London in March: Weather, Events and the Best Tours
Written and checked by the Best London Tours editorial team. .
March is the month London reopens. The Tower of London returns to summer hours on 1 March, the clocks go forward on Sunday 28 March and sunset jumps from 18:24 to 19:26 overnight, and the city gains 1 hour 59 minutes of daylight across the month, more than in any other.
Quick pick: the best London tours in March
| # | Tour | Best for | Duration | From | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tower of London | Summer hours from 1 March | 2-3 hours | £37 | 4.6 (31,489) |
| 2 | Westminster Abbey | Holy Week, which falls entirely in March this year | 2 hours | £27 | 4.6 (13,289) |
| 3 | St Paul's Cathedral | The dome climb, back in comfortable conditions | 1.5-2 hours | £24 | 4.7 (10,847) |
| 4 | Hop-On Hop-Off Bus | From 28 March, when sunset moves to 19:26 | Full day | £25 | 4.3 (8,092) |
| 5 | Thames River Cruise | The river in the recovering light | 1-2 hours | £17 | 4.5 (24,711) |
| 6 | London Eye | Long views on the bright days between showers | 30 minutes | £25 | 4.6 (39,011) |
| 7 | Harry Potter Studio Tour | The Easter school holidays, and the wet days | 7-9 hours | £85 | 4.6 (10,822) |
| 8 | Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath | Long day trips becoming viable again | 11 hours - 1 day | £71 | 4.5 (3,440) |
| 9 | Blitz & WW2 Tour | Walking London again, at 4.9 out of 5 | 1.5-3 hours | £29 | 4.9 (163) |
| 10 | Madame Tussauds | The thirteen wet days | 2.5 hours | £24 | 4.6 (23,025) |
Prices, ratings and review counts verified against live GetYourGuide listings on 28 July 2026. Duration varies by the option you choose at checkout.
Is March a good time to visit London?
March is the biggest single improvement of the year. London gains 1 hour 59 minutes of daylight across the month, more than any other, and the clock change on 28 March adds another hour to the evening in one night. The catch is thirteen wet days, the highest count of any month.
Two dates make March. On the 1st the Tower of London returns to its longer summer opening, which turns it back from a morning-only proposition into a full-day one. On Sunday 28 March the clocks go forward, and sunset moves from 18:24 on the Saturday to 19:26 on the Sunday. Nothing about the weather changes, but the last four days of March feel like a different season from the first four.
Easter lands late this year and entirely inside March: Good Friday on 26 March, Easter Sunday on 28 March, Easter Monday on 29 March. That means the Easter school holidays begin in the final week rather than in April, which is unusual and worth knowing if you are trying to avoid or target family crowds. Easter Sunday is also the clock-change day.
The cost is rain frequency. Thirteen wet days is the highest count of any month in the London year, ahead of October's twelve, even though the 58mm total is well below October's 77mm. In plain terms: it rains often in March and not very hard. That favours a flexible itinerary over a rigid one, and it favours a waterproof coat over cancelling anything.
London weather in March
March averages 11C highs and 3.8C lows with 58mm of rain spread across thirteen wet days, the highest wet-day count of any month. Sunset is 18:04 on the 15th, and the clocks go forward on 28 March, moving sunset from 18:24 to 19:26 overnight.
| Measure | March | Annual context |
|---|---|---|
| Average high | 11C | Ranges from 7.7C in January to 22.6C in July |
| Average low | 3.8C | Ranges from 1.7C in January to 13.9C in July |
| Rainfall | 58mm | Driest is April at 40mm, wettest is October at 77mm |
| Wet days (1mm or more) | 13 days | Fewest in April at 10, most in March at 13 |
| Daylight, mid-month | 11h 49m | From 7h 52m in mid-December to 16h 36m in mid-June |
| Sunrise and sunset, 15th | 06:15 to 18:04 | From 15:51 in mid-December to 21:19 in mid-June |
| Change across the month | gains 1h 59m | Clocks go back on 25 October 2026 and forward on 28 March 2027 |
Temperature, rainfall and wet days are the 2015 to 2024 means from ERA5 reanalysis for central London, 2015 to 2024, via the Open-Meteo historical archive. Daylight, sunrise and sunset are for the 15th, from timeanddate.com sunrise and sunset tables for London.
Thirteen wet days out of thirty-one is the statistic that defines a London March. It is not a wet month by volume: at 58mm it sits below the annual average and well below October. What it is, is a frequently interrupted one. Nearly half the days in March see a millimetre or more of rain, usually as short showers between bright spells rather than as a settled grey day.
