If you are weighing France events March 2027 against other months, the short answer is that March is a shoulder month with a few strong, specific draws rather than one headline festival. The big carnivals of the Riviera finish on February 28, the Paris marathon waits until April 4, and the middle of the month belongs to a stage race, a poetry season, a trade fair on the Riviera and, at the very end, Easter. This guide lays out what is confirmed, what is still pending, and how to build a trip around it. For month-by-month context, our best time to visit France guide covers the seasons, and the France public holidays and festival calendar lists the fixed national dates.
At a Glance
Dates below come from organiser, tourism-board or publisher listings found in research. Anything marked to be confirmed should be checked with the organiser before you book non-refundable travel.
| Date | Event | Location | Type | Tourist Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 27 – Mar 7 | Salon International de l’Agriculture | Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris 15e | Fair / food and farming | High |
| Mar 6 and Mar 13 | Six Nations: Italy v France and Ireland v France (both away games) | Stadio Olimpico, Rome (Mar 6); Aviva Stadium, Dublin (Mar 13) | Sport (rugby) | Low |
| Mar 7 – Mar 14 | Paris-Nice cycling race | Starts near Paris, finishes in Nice; stage towns to be confirmed — check the organiser | Sport (cycling) | Medium |
| Mar 1 – Mar 9 | Paris Fashion Week, womenswear Fall/Winter 2027-28 | Paris, various venues | Fashion / industry | Low |
| Mar 8 – Mar 31 | Printemps des Poètes (29th edition) | Nationwide, many towns | Literature / arts | Medium |
| Mar 15 – Mar 19 | MIPIM | Palais des Festivals, Cannes | Trade fair (property) | Low |
| Mar 28 | Easter Sunday | Nationwide | Religious / family | Medium |
| Mar 29 | Easter Monday (public holiday) | Nationwide | Public holiday | High |
| Until Mar 8 | Winter school holidays, zone A (to Mar 1) and zone B (to Mar 8) | Zone A and B academies | School holiday | Medium |
Just outside the month, two dates matter for planning. The Fête du Citron in Menton (February 13 to 28) and the Nice Carnival (to February 28) both end in February 2027, and the 50th Paris Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, April 4, 2027 (Stadion Actu), so marathon-weekend hotel demand in Paris starts building in the last days of March.
Salon International de l’Agriculture, Paris
When: February 27 to March 7, 2027. Where: Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, Paris 15e. Type: consumer fair, open daily, listings give 9 am to 7 pm.
France’s largest farming show spills into March by one week. It is part livestock exhibition, part regional food market: producers from across the country sell and pour samples, which makes it a fast way to taste cheeses, charcuterie and regional drinks without leaving Paris. Listings state that the featured breed in 2027 is the Ferrandaise cattle and the guest country is Serbia. Details are on the dates and programme page and on the city’s Paris Je T’aime listing.
Tip: the closing weekend (March 6 and 7) is the one most likely to be crowded, and opening hours or ticket prices can change, so check the official site before you go. We do not quote ticket prices here because we could not confirm them.
Paris-Nice: The Race to the Sun
When: March 7 to 14, 2027, eight stages. Where: from the Paris region to the Côte d’Azur, finishing in Nice. Type: UCI World Tour road race.
Paris-Nice is the traditional early-season stage race, and it is free to watch from the roadside. Sources confirm the dates but the 2027 route had not been published at the time of research, so stage towns are to be confirmed — check the organiser at paris-nice.fr. Pick one stage town and arrive early rather than chasing the peloton. Allow for rolling road closures on the route.
If you plan to finish the week on the coast, the final stage points to Nice; our guide to hotels in Nice and the French Riviera explains which neighborhoods suit a short stay.
Paris Fashion Week
Womenswear shows for Fall/Winter 2027-28 are scheduled for March 1 to 9, 2027 according to the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode calendar and other fashion-calendar listings. Most shows are by invitation, so for visitors the effect is felt in hotel rates and busy central restaurants rather than in tickets. Public events around the week change each season, so check the organiser.
Printemps des Poètes
When: March 8 to 31, 2027. Where: nationwide, in libraries, bookshops, theaters, museums and schools. Type: literary festival.
The 29th edition, anchored at the Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal in Paris, follows the 2026 theme of freedom with a theme of engagement, “La poésie : zones d’action” (poetry as intervention: cultural, social, environmental, democratic or intimate), as reported by ActuaLitté and Strophe; departmental listings also give March 8 to 31, though some local programmes start later. Because the programme is a federation of local events, there is no single venue to visit. Regional tourism sites list readings, exhibitions and walks by town. For most visitors this is a bonus layer rather than a reason to travel, and many events are in French. Check the local tourist office for the town you are visiting; individual event dates differ town by town and are to be confirmed — check the organiser.
MIPIM, Cannes
When: March 15 to 19, 2027. Where: Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Type: international property trade event.
MIPIM is not a festival for tourists, and that is exactly why it matters: it fills hotels in Cannes and nearby towns for the week. The Cannes tourism listing confirms the dates on the Palais des Festivals page. If you want the Riviera in mid-March, book early, expect higher prices in Cannes itself, or base yourself elsewhere on the coast and take the train.
