What to Do in Paris in March 2027: Weather, Events, Outings

March weather in Paris: the averages to know

According to Météo-France's 1991-2020 averages for the Paris-Montsouris station, the mean temperature in March is 9.2 °C, with lows around 5.6 °C and highs around 12.8 °C. On average 45.2 mm of rain falls, spread over about 9.5 days with at least 1 mm of precipitation: it rains often, but rarely for long. Frosts have become rare (1.4 days a year on average), though they cannot be ruled out early in the month.

The real change is in the light: Paris-Montsouris records an average of 134.9 hours of sunshine in March, against 83.7 in February and 177.3 in April. The same week can alternate between 3 °C mornings and mild afternoons on a café terrace; the March heat record, 26 °C, dates from 31 March 2021.

The switch to summer time: Sunday 28 March 2027

During the night of Saturday 27 to Sunday 28 March 2027, at 2am, clocks go forward one hour. On 1 March the sun rises around 7:35am and sets around 6:32pm; on 27 March it sets around 7:12pm, and from 28 March around 8:14pm. Keep this in mind if you have a train, a flight or a booked time slot early that Sunday, which is also Easter Sunday.

Crowds and prices: a month of transition

March is part of the shoulder season. The winter school holidays for the Paris school districts (zone C) end on 22 February 2027, but those in zone B run until Monday 8 March 2027: expect families in the museums and at the Cité des sciences during the first week of the month. Zone C spring holidays only start on Saturday 3 April 2027.

Two periods weigh on accommodation. Women's Fashion Week (1 to 9 March 2027) draws buyers, journalists and fashion house teams, which pushes up hotel prices in central and western Paris: book early if your stay falls that week. The Easter weekend (27-29 March 2027, with a bank holiday on the Monday) attracts many European visitors. Outside these dates, the second half of March remains one of the most affordable windows before the high season. To compare March with the rest of the year, read our guide to the best time to visit Paris.

The first gardens in bloom

March is the month of the first blossoms, whose timing depends each year on the weather in the preceding weeks. Exact dates are therefore never guaranteed.

• Jardin des Plantes (57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris): free entry every day. Its large Shirotae Japanese cherry tree, with low branches covered in white flowers, is one of the most photographed in Paris; it usually blooms between late March and early April. The garden belongs to the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History), whose galleries offer shelter if a shower hits.
• Parc de Sceaux (8 avenue Claude-Perrault, 92330 Sceaux, RER B): around 150 Japanese cherry trees, white in the north grove, pink in the south grove. Their peak bloom tends to come in April: in 2026, the Hanami festival ran from 4 to 19 April, with compulsory free booking for the north grove (3,500 visitors a day, slots opening from 15 March). Watch for the 2027 announcement if your stay runs into April.
• Within central Paris: the City also points to cherry trees in the Jardin des Tuileries, the square René-Viviani (5th), the jardin Tino-Rossi (5th), the Trocadéro gardens and Père-Lachaise cemetery.

For a stroll without a specific blossom in mind, the Jardin du Luxembourg brings out its green chairs and pétanque players from the first mild afternoons.

Dated events in March 2027

Paris half marathon: Sunday 7 March 2027

The HOKA Semi de Paris brings together around 50,000 runners over 21.1 km. Public race bibs are allocated by ballot (registration from 8 to 30 September 2026, results from 1 October, €79 per bib). The 2027 route has not yet been published; in 2026 the race started on boulevard Saint-Germain and finished at place de la Bastille, after a loop through the Bois de Vincennes. That morning, many roads in eastern Paris are closed to traffic: take the metro.

Women's Fashion Week: 1 to 9 March 2027

The Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode has scheduled the autumn-winter 2027-2028 women's ready-to-wear shows from Monday 1 to Tuesday 9 March 2027. Shows are for professionals and invited guests only; for what visitors can actually see, read our guide to Paris Fashion Week.

Salon international de l'agriculture: until 7 March 2027

The agricultural show runs from 27 February to 7 March 2027 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles. Visiting tips are in our article on the Salon de l'agriculture.

Banlieues Bleues: 5 March to 2 April 2027

The 44th edition of this jazz and world music festival takes place in eleven towns in Seine-Saint-Denis, with evening concerts you can reach by metro or RER.

Printemps du cinéma

For three days, every screening is at a single flat price in participating cinemas: the 2026 edition ran from 22 to 24 March at €5 per screening. The 2027 dates are announced by the Fédération nationale des cinémas français at the start of the year.

Easter: Sunday 28 and Monday 29 March 2027

Easter Monday is a public holiday: government offices and banks close, and opening hours for shops and museums vary. Egg hunts, chocolatier window displays and family ideas are covered in our guide to Easter in Paris, and the full list of public holidays in our article on public holidays in France.

Exhibitions to see in March 2027

• Girls. Adolescence, mode et rébellion (Girls: adolescence, fashion and rebellion), at the Grand Palais, until 21 March 2027: artworks, clothing and films on female adolescence. Tuesday to Sunday 9:30am to 8pm, late opening on Fridays until 10:30pm.
• Mika Ninagawa with EiM · Alive with shadows, also at the Grand Palais, until 21 March 2027.
• L'Eau primordiale. Leçons de Mésopotamie (Primordial water: lessons from Mesopotamia), at the Louvre, until 15 March 2027.
• Louvre Photo, at the Louvre, until 3 May 2027: more than 300 photographs taken at the museum, from the 1820s to today.
• Leonor Fini, at the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (11 avenue du Président-Wilson, 75116 Paris), from 26 March to 15 August 2027: nearly 200 works by the surrealist painter. Tuesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm, late opening on Thursdays.

Sunday 7 March 2027 is the first Sunday of the month: the Musée d'Orsay is then free for everyone, with compulsory booking. Other free-entry options are listed in our guide to free museums in Paris.

Outing ideas depending on the weather

The rule in March: book indoor visits for a fixed time, and save walks for the sunny spells.

• Sunny day: picnic in the Jardin des Plantes or the Tuileries, a walk along the Canal Saint-Martin, a climb up to Montmartre in the late afternoon. After 28 March, daylight lasts until past 8pm.
• Showery day: the covered passages of the 2nd arrondissement, such as the Galerie Vivienne, let you stay dry between showers; our guide to the covered passages suggests a route.
• Day of steady rain: major museums, the exhibitions above, a cinema screening. For more ideas, read Paris on a rainy day.
• Evening: a Banlieues Bleues concert, or a Friday late opening at the Grand Palais.

What to pack

• A mid-season coat or a light down jacket, plus a middle layer (jumper, fleece) to take off in the afternoon.
• A light raincoat or a folding umbrella: with nearly ten days of rain in the month, it is essential.
• Closed shoes that can handle rain, cobblestones and the gravel paths of the gardens.
• A scarf for the evenings and the mornings early in the month, which stay close to 5 °C.
• Sunglasses: sunshine increases quickly in the second half of the month.

March 2027 at a glance

Prices checked in September 2026; dates are those announced by the organisers at that time.

Further reading

If you are still deciding when to travel, our guide to the best time to visit Paris compares the seasons. To plan your days on the ground, see the exhibitions in Paris right now and our Paris in 3 days itinerary.