Great weather and off-season perks: The best places to visit in March

March can seem like a Goldilocks month, neither hot nor cold, ski season nor beach time. But it’s a big world, and somewhere the sun is still shining, festivals pumping, and great experiences waiting.

Countries

Argentina

The start of autumn brings early erupting colours in Patagonia.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: The eighth-biggest country in the world by area won’t please everyone everywhere in March, but the start of autumn brings sunshine and falling temperatures to Buenos Aires, early erupting colours to trees in Patagonia, and is a great time to visit Argentina’s prime wine region Mendoza province, best known for Malbec.

Don’t miss: Mendoza’s three significant wine regions, Maipu Valley, Luján de Cuyo and Uco Valley. The Vendimia Wine Festival runs late February and early March. Mendoza sits against a backdrop of snowy Andes mountains, which also lure adventure travellers with hiking, climbing, mountain biking and white-water rafting in Atuel Canyon. See argentina.travel

Morocco

At the markets in Marrakesh, Morocco.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: The Atlas Mountains are chilly – you might make the unusual boast that you’ve skied in Morocco – but most of Morocco is pleasantly warm, and the season as low as it gets in a country so attractive to shivering Europeans. The medieval cities of Fes and Marrakesh are big draw cards, but you can get into the Sahara Desert and explore coastal towns, too.

Don’t miss: Low-key fishing port Essaouira has a charming old town, golden beach, good surf and balmy climate. Seaside resort Oualidia is even more low-key and has a lagoon where flamingos wade. Second-century Roman city Volubilis is beautifully abandoned and has remarkable mosaics and triumphal arches, while grand fortified city Meknes is less touristy than Marrakesh, and filled with bazaars. See visitmorocco.com

Cyprus

Cyprus has glorious landscapes.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: It’s off-season, with low hotel rates and few people. The sunny weather is chilly for beach resorts, but what Australian needs those? It’s perfect hiking weather, and the island’s landscapes are glorious, so head for the hills just as wildflowers and migrating birds burst out all over. Cyprus is one of the world’s most underestimated hiking destinations.

Don’t miss: Do sightseeing duty at classical Greek site Paphos, which has a sea-gazing amphitheatre and superb Roman mosaics, then hit the trails of nearby Akamas Peninsula across undulating countryside surrounded by turquoise sea. Spectacular Avakas Gorge and the 2000-metre Troodos Mountains are two other hiking hotspots. See visitcyprus.com

South Africa

Cape Town has great weather and low prices in March.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: The climate isn’t kind everywhere in March, but you’ll find some of the best weather in three big tourist destinations: Cape Town, the stunningly scenic and wildlife-rich province of KwaZulu-Natal, and Kruger National Park. Tour groups are fewer, and hotel costs correspondingly lower.

Don’t miss: Kruger is neither too hot nor cold and the landscape lush: good news for birders and anyone who wants to see rhinos, elephants, lions and more. This do-it-yourself national park is a great budget alternative to South Africa’s private game reserves. In KwaZulu-Natal, the Drakensberg Mountains are stunning, as is the sunny coast and hilly inland, site of historic battlefields and farming towns. See southafrica.net

Mexico

The vibrant colours of Cristobal de las Casas in Chiapas.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: Mexico is an energetic, friendly country with a great cuisine, umpteen festivals and plenty of party resorts. Yet it also has stupendous Mayan and other ruins, splendid Spanish-era baroque towns, and a thriving cultural life. March is virtually rain free, and although the coolest December-February season is over, the southern wet season doesn’t begin until May.

