As spring breaks free of winter’s icy grip, towns and cities awaken to celebrate longer days and warming temperatures. Festivals kick off almost everywhere. Bars and restaurants reopen. Social calendars fill up fast. The best places to travel in March celebrate the new season with verve and vigor.
March is the month of color. From Europe to the US, cherry blossoms transform towns into a panoply of pink. Fire and fireworks festivals turn the skies red. In India, Holi paints a rainbow across the whole country. And the entire world goes green for St. Patrick’s Day. Here are my favorite holidays in March.
- Macon, Georgia
- Austin, Texas
- Charleston, South Carolina
- Valencia, Spain
- Pesaro, Italy
- Madrid, Spain
- Narvik, Norway
- Dublin, Ireland
- Chicago, Illinois
- Munich, Germany
- Goa, India
- St. Barthélemy
Best places to travel in March in the US.
While much of the US is still bitterly cold, things are warming up in the south. Spring blossoms, harvest festivals and one of the world’s great cultural gatherings dominate the best holiday destinations and offer plenty of cheap places to travel in March too.
1. Macon, Georgia.
- Learn more: Macon travel guide
- Why visit in March? To see the city turn pink.
In the heartland of Georgia, nature puts on one of its most spectacular shows in March. Macon plays host to the International Cherry Blossom Festival and the city transforms into a “pink, cotton-spun paradise” as its 350,000 Yoshino treeserupt in a cacophony of cherry blossoms. In celebration, it puts on parades, concerts, fairs and an almighty pink party.
Beyond the blossom, Macon is an epicenter of Native American history. Stroll Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park, a fascinating memorial to the region’s ancient indigenous peoples. The newest national park in the US, it serves up a great view of Macon from the top of the Temple Mound.
In the city, wide avenues are lined with art galleries, boutiques and architecture that speaks to its long history. Music is everywhere, in buzzing bars and concert venues, on the streets and in historic venues like Grant’s Lounge. Macon is served by a regional airport but taking a flight to Atlanta, two hours away, and renting a car is easiest.