The daylight recovery is the fastest of the year. March starts with 10 hours 54 minutes and ends with 12 hours 53 minutes, a gain of nearly two hours in thirty-one days, and that is before the clock change moves an hour of it into the evening. From 28 March, sunset is after 19:25, which for the first time since October puts an evening walking tour or a river cruise back on the table.
Temperature lags behind the light. An 11C mean high is the same as November and the 3.8C mean low is barely above February, so March is not warm. What it feels like depends entirely on the sun: a bright March day at 11C with no wind is pleasant, and the same temperature under cloud with a northerly is not.
Crowds, prices and what to book ahead
March is quiet until the final week. Easter falls on 28 March, so the Easter school holidays and the associated family demand begin at the very end of the month rather than in April. The first three weeks are close to February prices with substantially better daylight.
The value window in March is the first three weeks, and it is one of the better trades in this guide. You get the Tower back on summer hours from the 1st, daylight increasing by four minutes a day, and pricing that has not yet caught up with any of it. From about the 20th, as the Easter break approaches, both rates and queues start to climb.
Easter itself is a genuine crowd event in London rather than a quiet religious weekend. Good Friday on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March are both bank holidays, the family attractions run holiday programming, and Westminster Abbey and St Paul's hold their most important services of the year, which restricts sightseeing access on those days.
One consequence of a late Easter worth planning around: because the holiday sits at the very end of March, the first three weeks of April are unusually calm. If you are choosing between late March and mid-April, mid-April will be quieter and warmer, and you will have missed nothing except the Easter services themselves.
The best tours in London in March
March's ranking follows the calendar back outdoors. The Tower of London returns to summer hours on the 1st and goes straight to the top. The cathedrals move up for Holy Week. From the 28th, when the clocks go forward, the open-air products become viable again for the first time since October.
1. Tower of London
4.6 out of 5 from 31,489 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £37 • 2-3 hours
Straight to first place on a single date. From 1 March the Tower returns to its longer summer opening after four months of winter hours, which turns it from a rushed morning visit into a proper half day. It is also still quiet for the first three weeks of the month.
Best for in March: Summer hours from 1 March
2. Westminster Abbey
4.6 out of 5 from 13,289 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £27 • 2 hours
Ranked up for Easter. The Abbey is the working coronation church and Holy Week is its most significant period of the year. Sightseeing access is restricted around the major services on 26, 28 and 29 March, so check the day and book around it rather than through it.
Best for in March: Holy Week, which falls entirely in March this year
3. St Paul's Cathedral
4.7 out of 5 from 10,847 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £24 • 1.5-2 hours
Two reasons to move it up. Easter puts the cathedral at the centre of the month, and the 528-step dome climb becomes pleasant again at 11C after being a cold prospect in January and February. As at the Abbey, service days restrict sightseeing hours.
Best for in March: The dome climb, back in comfortable conditions
4. Hop-On Hop-Off Bus
4.3 out of 5 from 8,092 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £25 • Full day
Returns to the ten after five months out. The open top deck has been a poor recommendation since October; from the clock change on 28 March, with sunset after 19:25 and 11C highs, it becomes a genuine option again. Before the 28th, take the covered deck.
Best for in March: From 28 March, when sunset moves to 19:26
5. Thames River Cruise
4.5 out of 5 from 24,711 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £17 • 1-2 hours
Back in the ranking for the same reason as the bus. A Westminster to Greenwich run in mid-March finishes in daylight for the first time since the autumn, and after the clock change an early-evening departure works properly again.
Best for in March: The river in the recovering light
6. London Eye
4.6 out of 5 from 39,011 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £25 • 30 minutes
The most-reviewed product on the site, ranked sixth here rather than first. March's thirteen wet days make a fixed 30-minute view slot the riskiest booking on this page, so take a flexible ticket or book it late in the trip once you can see a forecast.
Best for in March: Long views on the bright days between showers
7. Harry Potter Studio Tour
4.6 out of 5 from 10,822 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £85 • 7-9 hours
The only full indoor day in our list, in the month with the most wet days of any. It is also the first thing to sell out once the Easter break starts in the final week, so a March booking should be made before you travel.
Best for in March: The Easter school holidays, and the wet days
8. Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath
4.5 out of 5 from 3,440 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £71 • 11 hours - 1 day
Returns after five months out. An eleven-hour coach day needs daylight at both ends, and by the end of March there is 12 hours 53 minutes of it, rising fast. In December the same itinerary spent its last two hours in the dark.