Don’t miss: The Yucatan Peninsula blends beach resorts with wonderful towns such as Merida, and Mayan pyramids and ruined cities at Chichen Itza, Edzna and Tulum. Southernmost states Chiapas and Oaxaca feature rugged, rainforest-draped landscapes, superb archaeological site Palenque, and attractive cities such as San Cristobal and Oaxaca. See visitmexico.com

Cities

Jaipur, India

It’s not too hot yet in highlight-heavy Rajasthan.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: The warm, dry winter is just ending but heat hasn’t built up unbearably yet, and meanwhile the high-season crowds have dissipated, making March your in-between sweet spot. Jaipur is also one of India’s top cities for celebrations of Holi, a major Hindu festival that culminates in street drumming and “battles” with water and coloured powders. Great fun.

Don’t miss: Jaipur is a fabulous Rajasthan town of monumental forts, glittering palaces and pink-washed buildings. Highlights are the enormous Amber Fort outside the city, the many-windowed Hawa Mahal, and City Palace. For yet more colour, plunge into chaotic but pedestrian-only Bapu Bazaar for silks, bangles and handicrafts. See tourism.rajasthan.gov.in

Madrid, Spain

Enjoy Madrid’s yourhful, buzzing energy.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: Warmth starts to push winter away in March, a time when you’ll not only avoid heat and cold but see little rainfall. You might have to wear an evening sweater, but locals are out and about, parks and café terraces revive, and tourist hordes are absent, which means more elbow room and cheaper hotels. The end of March (depending on the year) sees Easter processions.

Don’t miss: Madrid has gorgeous architecture and several world-class art museums. The old city is crammed with grand palaces, lovely plazas and baroque churches leaden with South American gold. You’ll also enjoy the capital’s youthful, buzzing energy, great dining and fashion shopping, and some of Europe’s most enjoyable nightlife. See esmadrid.com

Dublin, Ireland

Trinity College is superb.Credit: Getty Images

Why you should go: The weather is awful, but where better to celebrate St Patrick’s Day (17 March) than Dublin, when everyone wears green, drinks Guinness and tunes their fiddle for a week-long festival. A parade, street performances, funfair, music and fireworks attract over a million people. When the beer and whisky flows and ballads are sung in cosy pubs, you won’t mind the rain.

Don’t miss: Collins Barracks are the festival headquarters, but you’ve plenty more reason to visit Dublin, which has one of the world’s best ensembles of Georgian architecture, trendy dining and nightlife scenes, and museums dedicated to whiskey, Guinness and Irish emigration. The medieval illuminated Book of Kells, on show at Trinity College, is superb. See visitdublin.com

Boston, US

One of Boston’s wonder-worthy neighbourhoods.Credit: iStock

Why you should go: Springtime hesitates in March, with only magnolias likely in bloom, but you can pursue your inner Irish – real or imagined – in one of the American cities where St Patrick’s Day was reinvented. It hosts a historic and grand parade of floats, bands and cheerleaders, along with other events such as Irish dancing, an Irish film festival, and pub entertainment.

Don’t miss: The Irish Heritage Trail in this history-dense city, and the Freedom Trail that details Boston’s connection with the American Revolution. (Revolutionary sites Lexington and Concord make for interesting side trips.) Beacon Hill, North End and Cambridge, home to Harvard University, are wander-worthy neighbourhoods. Stay into early April and you’ll catch the opening of baseball season. See meetboston.com

Istanbul, Turkey

Enjoy an eye-popping encounter with megacity Istanbul.Credit: Getty Images

Why you should go: Although Istanbul can be chilly – bring a sweater for the tile-lined mosques and palaces – skies are sunny, humidity low, and you’ll avoid summer heat and crowds. The city straddles Europe and Asia and is splendid with Islamic monuments atop several millennia of other remains, but is also an eye-popping encounter with a fast-growing megacity.

Don’t miss: The Blue Mosque, glorious Byzantine church-turned-mosque Aya Sophia, Grand Bazaar and vast Topkapi Palace complex are the chief sights, but you’ll want time to stroll neighbourhoods such as historic Beyoglu or shop-dense Taksim too. Finish your day by the Galata Bridge as ferries chug and the sun sinks behind minarets and high rises. See visit.istanbul