The Best Cities to Visit in March (2026)

March is the hinge month of the year: winter is thankfully loosening its grip in the Northern Hemisphere, the Southern Hemisphere is moving into its golden autumn, and across Southeast Asia and East Africa the dry season is at its best. Here are five cities that are perfect for a March visit, including Lisbon, Austin, Key West, Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh.

Austin

In March, Austin hosts South by Southwest (SXSW), one of the great events on the cultural calendar. The music, film, and interactive conference fill the city for ten days in the middle of the month, featuring every significant act in independent music, every emerging technology company, and every film that matters to the next generation of audiences. Even for those who do not have a badge, the city during SXSW week has a particular energy, the free outdoor stages, the pop-ups, the restaurants and bars at full stretch, that is unlike any other time of the year. For those who prefer Austin without the crowds, the weeks immediately before and after SXSW are excellent: the bluebonnets are beginning to bloom, the temperatures are ideal, and the city's genuine character, its music venues, its food trucks, its South Congress and East Austin neighbourhoods, is easier to access.

• The Line Austin occupies a mid-century building on the banks of Lady Bird Lake that was once the Crest Inn, now transformed by architect Michael Hsu and designer Sean Knibb into one of the city's most stylish hotels. The 428 rooms look out over either the lake or downtown Austin through full-length windows; interiors mix classic modernism with industrial-chic textures and subtle nods to the Hill Country geology. Arlo Grey, the hotel's flagship restaurant by Top Chef winner Kristen Kish, applies French and Italian influences to American comfort food; Alfred, a Los Angeles-rooted café in the lobby, is one of the better coffee spots in central Austin. The rooftop terrace P6 overlooks the lake.
• Hotel San Jose is an institution: a 1939 motor court on South Congress Avenue, bought by Liz Lambert in 1995 and reimagined in a Texas-Zen style that became the template for Austin's boutique hotel culture. The 40 rooms are arranged around a courtyard garden of native vegetation, with crushed granite walkways and a small heated pool. The rooms themselves are pared-down and beautiful, with Malin + Goetz bath products, Eames side chairs, Sferra linens, and curated minibars. The overall atmosphere showcases a place that takes hospitality seriously. 
• East Austin Hotel is a more contemporary hotel in the rapidly evolving East Austin neighbourhood, the part of the city that has seen the most significant change over the past decade and now holds some of Austin's best restaurants, bars, and live music venues. The hotel's design reflects its neighbourhood, direct, confident, and creatively engaged, and the proximity to everything happening east of I-35 makes it a practical as well as an interesting base.
• Austin Proper is the most design-forward of Austin's boutique hotels, a Design Hotels member in the Second Street district with interiors by Kelly Wearstler. The 238 rooms take Wearstler's maximalist aesthetic, bold textiles, saturated colours, and an eclectic collision of references and apply it to a hotel that is both visually exciting and very comfortable. The rooftop pool and bar overlook the city, and there are several restaurants to choose from.

Key West

Key West in March is spring break season's slightly more elegant cousin: warm, clear, and at the end of its peak tourist season, without yet being in the quiet of the off-season. The water temperature is perfect for snorkelling and diving, the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum draws visitors who want something more than the Duval Street bars, and the sunsets at Mallory Square retain their appeal regardless of how many people have watched them before. Key West is a small island that rewards walking: the Victorian conch houses, the bougainvillaea, the cats with extra toes at the Hemingway house, and the southernmost point marker that draws the selfie queue are all part of a city that has maintained its personality against the odds.

