What to Do in Paris in March & April 2027: Events, Easter and Exhibitions

1.5K

Spring is one of the best times to visit Paris. The café terraces fill up again, the trees along the Seine turn green and the city’s big cultural season is in full swing. If you are planning a trip in March or April 2027, this guide gives you the dates that will shape your stay: Easter, the 50th Paris Marathon, the French school holidays, and the major exhibitions opening this spring.

For month-by-month weather and packing advice, see our guides to Paris in March and Paris in April. All dates below were checked against the organizers’ announcements in October 2026. Some programs are not published yet, and we will update this page as they are.

Paris in March and April 2027: the key dates

Dates	Event	Where
Feb 27 – Mar 7	Paris International Agricultural Show	Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles
Mar 1 – 9	Paris Fashion Week (womenswear, Fall-Winter 2027-28)	Across the city (shows by invitation)
Mar 5 – Apr 2	Banlieues Bleues jazz festival	Seine-Saint-Denis
Mar 7	Paris Half Marathon	Paris
From Mar 23	Marcel Duchamp (Grand Palais) and Vuillard (Musée d’Orsay) exhibitions open	8th and 7th arr.
Mar 28	Easter Sunday — and clocks go forward one hour	Everywhere
Mar 29	Easter Monday (public holiday)	Everywhere
Mar 30 – Apr 4	European Artistic Crafts Days (JEMA)	Workshops across Paris and the region
Apr 1 – 4	Art Paris art fair	Grand Palais
Apr 3 – 19	Paris-region school spring holidays	Busier museums and Disneyland
Apr 4	50th Paris Marathon	Road closures across the city
Apr 12	Disneyland Paris turns 35	Marne-la-Vallée
Apr 16 – 18	Festival du Livre de Paris (book festival)	Grand Palais
Apr 30 – May 10	Foire de Paris (consumer fair)	Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles

Weather, daylight and what to pack

Early spring in Paris is mild but changeable. On average, highs reach about 13°C (55°F) in March and 17°C (63°F) in April, with mornings around 5°C (41°F) and 8°C (46°F). Sunny afternoons alternate with showers, sometimes on the same day.

• Pack layers: a light sweater, a trench coat or rain jacket, a compact umbrella and comfortable walking shoes that can handle wet cobblestones.
• Daylight: the sun sets around 6:30 pm in early March. After the clocks go forward on the night of March 27 to 28, sunset jumps to just after 8 pm, and it reaches about 9 pm by the end of April.
• Which month? March is cheaper and quieter but cooler. April is greener and more reliable for walks and picnics, but busier, especially from April 3 to 19.

Easter 2027 in Paris: an early Easter

Easter falls early in 2027: Easter Sunday is March 28, the same night the clocks change. Easter Monday, March 29, is a public holiday. Good Friday (March 26) is not a public holiday in Paris, so shops, banks and museums keep their usual hours that day.

• Services: Notre-Dame, Sacré-Cœur, Saint-Eustache and La Madeleine are packed for the Easter Vigil and Sunday masses. Arrive early.
• Chocolate: Parisian chocolatiers and pastry shops unveil their Easter creations in the weeks before. Buy before Sunday, as many small shops close on Easter Sunday and Monday.
• Museums on Easter Monday: Monday is the regular closing day of the Musée d’Orsay and several other museums. Check whether they open that day before you plan around it.

Egg hunts, family activities and what’s open: see our full guide to Easter in Paris.

The best exhibitions in Paris in spring 2027

Two major shows open on the same day, March 23, and will be the talk of the spring. Book time-slot tickets in advance for both.

Marcel Duchamp, “Portrait possible” — Grand Palais

March 23 – August 1, 2027. The Centre Pompidou celebrates its 50th anniversary with a large Duchamp retrospective. Its opening exhibition in 1977 was also devoted to Duchamp. Loans from MoMA in New York and the Philadelphia Museum of Art make it the largest gathering of his work in France since 1977. Good to know: the Centre Pompidou building itself is closed for renovation, so this is where to see its collection this spring.

Vuillard, “Intimate Theaters” — Musée d’Orsay

March 23 – July 25, 2027. The first major Vuillard exhibition in France in about 25 years looks at the painter’s lifelong fascination with the theater, from cabarets to avant-garde stages. A good pairing with the Impressionist galleries upstairs. The museum is closed on Mondays and stays open late on Thursdays.

Also on in March and April 2027

• Gustave Fayet, collector and creator — Fondation Louis Vuitton, until March 8. Van Gogh, Gauguin and Redon from the collection of a visionary collector.
• Girls: Adolescence, Fashion and Rebellion — Grand Palais, until March 21.
• Brussels 1900 — Petit Palais, until April 25. Free permanent collections in the same building.
• Louvre Photo — Louvre Museum, until May 3. The Louvre is closed on Tuesdays.
• The Secrets of the Alhambra — Institut du Monde Arabe, until May 16.
• Billie Holiday — Philharmonie de Paris, until July 11.
• Leonor Fini — Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, March 26 – August 15.
• André Derain — Musée Bourdelle, April 1 – August 1.

Planning several museums? Check whether the Paris Museum Pass pays off for your itinerary. Temporary exhibitions often require a separate time-slot booking.

