France at the end of March... Blossoms? Festivals/events? Crowds?

What a wonderful plan for your trip! Crowds won't be too bad. South of France will have nice weather, Normandy might be chilly and a bit rainy but I love both areas!

Probably a bit too early for the Princess Grace rose garden in Monaco - near the heliport and David Coulthard's hotel - but I will be there a week before you and I will check it out in case.

There is the fabulous Jardin Exotique in the northwest of Monaco - easy to reach from the station and a bus or a walk.

There is another Jardin Exotique in Eze le Village (not Eze sur Mer) after a steep climb up the footpath through the village, right at the very top - great views (I use a photo as a screensaver).

There should be plenty of lemons around in Menton.

Europeans don't generally know or use the expression Spring Break.

Nigel, thanks for the tip about possible roses in Monaco. I added Eze and the Jardin to my itinerary, there is nothing better than being rewarded with a beautiful view after a hike. Every spring, even the tiniest blossoms make me happy. Lemon blossoms would be intoxicating.

Sanderskn, where do you like to stay in/near Normandy? My fiance is very interested in the WWII memorials, and I am looking forward to the cliffs at Étretat.

We loved staying in the town of Bayeux. Great access to all the WWII sights.plus the town itself has a really good ww2 museum. I would really recommend renting a car, it's very easy driving in Normandy.

That is good to know, I was starting to delude myself that Paris might not be as busy at that time! The only things I want to accomplish in Paris on this trip are climbing the stairs of the tower at Notre Dame Cathedral, visiting the Louvre, and then hopefully getting an evening view of Paris from the Arc de Triomphe.

I am just crossing my fingers that the weather isn't too severe while we are there. I am trying to put together a 'sunny day' itinerary along with alternate plans for each day in case of bad weather, which is turning out to be easy as there are so many museums, cathedrals, etc.

Bayeux sounds just right for us, thanks!

We arrived in the South of France in early April in 2005 to find all of the trees bare of leaves and not a single leaf on the grape vines. Sort of a disappointment as we had an early spring at home. We weren't disapponted for long, though, as the trees and vines soon leafed out, the roadsides were full of blooming irises, and the wisteria sent purple cascades down the sides of buildings and fences. It was glorious! We got two springs that year. You may be there a little early, but if you look hard for signs of spring, you should find some.

I was in Paris the last weekend in March of this year and it was lovely! Of course, we had a light coat over a sweater, but there were a number of times that we only needed a sweater. There were plenty of flowers blooming. We sat for a long time in the gardens by Notre Dame, under the beautiful flowering trees, watching a bride and groom having their wedding photos taken. We walked everywhere as the weather was so wonderful and spent time in a number of parks. There were more tourists than I expected, but certainly nothing like the crowds of summer. I hope the weather will be wonderful for your honeymoon!