Best for in March: Long day trips becoming viable again
9. Blitz & WW2 Tour
4.9 out of 5 from 163 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £29 • 1.5-3 hours
Rated 4.9 from 163 reviews, and re-entering the ranking as walking weather returns. The Blitz sites cluster around St Paul's and the City, which is a compact route that works well between March showers rather than needing a whole dry day.
Best for in March: Walking London again, at 4.9 out of 5
10. Madame Tussauds
4.6 out of 5 from 23,025 verified GetYourGuide reviews • from £24 • 2.5 hours
Falls from the top half of the winter rankings to tenth, but stays in for one specific reason: March has more wet days than any other month, and this is the most reliably weatherproof large attraction in central London.
Best for in March: The thirteen wet days
The Churchill War Rooms, the abandoned Underground station tour, the London Dungeon, SEA LIFE and the afternoon tea experience all drop out of the ten in March. Nothing has changed about any of them; what has changed is that after five months of ranking on shelter, there is finally enough daylight and enough dry weather to rank on what is actually best. Buckingham Palace remains closed, with no 2027 dates published.
Events and festivals in March 2027
March 2027 carries both the clock change and the whole of Easter. The clocks go forward on Sunday 28 March, which is also Easter Sunday. Good Friday falls on 26 March and Easter Monday on 29 March, both bank holidays.
| Event | Dates | Where | Free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tower of London returns to summer hours | Monday 1 March | Tower of London, EC3 | Ticketed |
| Good Friday | Friday 26 March | Nationwide, major cathedral services | Bank holiday |
| Clocks go forward, British Summer Time begins | Sunday 28 March, 01:00 | Nationwide | Not applicable |
| Easter Sunday | Sunday 28 March | Westminster Abbey, St Paul's and churches citywide | Services free, sightseeing restricted |
| Easter Monday | Monday 29 March | Nationwide, family attractions at holiday capacity | Bank holiday |
| Changing the Guard | Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays | Buckingham Palace forecourt | Free to watch |
The clock change is worth planning the final week around. British Summer Time begins at 01:00 on Sunday 28 March. Sunset is 18:24 on Saturday 27 March and 19:26 on Sunday 28 March, a gain of 1 hour 2 minutes overnight, exactly mirroring the loss on 25 October. Anything you wanted to do in the evening becomes possible from that date.
Easter falling on 28 March is late, and it means the entire holiday sits inside March rather than straddling into April. Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays in England and Wales, transport runs a Sunday-style service on both, and the family attractions run holiday programming from about the 26th.
Both Westminster Abbey and St Paul's Cathedral hold their most significant services of the year over that weekend. Sightseeing access is restricted or suspended around those services, and the pattern differs between the two buildings and between days. Check the specific date on the cathedral's own site before booking a visit for Good Friday, Easter Sunday or Easter Monday.
What is closed in March
March is a reopening month rather than a closing one. The Tower of London returns to summer hours on the 1st. The main access restrictions are at Westminster Abbey and St Paul's around the Easter services on 26, 28 and 29 March, when sightseeing gives way to worship.
| Site or service | Closed | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Tower of London | No longer on winter hours | Returns to its longer summer opening on 1 March, after four months of the shorter winter schedule. |
| Westminster Abbey | Restricted 26, 28 and 29 March | Holy Week and Easter services take precedence over sightseeing. Access patterns differ by day, so check the Abbey's own listing. |
| St Paul's Cathedral | Restricted around Easter services | The cathedral remains a working church. Sightseeing hours are reduced on major service days including Good Friday and Easter Sunday. |
| Buckingham Palace State Rooms | All month | Closed since 27 September. The 2027 summer season dates had not been published when this was written. |
| Changing the Guard | Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays | Monday, Wednesday and Friday only. The schedule is published a month ahead by the Household Division. |
Buckingham Palace opening season: Royal Collection Trust, visiting Buckingham Palace. Changing the Guard days are published a month at a time on the Household Division Changing the Guard listing, and the ceremony can be cancelled at short notice in bad weather.
The Tower returning to summer hours on 1 March is the most consequential opening in this guide, in the same way the London Eye closing on 1 January is the most consequential closure. It restores four months of lost afternoon, and it is the single reason the Tower goes from a cautious ninth-place winter recommendation to first place in March.
