goingtobeijing

We would like to visit Paris in March, our freinds are telling us we are crazy since the weather will not be good and many sidewalk cafes, etc will be closed. We have never been to Paris, are we making a mistake by visiting at this time of year? Thanks.

Scarlett

I have been in Paris in March before and we will be there this March.
We expect everything to be just as it has been in the past .
The weather we had our last trip in March was 50s and windy with sunshine. It can rain any time of the year, take an umbrella.
I have never heard of the sidewalk cafes being closed, unless you mean the small ones? The larger cafes enclose their tables for rainy days, it if is dry but cold, they have these heating things that allow you to remain outside.
I am sure there will be plenty of people who will post here that will reassure you, but even if the weather was bad and some cafes were closed, it is still Paris and worth the trip.
If the weather really worries you, try to go in Sept or Oct..
Keep checking this!
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/07157.html

Nikki

I've been to Paris in February and in March and am going again next month. Lots to do, and the cafes have outdoor heaters over the tables so you can still sit outside.

Travelnut

Have these friends been to Paris in March? If not, I would say "thanks for your concern" and keep planning.

I've been to Paris in March. It is true that it will be mostly chilly and sometimes damp. The gardens may not have all been replanted yet, but there will be some new flowers here and there. The cafés have tables inside, too, you know - you can sit by a window and enjoy the view. Some cafés have those heaters to allow use of the sidewalk tables, but I wouldn't count on it.
The museums, shops, movies, theaters and restaurants will all be open - the lines will be a bit less but there will still be plenty of tourists waiting to see Mona.
Airfare should be less expensive, hotels may or not...
So...what are you waiting for?

Flyboy

I go every year in late February or early March. Airfares are a bargain and while it may not be warm, it is invariably warmer in Paris than it is up here in the snow country of the northern U.S. There are quite a few sidewalk cafes with radiant heating outside, but others have their own interior ambiance and plenty of tables facing the windows.

As for your friends' opinions, they can make their own choices. With travel, going with the seasonal herds is a much more costly proposition than marching to your own drummer and I've found that I can have a LOT more experiences with a contrarian approach to these things.

dln

Well said, Travelnut. That's a good response to friends who say you're crazy!

I went to Paris earlier this month and had a wonderful time. March will be just that much nicer. Go for it.

BTW, quite a few sidewalk cafes have heaters or they drape clear plastic panels so you can still have the outdoors cafe experience even though the weather hasn't warmed up all the way. And there will be more planted flower beds than you'd think. In the little garden behind Notre Dame, I saw a gardener planting pansies and dusty miller...in January!

GoSox

I have a great photo of my son wearing a team France soccer jersey, eating an ice cream cone, with sunburn across his cheeks. He is standing on a bridge over the Seine. It was taken in March 2000 and he had gotten the sunburn in Paris.

francophile03

December is colder than March on the whole. Go!

And speaking of ice cream, I have a pic of two girls walking down the rue St. Louis en L'Ile eating ice cream. This was just last month!

ira

Hi go,

If you can go in May, that's better. If not, go in March.

>..our freinds are telling us we are crazy..<

What do they know?

socialworker

HI--we were just there last March and while the weather was quite variable over our time there, *every* sidewalk cafe we saw was open and most of them very lively w/people. All of them had those--what we call, b/c that is where we have always seen them--California heaters that allow people to sit outside even when the weather is not ideal.

MyriamC

It's all a question of good/bad luck.
Here's a pic taken on March 20, 2004 on the corner of Rue Mouffetard.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...s/IMGP2460.jpg

AGM_Cape_Cod

We will be in Paris this March as we have been the last two years. We found the weather to be cool but there are already flowers in the parks and on some balconies. As far as we are concerned any day in Paris is a beautiful day.

socialworker

Myriam is *so* right!! Our weather ran the gamut from snow flurries and raw cold rain to sunshine and temps that were probably in the high 60s, over the course of a 10 day trip from March 9-19th. So we saw firsthand the range one can experience at that time of year. Of course for 4 days of that time we were away from Paris in the Alsace but there too, March is fickle. But there really is no time that one can count on the weather. We have been there in June and had heat so unbearable even Paris lost some of its charm!!

StCirq

I've been in Paris in March every year for the past dozen or so. I've hit a few days of inclement weather, but mostly it's just windy, a bit chilly, with the occasional rain squall. I was there in February once when it got over 70 F in Paris and everyone was in shirtsleeves.
Parisian sidewalk cafés don't close because of a bit of wet and chill. I'd definitely stop heeding those friends' advice.

Grandmere1

May is my favorite month, but March is my second, and I've been there many times in March and have never regretted it, for all the reasons the above posters mentioned. Go for it!

Beatchick

I loved my trip to Paris in March! It was a bit cool & drizzly but, HEY!, it was Paris!!

I think your friends are crazy for NOT going to Paris in March.

Like Flyboy said, the airfares are much cheaper then. And yes, the cafés were all open. I didn't notice any that were closed except for those undergoing renovations.

elaine

I've been in Paris most months of the year except for March, but I also just got back from a January visit there. The cold wasn't as bad as what I left in New York.
Rain only one day. March might be drizzlier but as many if not more of Paris's charms are indoors rather than outdoors. Crowds will be less than summer and fall, and everything will be open.
If you can't sit outside, sit inside!
-

jody

I'd rather be in Paris in just about any month...it isn't any better or any worse than where I live in the US..well maybe Dec, JAn, Feb, in Fl is warmer ..but it isn't nearly as exciting as being in Paris!

SUNSHINE1223

I have been in Paris twice in March. The weather was beautiful. I wore a leather coat and was just fine. Some days I even took it off. I always carry an umbrella in my healthy backpack cause you can never be too sure.

sandypaws3

The first time we went to Paris, it was April, and it was cold and rainy the whole time. The next year we went in March, so we expected more of the same. It was in the 70's the whole time! You never know what the weather will be like, but I have to say, we even enjoyed Paris when it was cold and rainy You're not crazy at all to go in March!

Sandy