Outerwear for early March

I have used a packable down jacket, a light quilted vest, and a medium weight shell jacket. I have a travel, windproof umbrella, as well. These combos have covered me for everything. I only travel with a carry on, in the winter months for just shy of 3 months. Bon voyage!

I'm going in late March/early April. What I usually do is look at the local weather forecast the night before I leave. Not so much for precip, as these forecasts are usually very changeable, but just for temperature, which is usually accurate. This dictates how I pack.

The longer and waterproof-er you can garb yourself in for Normandy in March, the better.

I have a standard outerwear set I bring whenever I travel in the in between and winter months -- light weight synthetic jacket, medium or heavy fleece jacket, lightweight down jacket, and waterproof hooded jacket. The light weight jacket works when the temperatures are on the warmer side. The fleece plus down plus waterproof jackets work when it gets really cold. For in between, I use some combination of the above. For my legs I bring regular pants, fleece lined pants, long underwear, and sometimes (if lots of rain is likely) waterproof pants. I also bring a warm hat and gloves. This combination has not failed me yet.

I wear the three heaviest jackets on the plane. If I get hot, I tie one or two of them around my waist. For that reason, I avoid coats because they are a little long to tie around your waist. It helps if you don't feel the need to look like a fashion plate. : )

In Normandy they say:

When you see the islands, it means it's going to rain. When you no longer see them, it's already raining.

Be prepared.

I'd have a long roomy raincoat/trench coat that I could then put a down jacket or polar tek under and be sure to pack lightweight long underwear like silks. It will rain. and it will be chilly.

Thumbs up for Kim's post! Yes, Waterproof for sure. Longer the better.

Is your trench waterproof? Some are, some aren't. Will your packable down jacket fit under the trench?

If your trench is not waterproof then get waterproofing spray designed for tents and shoes and spray it. I always do this to my coats and shoes before Paris trips as Paris tends to be showery and in recent trips we have had heavy rain several times. This stops works very well. I always travel with light weight waterproof/resistant hiking shoes and spraying them each trip increases the odds of dry feet -- they aren't for wading through streams, but work fine on rainy streets.

I have a lightweight mid thigh length windbreaker that is my current spring/fall travel coat and even though it was advertised as water resistant, I sprayed it -- it worked beautifully.