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Where to go in March / Germany in March / Cologne & Bonn / March

Germany · City

Cologne & Bonn
in March.

Illustration of Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge from the Deutz Rhine bank
Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern BridgeDestination view, not month-specific.

Is March a good time?

Temperature unit

Cool days.
A steady visitor season.

March averages 53°F afternoons, with about 11 rain days. Later March is typically warmer.

Afternoons
53°F
Rain days
11
Visitor demand
76%of August peak

Historical Köln regional averages, not a forecast or a measure of queues. Overnight demand compares average stays per day. Covers Cologne, Bonn and Aachen; conditions vary within the region.

Overall match

6.1/10 · scores & priorities

What matters most?

Weather 50% · Crowds 30% · Cost 20%

#8 of 12 months here · Balanced mix

Weather5.9/10Good
CrowdsSteady all yearsimilar all year; overnight stays do not measure queues
CostPriceyfor Europe; Germany-wide price level

Overall combines weather, overnight demand and cost. It does not include sea temperature.

Plan your March

What to expect.

What should I pack?

Afternoons around 53°F (12°C): a sweater and a light jacket; nights around 36°F (2°C): a winter coat, hat and gloves. Bring rain gear: about 11 days with at least 1 mm of rain. About 12 hours of daylight.

A typical day: temperatures & daylightAfternoons, nights & daylight Show detailsHide details

About 12 hours of daylight.

Sunrise 06:49Sunset 18:3636°F53°F00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00

The sun rises about 06:49 and sets about 18:36 (local time, mid-month). Mornings start around 36°F (2°C); afternoons reach about 53°F (12°C). Expect rain on about 11 days in a typical March.

Typical afternoon
53°F (12°C)
average daily high, 15 recent Marches
Night low
36°F (2°C)
average daily minimum
Daylight
11h 47m
on the 15th, computed from latitude

Early, middle or late?

Early or late March?

Late March is typically warmer. The afternoon high averages 49°F on the 1st, versus 56°F on the 31st. Historical wet-day frequency falls from 39% to 28% between those dates.

Early March 1 March

49°F

Typical afternoon high

39% historical wet-day frequency

Mid March 15 March

53°F

Typical afternoon high

33% historical wet-day frequency

Late March 31 March

56°F

Typical afternoon high

28% historical wet-day frequency

Historical daily averages from 2011–2025, smoothed over two weeks. A seasonal pattern, not a forecast. This does not establish which week has the lowest prices or fewest visitors.

Public holidays · 2027: 26 Mar Good Friday; 29 Mar Easter Monday.

Daily calendar & holiday datesMarch 2027 · historical weather & dated holidays Show calendarHide calendar

March 2027 calendar

Weather shows historical patterns, not a forecast. Holidays and events use the dates shown for 2027.

MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
149°250°350°450°550°651°751°
852°952°1052°1152°1253°1353°1453°
1553°1653°1754°1854°1954°2054°2154°
2254°2355°2455°2555°2655°2756°2856°
2956°3056°3156°

Afternoon high rain likely (25%+) local school holidays public holiday event

Afternoons warm from about 50°F (10°C) in the first week to 56°F (13°C) in the last. The chance of a wet day runs 27–39%. Local schools are out 22–31 March 2027.

Schools here are off 22–31 March 2027 (Easter holidays). Public holidays: 26 Mar Good Friday; 29 Mar Easter Monday. Elsewhere in March 2027, the share of people living where schools are out on a typical day: Spain 30%, Italy 19%, France 10%, Netherlands 38%. (School holidays: OpenHolidays, ODbL.)

Crowds and cost

Visitor season

Will it be busy?

Steady all year. March averages 76% of August's overnight stays per day. Overnight demand varies little across the year.

Overnight stays across Köln do not measure queues, day visitors or congestion at individual sights.

Hotel price season

Will it be cheaper?

About usual. Estimated from national hotel prices and local visitor demand; no measured regional room rate is available.

Fewer overnight stays do not automatically mean cheaper rooms. Check actual quotes for your trip.

Germany as a whole
Above EU average
2024 restaurants and hotels price level: 112 where the EU average is 100. A relative index, not a room rate.

Year-to-year variation

How much does March vary?

Across the recorded years

In the 15 years from 2011 to 2025, the month's afternoons averaged between 44°F (7°C) and 58°F (14°C); in 7 of them they were within 3°F (1.5°C) of the typical 53°F (12°C). Rain days ranged from 1 to 18; half the years had 5–13.

