, and the open spaces – the Champ de Mars, the Tuileries, the quays – are several degrees less pleasant than the sheltered streets.
Easter, 28–29 March 2027
Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027 and Easter Monday, 29 March, is a French public holiday. What that means in practice:
- Monday 29 March runs as a holiday: banks closed, many shops closed, public transport on a reduced timetable. Most major museums open – but the Musée d’Orsay closes on Mondays anyway, so it is shut, while the Louvre is open (it closes Tuesdays).
- The churches are the event. Holy Week and Easter services at Notre-Dame, Saint-Sulpice and Saint-Eustache are the fullest of the year, and capacity is managed. If you want to attend, arrive well before the published time; if you want to see the building, come on a different day.
- The chocolate is not a cliché. The week before Easter turns the pâtisserie windows into a competition, and buying from a good neighbourhood chocolatier is one of the better cheap pleasures of a March trip.
- Easter clusters European school holidays, which makes the last week of March the busiest and most expensive week of the month by a distance.
What has not started yet
March sits before several things people assume are always on:
- The Versailles fountain shows. The Grandes Eaux Musicales season starts in early April – 4 April in the 2026 season. A March day trip to Versailles is the château and a walk, not the gardens as they were designed to be seen.
- The river summer. Paris Plages and the supervised Seine swimming sites are a July and August programme.
- The blossom you have seen photographs of. Magnolias are usually the first thing out, in the second half of March; the cherry blossom crowds at the Parc de Sceaux are an April event.
What March does have is the Jardin des Plantes and the Luxembourg starting to fill up again, the green chairs back out around the pond, and the first genuinely warm afternoons of the year.
Free museum days in March 2027
- Friday 5 March 2027 – the Louvre is free from 18:00, as on the first Friday of every month except July and August. Reserve a slot.
- Sunday 7 March 2027 – the first Sunday of the month: free permanent collections at a long list of national museums. March is the last month of the October-to-March window in which the Orangerie also takes part, so it is included; from April it is not.
- The Louvre closes Tuesdays, the Musée d’Orsay closes Mondays, and Orsay requires a timed slot throughout its entrance-hall rebuild, which runs from March 2026 to summer 2028.
The first three weeks of March are still winter-quiet inside the museums. The last week, with Easter, is not.
Salon de l’Agriculture runs to 7 March 2027
France’s largest public show finishes its run at Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles, on Sunday 7 March 2027, open daily 09:00 to 19:00. If your trip starts in the first week of March it is worth a morning: every region of France with a tasting stand, cheese and charcuterie and cider, and livestock halls that children tend to remember longer than the Louvre. It also keeps hotels in the 15th tight until it closes.
Crowds and prices: the shoulder begins
March is two markets. Until roughly the 20th, rates sit close to the winter floor and the museums are near their quietest. From then, spring pricing arrives and Easter compresses demand into a single week.
The practical read: the second and third weeks of March are the sweet spot – low-season rates, lengthening days and no holiday crowd. The final week costs more than any week since New Year. For a realistic daily figure, see the Paris travel budget.
Where to stay
March still lets you buy centrality at close to winter prices, at least for the first three weeks, and centrality is worth having in a month where you may need to abandon an outdoor plan at short notice. Where to stay in Paris sets out the arrondissements by what each is actually good for, and the 3-day Paris itinerary works well in March if you keep the indoor blocks flexible.
The March 2027 calendar
- To Sunday 7 March – Salon International de l’Agriculture at Porte de Versailles.
- Friday 5 March – the Louvre is free from 18:00.
- Sunday 7 March – first Sunday of the month: free permanent collections at many national museums, the Orangerie included for the last time until October.
- Monday 8 March – International Women’s Day, marked with marches and public programming across the city.
- Sunday 28 March – the clocks go forward; sunset moves from 19:14 to 20:15. Also Easter Sunday in 2027.
- Monday 29 March – Easter Monday, a public holiday.
Read alongside
- Paris in February – cheaper, quieter, and ninety minutes of daylight gained.
- Paris in April – the blossom, the fountains and the start of the season.
- Paris in June – the longest days of the year.
- Best time to visit Paris – all twelve months compared.
- Paris travel budget – shoulder-season daily costs.
- Where to stay in Paris – choosing an arrondissement.
- Is Paris safe? – the practical version.
Frequently asked
Is March a good time to visit Paris?
The middle two weeks are among the best-value weeks of the year: winter prices, quiet museums and daylight that is visibly returning. The weather is the gamble – March is the least predictable month in Paris – and the last week of March 2027 carries Easter, which is the busiest and most expensive week since New Year.
How warm is Paris in March?
Highs average about 12°C and lows about 4°C, with around twelve days of rain and a genuinely wide spread: 18°C and 6°C can happen in the same week. Layers and a waterproof beat one heavy coat.
When do the clocks change in Paris in 2027?
On Sunday 28 March 2027, when France moves to summer time. Sunset goes from 19:14 on the 27th to 20:15 on the 28th.
When is Easter in 2027 and what closes?
Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027 and Easter Monday, 29 March, is a public holiday: banks and many shops closed, reduced public transport. The Louvre is open on the Monday; the Musée d’Orsay is closed, as it is every Monday.
Are the Versailles fountains running in March?
No. The Grandes Eaux Musicales season starts in early April and runs at weekends to the beginning of November. In March you are visiting the château, not the gardens as designed.
Is there cherry blossom in Paris in March?
Magnolias usually come out in the second half of March. The well-known cherry blossom at the Parc de Sceaux is normally an April event, and the timing shifts by a week or two each year.
Is the Louvre free in March 2027?
Yes, on Friday 5 March from 18:00 – the first Friday of the month. Many other national museums are free on Sunday 7 March.
How much daylight does Paris get in March?
Just under 11 hours on 1 March 2027 (07:35 to 18:34), rising to 12 hours 47 minutes by the 31st (07:33 to 20:19 on summer time).
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