• Old Town Manor is a beautifully restored 1886 historic house in Old Town Key West, run as a boutique inn with 14 individually designed rooms and suites. The property is filled with period antiques and local art, the gardens are lush with tropical plants, and the breakfast, served on the veranda, is one of the more civilised starts to a Key West morning. The atmosphere is quiet and residential, which is rare in a city that can feel relentlessly festive.
• Marquesa Hotel is the finest boutique hotel in Key West, a compound of four 1884 conch houses surrounding verdant interior gardens and three pools on Fleming Street, two blocks from Duval. The 44 rooms and suites are individually decorated with period furniture and polished hardwood floors, and the hotel does not admit children under 14, giving it a distinctly adult and romantic atmosphere. Café Marquesa, the on-site restaurant serving fresh local seafood, is one of the better kitchens in the Florida Keys. The service is warm and genuinely personalised ‚Äî Bruce at the front desk has become a local legend among returning guests.
• Parrot Key Hotel & Villas is a waterfront resort at the quieter end of the island with direct access to the Atlantic, four pools, and a marina. The 148 rooms and suites have a clean, contemporary design that suits Key West's light and colour, and the property's scale and facilities make it the best option for those who want a resort experience rather than the intimacy of the historic inn format.
• The Gardens Hotel occupies an 1875 estate at the heart of Old Town with two acres of private tropical gardens, an extraordinary rarity in central Key West, and 17 rooms and suites arranged through the main house and garden cottages. The gardens include a 1,000-year-old black olive tree, a freshwater pool, and outdoor spaces that make the hotel feel like a private estate rather than a hotel. The service is discreet and attentive, and the atmosphere throughout is one of calm and beauty.

Lisbon

March is one of the best possible times to visit Lisbon: the summer crowds are months away, the famous pastel de nata light that photographers chase is at its softest, and the city's hills, trams, and fado houses are all best appreciated without August's heat and tourist density. Spring is the perfect time to enjoy the Alfama neighbourhood with its cobbled streets and miradouro viewpoints, the Belem waterfront with its tower and pasteis, the Bairro Alto's evening restaurant culture, and the extraordinary tiles and architecture of Sintra an hour to the west.

• Tarabel Lisbon is the Lisbon outpost of the team behind Riad Tarabel in Marrakech, housed in a 19th-century mansion in the elegant Lapa diplomatic quarter with river views from every room. The nine rooms were designed by Rose Fournier, the French interior designer behind both Tarabel properties, with vintage furniture, modern art, and a botanical influence that plays beautifully with Lisbon's famous natural light. The sitting rooms open onto the terraced garden and the Tagus below. The hotel commissioned its own private azulejos from ceramicist Gonçalo Jordão, and every detail carries the same thought and attention. It is an exceptional small hotel.
• Pousada de Lisboa occupies a corner of the Praça do Comécio, Lisbon's grandest square, in a building that has served as a royal residence, ministerial offices, and now a luxury hotel with 90 rooms across four floors. The golden façade, the stone staircases, the works of art from the Lisbon Museum, and the beautiful ballroom give it a weight of history that few hotels can match. The restaurant RIB Beef & Wine is one of the more reliable kitchens in central Lisbon, and its position, overlooking the square and a short walk from the riverfront, is idyllic.
• Pousada Alfama is a smaller, more intimate hotel in the Alfama neighbourhood, with rooms that overlook the Castle of São Jorge and the old city rooftops. The building sits in a quiet square between the castle and the cathedral, and the hotel's contemporary design, clean lines, and strong sense of its historic setting without reproducing it give it a freshness that suits the neighbourhood. The breakfast is repeatedly praised, and the walking access to Alfama's fado houses and miradouros is the Pousada Alfama's greatest asset.
• Brown's Avenue Hotel is part of the Brown's hotel group, a quartet of boutique hotels in Lisbon that share a design philosophy of light-wood interiors, warm lighting, mid-century modern references, and locally sourced minibar products. The Avenue Hotel sits on Rua Rodrigues Sampaio, near the Avenida da Liberdade, the city's most glamorous shopping boulevard, and features 44 rooms in a building that combines a historic wing with a newer addition. The Michelin Key awarded to the property matches the quality of the overall experience.

Mumbai

Mumbai in March is at the tail end of the cool season; temperatures are warm and pleasant rather than the humid intensity of monsoon or the oppressive heat of May, and the city is at its most hospitable. The Gateway of India, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Prince of Wales Museum, the Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site), and the extraordinary density of the Dharavi neighbourhood all deserve serious exploration. The Colaba Causeway, the street food on Mohammed Ali Road, and the Bollywood studios at Film City are further dimensions of a city that is genuinely overwhelming in the best possible sense.