Fairs, festivals and cultural events

• Paris International Agricultural Show (Feb 27 – Mar 7, Porte de Versailles): France’s biggest farm fair, with livestock and food from every region. A fun, very French day out, and crowded at weekends.
• Banlieues Bleues (Mar 5 – Apr 2): a month of jazz and new music in the venues of Seine-Saint-Denis, just north of Paris.
• European Artistic Crafts Days (Mar 30 – Apr 4): workshops that are normally closed to the public open their doors: glassmakers, upholsterers, bookbinders and more. The 2027 edition focuses on photography crafts, and the full program is published in February.
• Art Paris (Apr 1 – 4, Grand Palais): the spring fair for modern and contemporary art, under the glass roof of the Grand Palais.
• Festival du Livre de Paris (Apr 16 – 18, Grand Palais): France’s largest book event, with author signings and talks. Mostly in French, but the setting alone is worth the visit.
• Foire du Trône (from late March, Pelouse de Reuilly, Bois de Vincennes): France’s oldest funfair runs for about two months each spring. The 2027 dates have not been announced yet.
• Foire de Paris (Apr 30 – May 10, Porte de Versailles): a huge home, food and crafts fair, also home to the Lépine inventors’ competition.
• Paris Fashion Week (Mar 1 – 9): the shows are by invitation only, but the atmosphere spills onto the streets around the venues and the Tuileries.

Sports: the 50th Paris Marathon

The Paris Marathon celebrates its 50th edition on Sunday, April 4, 2027, under its new name, the ASICS Marathon de Paris. Bibs were allocated by lottery in autumn 2026. The Paris Half Marathon takes place on Sunday, March 7.

If you are not running, plan around it: many central roads close on the morning of the race, buses are diverted and the metro is crowded with runners and supporters. Cheering from the sidewalk is free and the atmosphere is excellent. Check the official route when it is published.

Rugby fans, note that France plays no Six Nations home game in March 2027: its last two matches are in Rome (March 6) and Dublin (March 13). The two Stade de France games are in February.

Spring outdoors: blossoms, gardens and the Seine

Blossom season usually runs from late March to mid-April, depending on the weather. Some reliable spots:

• Cherry trees: the square Jean-XXIII behind Notre-Dame, the Jardin des Plantes, and the cherry tree in front of the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. For a hanami-style picnic, the Parc de Sceaux, just south of Paris by RER B, has a whole grove.
• Magnolias: the Jardin des Plantes and the Palais-Royal gardens.
• Wisteria (mid-to-late April): the streets of Montmartre and the Grande Mosquée de Paris.
• A garden with sculptures: the garden of the Rodin Museum, with The Thinker among the trees, is at its most pleasant once spring arrives.

Spring is also the season when the riverside bars reopen and long walks along the pedestrian quays become a pleasure again. From the water, a Seine boat tour is the easiest way to see the monuments in an hour, and the longer days make sunset cruises possible again after the clocks change. To compare all the options, see the Seine cruise catalog (affiliate link).

Further out, spring is a good time for the Palace of Versailles and its gardens, and Monet’s gardens in Giverny usually reopen for the season around April 1 (check the 2027 dates before you go).

Disneyland Paris turns 35

Disneyland Paris opened on April 12, 1992, and the resort has announced celebrations for its 35th anniversary on April 12, 2027. It is also the first spring of Disney Adventure World, the second park’s new name, with its World of Frozen area that opened in March 2026. Expect big crowds during the Paris school holidays (April 3 – 19) and the UK Easter holidays. Weekdays in March are the quieter option.

Spring evenings

Once the clocks change, the evenings feel longer: aperitif on a terrace, a walk to Montmartre for the sunset, or a classic cabaret night. The Moulin Rouge and the Paradis Latin run their dinner shows year-round; book a few weeks ahead for Easter weekend.

When to go, and how to avoid the crowds

• Busiest periods: Easter weekend (March 26 – 29), marathon weekend (April 3 – 4) and the Paris-region school holidays (April 3 – 19). Many other European countries also have their Easter holidays in late March and early April.
• Quietest window: weekdays from early to mid-March, after the Agricultural Show and before Easter. Hotel prices are usually lower too.
• Book ahead: time-slot tickets for the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, the Grand Palais exhibitions and the Eiffel Tower, especially for the Easter period.
• Getting around: our guide to metro tickets and prices explains which pass suits a spring week in Paris.

FAQ: visiting Paris in March or April 2027

Is March or April better for visiting Paris?

April has milder weather, longer days and blossoms, but more visitors. March is cheaper and calmer, and from March 23 you can already see the two big spring exhibitions, Duchamp and Vuillard.

When is Easter 2027, and is Good Friday a holiday in Paris?

Easter Sunday is March 28, 2027, and Easter Monday, March 29, is a public holiday. Good Friday is not a public holiday in Paris.

When do the clocks change in spring 2027?

On the night of Saturday March 27 to Sunday March 28: at 2 am, clocks go forward to 3 am. Remember it if you have an early train or flight that Sunday.

When is the Paris Marathon 2027?

Sunday, April 4, 2027, for its 50th edition. The Paris Half Marathon is on Sunday, March 7, 2027.

When are the French school holidays in spring 2027?

Schools in Paris and the Île-de-France region are on holiday from April 3 to April 19, 2027. The other French zones follow: April 10 to 26, then April 17 to May 3.