Rain days in each March

Historical rain days; exact figures in the table below. 2011: 5 rain days520112012: 5 rain days52013: 8 rain days82014: 3 rain days32015: 10 rain days102016: 14 rain days142017: 11 rain days112018: 13 rain days132019: 16 rain days162020: 12 rain days122021: 12 rain days122022: 5 rain days52023: 18 rain days182024: 12 rain days122025: 1 rain days12025
Rain days
11
at least 1 mm, typical year; about 15 in a wet year
Mostly sunny days
7 of 31
cloud cover under 30%
Years with a 95°F+ day
0 of 15
no March in the last 15 years had a day at or above 95°F (35°C)
Good weather days
11 of 31
rated very good or better
See every recorded MarchHistorical monthly averages, year by year Show detailsHide details
Historical monthly averages, not daily extremes.
YearAfternoon highRain days
201154°F5
201256°F5
201344°F8
201458°F3
201552°F10
201649°F14
201757°F11
201849°F13
201954°F16
202053°F12
202153°F12
202256°F5
202352°F18
202457°F12
202556°F1

Checked against 10 local weather stations. How we check

Compare dates

February, March
or April?

Historical regional averages. Overnight demand vs August peak, measured as average stays per day.
Typical conditionsFebMarApr
Afternoons47°F53°F60°F
Rain days11118
Overnight demand65%76%85%

February: Cooler afternoons than March. February guide →

April: Warmer afternoons and fewer rain days than March. April guide →

Overnight demand measures accommodation stays, not queues.

Compare any of the 12 monthsChoose another month and compare it with March Show comparisonHide comparison

Yellow marks the top three months on the Balanced mix. March stays as your reference.

Hotel stays vary little through the year. April to September have a Weather score at least 1.0 point higher than March.

Your comparison

March or February?

Overnight stays vary little through the year.

National hotel prices and local visitor demand suggest about usual. No measured regional room rate is available.

Read the February guide →
March compared with another month
Typical conditionsMarchFebruary
Afternoons53°F47°F
Nights36°F33°F
Rain days1111
Visitor seasonSteady all yearSteady all year
Overall / 106.15.6
Month rank#8#10
Every month, in detail Show detailsHide details
All 12 months. Scores and ranks follow your priorities. Explore the whole year.
MonthOverallRankHighLowRain daysWeatherVisitor season
January4.9#1243°F32°F163.9Steady all year
February5.6#1047°F33°F114.7Steady all year
March6.1#853°F36°F115.9Steady all year
April6.8#660°F40°F87.2Steady all year
May7.2#567°F47°F108.1Steady all year
June7.5#374°F54°F98.7Steady all year
July7.6#276°F56°F118.7Steady all year
August7.6#177°F56°F98.8Steady all year
September7.4#470°F51°F78.6Steady all year
October6.5#761°F46°F126.7Steady all year
November5.7#951°F39°F135.1Steady all year
December5.0#1146°F36°F164.0Steady all year

Near here

Nearby places in March

Nearby regions, nearest first. Distances are centre to centre, as the crow flies; they are not road distances or journey times.

Elsewhere in Europe

Better March weather than Cologne & Bonn

Cologne & Bonn's weather ranks 25 of 41 city regions this month. These city regions outside Germany have clearly better weather on your dates, nearest first, each compared with Cologne & Bonn.

All of Germany in March · Everywhere in March

How we knowSources, regional scope & scoring method Show detailsHide details

Hotel stays are steady all year here: this month is 76% of the busiest and 10% below average. That counts overnight stays, not how busy the sights are.The figures cover the whole Köln region, suburbs included. That means about 36,000 overnight visitors on a typical March night across the region, 73% of them from Germany itself. Rentals booked through Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor add up to 5,100 more: 14 for every 100 counted above. Some are the same properties counted twice.

Climate suitability (HCI:Urban, 0–100)64
How our weather was checked10 open weather stations in this region, January and July: afternoon highs typically within 1°F (0.1°C), night lows within 1°F (0.7°C).
Tourist nights per 1,000 residents per day8
Busiest month hereAugust · 11
Visitors as share of people present0.8%
Rank among Europe's regions this month45th percentile
Domestic share of nights73%
Platform rental nights per 100 counted nights14
Visitor share if every platform night were extra0.9%
National hotel-price seasonGermany historical 2024–2025 index: About usual (−3% vs its average month). Not a local room quote.
Population used4.5 million
Statistical regionDEA2 · Köln

Crowds: Eurostat nights spent at tourist accommodation, by month and NUTS 2 region, 2024–2025 average. Overnight visitors per night is the month's nights divided by its days; the per-1,000 figure is Eurostat's, against each year's population. Platform rentals: Eurostat nights booked via Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and Tripadvisor, 2024–2025 average, shown separately because some properties are in both counts. Weather: Holiday Climate Index computed from ERA5 reanalysis with daily highs, night lows and rain days corrected from open national weather-service station records, 2011–2025, population-weighted to the region; day-by-day figures are the same data averaged by date. Heat and rain odds are counted across those years. Sunrise and sunset: NOAA solar equations, local time. Prices: Eurostat price level index and HICP, national. Full method · this region's data.