The Easter restrictions at the Abbey and St Paul's are not closures in the ordinary sense. Both buildings are open and both are at their most alive over Easter; what changes is that you cannot walk around them as a sightseer during the major services. If you want to attend rather than tour, that is an opportunity rather than a problem, and both welcome visitors at services free of charge.
Nothing else in our list closes in March. The Somerset House rink and the Warner Bros Studio Tour Christmas dressing are long gone, the London Eye is back from its January maintenance, and the only remaining seasonal absence is Buckingham Palace, whose 2027 opening dates had not been announced when this page was written.
What to wear and pack for London in March
March is the month of thirteen wet days and 11C highs, which means showers rather than downpours and layers rather than insulation. The most useful thing you can pack is a shell that fits over a jumper, because the temperature swing between a sunny March afternoon and a showery one is large.
March weather in London changes hour to hour more than any other month. It is entirely normal to have bright sunshine, a heavy ten-minute shower and clear skies again inside a morning. Packing for that means a layer you can add and remove quickly and a bag you do not mind carrying, rather than the single heavy coat that carried you through January.
If your trip crosses 28 March, pack for two different evenings. Before the clock change, it is dark by about 18:30 and you will want a warm layer for the walk back. After it, you have light until nearly 20:00, and the day gets substantially longer without getting any warmer.
- A light waterproof shell for the thirteen wet days
- A jumper or fleece to layer under it, for 3.8C mornings
- Sunglasses, which sound absurd in March and are not: the low sun is bright
- A flexible or open-dated view ticket, because March showers are unpredictable
- Awareness of the 28 March clock change if your trip crosses it
How we chose these tours
March is ranked on two dates. The Tower returns to summer hours on the 1st and takes first place on that alone. The clocks go forward on the 28th, and the open-top bus, the river cruise and the long day trips come back into the ten after five months out. The cathedrals move up for Holy Week.
- Popularity first. The base order is the verified review count on the live GetYourGuide listing, which is the only booking signal we can check independently.
- Then seasonal fit. A tour moves up or down for a specific, stated reason tied to March: temperature, wet days, sunset time, school holidays or a closure. Every move is explained in the entry itself rather than left implied.
- Closed means out. If an attraction is shut for the month, it does not appear in the ten at any rank, however popular it is. We name it in the closures table instead so you can plan around it.
- Nothing is invented. Prices, star ratings and review counts come from the live product page, checked on 28 July 2026. We do not publish an opening time, closure or event date we could not confirm, and we say so where we could not.
- We earn a commission. Booking links go to GetYourGuide and pay us if you book. That does not change the ranking: the review counts are public and you can check every one of them against the listing.
FAQs about London in March
When do the clocks go forward in London in 2027?
At 01:00 on Sunday 28 March 2027, when British Summer Time begins. Sunset moves from 18:24 on Saturday 27 March to 19:26 on Sunday 28 March, a gain of 1 hour 2 minutes overnight. That is the exact mirror of the hour lost on 25 October 2026, and it is the point in the year when London evenings become usable again.
When is Easter in London in 2027?
Good Friday falls on 26 March, Easter Sunday on 28 March and Easter Monday on 29 March, so the entire holiday sits inside March rather than April. Good Friday and Easter Monday are bank holidays in England and Wales. Easter Sunday is also the day the clocks go forward, which makes that weekend a busy one to travel through.
Does the Tower of London change its hours in March?
Yes. The Tower returns to its longer summer opening on 1 March after four months on the shorter winter schedule that runs from November. That restores the afternoon, which is why a March visit works as a half day where a December one only worked as a morning. It is the single biggest reopening in this ten-month guide.
Does it rain a lot in London in March?
It rains often rather than heavily. March has thirteen wet days, the highest count of any month in the London year, but only 58mm of rain in total, which is well below October's 77mm. In practice that means frequent short showers between bright spells, so a waterproof shell and a flexible plan work better than trying to pick a dry day.
Is March a good time to visit London?
The first three weeks are one of the better value windows in this guide: the Tower is back on summer hours from the 1st, daylight increases by nearly two hours across the month, and prices have not yet caught up. The final week is different, because Easter falls on 28 March and brings bank holidays, family crowds and restricted cathedral access.
How much daylight does London gain in March?
One hour 59 minutes across the month, more than in any other, running from 10 hours 54 minutes on 1 March to 12 hours 53 minutes on the 31st. On top of that, the clock change on 28 March shifts an hour of it into the evening, so sunset goes from 18:24 to 19:26 in a single night.