We will be in Paris March 13-20, 2004. How crowded will the major sites be? Do I need to avoid the major attactions on the week ends?

I did not find Paris very crowded in March. It was a big improvement over a visit I had made in May, when the crowds were unbearable. However, this is all relative. Paris is a large city, so if you are from a small town, you will probably consider it crowded regardless of when you visit. March is a good time for fewer crowds, but it is also colder and rainier.

Weekends are probably the best time to visit major attractions. Weekdays they often get large groups of school kids on field trips.

I have been to Paris in March twice, and crowds were very manageable. There were long lines at the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay, however, and at Versailles, which can be avoided by buying a museum pass at a less crowded location before going to those sites.

We were in Paris this past March and the only thing we found to be crowded was Versailles. We went to the Louvre, Musee d'Orsay and Arc di Triomphe on the weekend and didn't find major crowds at any place. I would still recommend buying a museum pass; even though the lines were not long anywhere we went, it was nice to bypass them! We lucked out with some great weather.

I'm often in Paris in March, and the only thing I've noticed is quite a number of American school groups on spring break trips. Nothing unusual. Lines at the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre always seem to be pretty long in March, but nothing like they can be in summer. I don't think you need to make any special plans for the weekends except to get the museum pass and plan to get to the Musée d'Orsay and Louvre relatively close to opening time.

JoyceL, thanks for reminding me about school groups. One year we were in Chicago for spring break and I made sure we went to the Museum of Science and Industry on a weekday rather than the weekend, thinking it would be less crowded. I believe that every day care center in Chicago was there when we were!

And StCirq, we can't complain about the American spring breakers, because that is what we will be!

I'm still doing the math on the museum pass...with three kids I don't know that we'll be able to visit more than one museum a day ... and our visits will likley be on nonconsecutive days, rather than three days in a row.

Paris in March was wonderful. There were no crowds and the weather was very cooperative.
50"s-60"s

June