• Abode Mumbai is a boutique guesthouse in the heart of Colaba, the historic southern neighbourhood of the city, occupying an Art Deco building a short walk from the Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Palace. The 20-odd rooms combine colonial-era architecture with contemporary furnishings and careful attention to detail, turn-down snacks, luxury bed linens, a co-working lounge stocked with books, and a rooftop for evenings. The owners organise tours of the city, including early-morning visits, Dharavi slum tours, and trips to the Elephanta Caves with knowledgeable local guides.
• The Leela Mumbai is a five-star airport hotel that has evolved into one of the city's most reliable luxury addresses, with six dining options, a full-service spa, and the polished international service the Leela group does well. It is the logical choice for those arriving late or departing early, or for business travellers who need the combination of airport proximity and hotel quality.
• The Oberoi Mumbai is centrally located in the city's business district, with an outdoor heated pool, a 24-hour spa, and a level of service that consistently ranks it among the best-run hotels in Asia. The rooms have strong views over the Nariman Point shoreline and Back Bay, and the hotel's two restaurants, Vetro for Italian and Ziya for modern Indian, are among Mumbai's better hotel dining rooms.
• The Taj Mahal Palace is one of the world's great hotels and the best luxury hotel in Mumbai. The building is a Moorish, Oriental, and Florentine confection dating from 1903, facing the Gateway of India across Apollo Bunder, and the hotel's history, which includes surviving the 2008 terrorist attacks with its doors open to protect guests and civilians, gives it a significance beyond the considerable pleasures of its rooms. The Taj has 560 rooms and suites divided between the original palace wing and the tower, the finest restaurants in Mumbai, a swimming pool and spa, and service standards that have been the benchmark in Indian hospitality for over a century.

Ho Chi Minh City

A visit to Ho Chi Minh City in March ensures the dry season at its most reliable: hot, clear, and with the long evenings that bring the city's extraordinary street life and restaurant culture to its best. The War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace, the Notre-Dame Basilica, the Ben Thanh Market, the Jade Emperor Pagoda, and the streets of the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker district give way to the more refined pleasures of the Dong Khoi boulevard and the city's increasingly sophisticated dining scene. Day trips to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta are both worthwhile, and the cafés, bún mắm stands, and pho shops of the city can occupy days of happy investigation.

• Bach Suites Saigon is a boutique Marriott property in District 3 with a rooftop restaurant, well-designed rooms that punch above their price point, and a neighbourhood that gives a more local experience of the city than the tourist-facing District 1. The hotel's rooftop breakfast, with views of the district coming to life, is one of its genuine pleasures.
• Hotel Majestic Saigon has stood on the corner of Dong Khoi and the Saigon River since 1925, and the French colonial grandeur of its chandeliers, arched windows, stained glass, and marble lobby remains reason enough for staying here. The 175 rooms have polished hardwood floors, period furniture, rotary phones, and marble bathrooms in an unapologetically classical style; the M Bar on the rooftop, with its views over the river and the city, is one of the top ten rooftop bars in the city. The hotel is honest about its heritage status: for the most modern amenities, there are better options, but for atmosphere and history, nothing competes.
• Villa Song is a 23-room boutique hotel on the banks of the Saigon River in District 2, accessible by private shuttle boat from Bach Dang Pier in District 1. The whitewashed French colonial villa, set in lush gardens, is one of the most atmospheric properties in the city, with rooms blending vintage Indochinese style and contemporary wooden furnishings, a 30-metre saltwater pool, and the riverside Bistro Song Vie restaurant for candlelit dinners overlooking the water traffic. It is not convenient for those who want to walk out onto Dong Khoi, but it offers something those streets cannot: genuine peace in a city that rarely offers it.
• Hotel des Arts is a 21st-century interpretation of 1930s French Indochina glamour, a 23-storey building in District 3 with 168 rooms filled with the owner's substantial art collection. The interiors draw on French Indochina's golden age with smooth curves, sensuous lines, and a thoroughgoing period aesthetic. The Saigon Kitchen serves Vietnamese street food in a beautifully designed space; The Albion by Kirk Westaway brings modern European cooking with genuine credibility; and the Social Club Rooftop Bar on the 24th floor offers panoramic city views with excellent cocktails. It is one of the more stylish hotel experiences in Southeast Asia.

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