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Where to go in March
A glimmer of sun
As winter retreats things get colourful, with India’s playful Holi celebrations and fresh blooms throughout Washington DC. March is the Goldilocks spot for breaks, when European minibreaks are crowd-free and temperatures are milder on the other side of the world.
Sri Lanka's West Coast
Avg. temperature: high 32°C; low 25°C
Swap finicky spring weather for Sri Lanka’s west coast, a failsafe cure for post-winter ennui. From dizzying capital Colombo, head south to beach towns like Bentota and Balapitiya, where you can dive down to coral reefs, spy centuries-old temples and loll on boulder-strewn sands. In the southwest, there’s the 16th-century fort town of Galle, a medley of Portuguese, Dutch and British architecture.
Kerala
Avg. temperature: high 32ºC; low 26ºC
Jungly Kerala has a good green base coat, but in March it’s splattered all the colours of the rainbow as Holi festival kicks off. You’ll be playfully pelted by handfuls of powder or spritzed with water-guns, but don’t be afraid to retaliate — it’s all in good fun. It celebrates love too, so grab your painted partner and glide through backwaters, frolic in tea gardens and watch sunsets from the beach.
Washington DC
Avg. temperature: high 15ºC; low 3ºC
Pastel pinks colour the US capital come March, when Washington DC’s storied Cherry Blossom Festival is in full bloom, and temperatures are starting to slowly warm. Most take to the banks of the Tidal Basin and National Mall to admire these pretty petals; but if you’re searching for somewhat of a quieter spot, head for Cherry Hill in Dumbarton Oaks, locally loved for its crowd-free spring-hue admiring.
Melbourne
Avg. temperature: high 24ºC; low 13ºC
Come to Melbourne in March and you’ll find a mild-weathered, mild-tempered city with a smorgasbord of cuisines, cultures and free-spirited suburbs. It neighbours (in relative Australian terms) the Great Ocean Road and the wineries of the Mornington Peninsula, but you won’t want for entertainment either: the F1 Grand Prix and Food & Wine Festival take place in March, and the International Comedy Festival kicks off on the 25th.
Malta
Avg. temperature: high 18ºC; low 11ºC
This diminutive island can get overlooked, in favour of its more sizable northerly neighbour Sicily, but Malta has lots to attract visitors, not least a national dish consisting of pasta in pastry and a capital city that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. It’s also, pleasingly for northern-hemisphere dwellers, lovely and sunny in March, with an outdoor café culture and beaches for strolls if not swims.
Lisbon
Avg. temperature: high 18ºC; low 10ºC
Yellow trams trundling by, avenidas lined with jacaranda trees, meticulously mosaicked praças: start-of-season Lisbon is as easy as the breeze rolling in from the Tagus. Cooler degrees celsius make trekking the soundwave-like topography easier (and queues for antique public lifts shorter), ModaLisboa brings fashion-week fervour and half-marathon runners make the 25 de Abril Bridge look even more spectacular.