Six Nations Rugby
The 2027 Six Nations runs from February 5 to March 13. France plays both of its March matches away: Italy v France on Saturday, March 6 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, and Ireland v France on Saturday, March 13 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. France’s two home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis are against Wales on February 6 and Scotland on February 21, so there is no Paris home game in March. Fixture lists on Wikipedia and Rugby World agree on these dates and venues; kickoff times differ between listings, so check the organiser. Expect French fans in bars on those evenings and afternoons rather than at a French stadium.
Easter Weekend and Public Holidays
Easter Sunday 2027 falls on March 28, according to several calendar sources, including Faire le Pont and Calendrier Gratuit, which also list Monday, March 29 as the public holiday. French law makes Easter Monday a public holiday, so Monday, March 29 is a day off nationwide. This is the only national public holiday in the French March calendar for 2027. Expect many museums and some shops to change hours on that Monday, and check each venue; our public holidays and festival calendar explains what usually closes. Note that Ascension and Whit Monday depend on Easter but fall in May and June, outside this guide.
School Holidays and Strikes Risk
The Ministry-based school calendar published by Onisep, which other school-calendar sites match, gives winter holidays of February 13 to March 1 for zone A, February 20 to March 8 for zone B and February 6 to February 22 for zone C. Family traffic on trains and roads is likely to be heavier around the zone B changeover weekends of February 20 and March 6 to 8. Spring holidays begin April 3 for zone C, April 10 for zone A and April 17 for zone B, so Easter is not the start of the zone A and B breaks. The zone C start can push demand up in the last days of March for travelers combining Easter with a long weekend. No strike dates are known for March 2027; transport strikes are announced at short notice, so check the rail operator and airport sites in the week you travel.
What Is March Like for Travelers
March is the changeover between winter and spring, and it varies sharply by region. The south and the Mediterranean coast warm up first, while the Alps may still have snow and northern France can be cold and rainy. Climate normals put Paris at roughly 6°C overnight to 14°C by day in March with about 10 rainy days, and Nice at roughly 8°C to 15°C (Climate of Paris, Infoclimat Nice normals); individual days vary a lot. Pack layers and a rain jacket; check Météo-France a few days ahead. Crowds are light compared with summer at most major sights, which is the main reason to travel now, and queue times at big museums are usually shorter than from April on. Hotel prices tend to be lower outside school-holiday weekends, the Easter weekend and the trade-fair week in Cannes, though we cannot give specific figures. Our season-by-season guide compares March with the months around it.
How to Plan France Events March Trips Around Easter
Because Easter falls on the last weekend of March, a trip in the first three weeks avoids the holiday premium, while a trip across March 26 to 29 should be booked early and built around closed-Monday rules. If your priority is food, aim for the Paris agriculture fair before March 7. If you want sport, choose the Paris-Nice week. If you want museums and quiet streets, the last two weeks before Easter are often the easiest.
Where to Stay
Cluster your accommodation by what you plan to do. For the agriculture fair, stays in the 15th arrondissement and nearby Left Bank districts keep you within a short metro or tram ride of Porte de Versailles; see our guide to hotels in Paris, Right Bank versus Left Bank and the Marais for the trade-offs. For Paris-Nice and the Riviera, Nice offers the widest range of where to stay and easy train links to Cannes, as described in the Nice and Riviera hotel guide. Cannes during MIPIM is the most expensive and sells out first.
If you are using March for a city break away from the events above, Lyon is a strong food-oriented option with good rail links, described in our Lyon hotel guide, and Bordeaux suits wine-focused stays; our Bordeaux hotel guide covers neighborhoods. For a general overview, begin with the Paris travel guide. Looking further ahead, our April events calendar covers what’s on next.
What Should Tourists Prioritize
- Salon International de l’Agriculture (to March 7): the most tourist-friendly event of the month, if you are in Paris early.
- Paris-Nice stage (March 7 to 14): free to watch, but check the route once published.
- Easter weekend (March 27 to 29): plan around the Monday public holiday and book early.
- Printemps des Poètes (March 8 to 31): a local add-on if you read French.
- MIPIM (March 15 to 19) and Six Nations: mostly something to plan around, not to attend.
Bottom Line
March 2027 rewards flexible travelers: fewer crowds, a good agriculture fair in the first week, a cycling race that crosses France, and an Easter weekend that closes in the month. Confirm the pending details with each organiser, book early around March 27 to 29 and the Cannes trade week, and treat anything marked to be confirmed as provisional.
Sources
- Salon de l’Agriculture 2027, dates and programme (TPE Actu)
- International Agriculture Fair, Paris Je T’aime
- MIPIM Cannes, Palais des Festivals
- School holidays 2026-2027, Onisep
- Paris-Nice official site
- Paris Marathon 2027, Sortiraparis
- 93rd Fête du Citron, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur tourism
- 2027 Six Nations Championship, Wikipedia
- Men’s Six Nations fixtures 2027, Rugby World
- Printemps des Poètes 2027, ActuaLitté
- Printemps des Poètes 2027, Strophe
- Paris Fashion Week dates, FHCM
- Easter 2027, Faire le Pont
- Easter 2027, Calendrier Gratuit
- Fête du Citron, official site
- Nice Carnival 2027, Nice Côte d’Azur Tourist Office
- Climate of Paris, Wikipedia
- Nice climate normals 1991-2020, Infoclimat
- Marathon de Paris 2027, Stadion Actu