Best March destinations for 55+ couple

Have you traveled to Europe before? if not, I'd suggest London. There is so very much to see, most of the museums are free (!), and they speak English. Transportation is a breeze, once you get comfortable with the Tube, and the city is very walkable. Great food, as well. We particularly enjoy pub meals.

I was in Spain mid-March 2024. If you are interested in one week in one location, I have a couple ideas from that recent trip and previous visits.

I was in Barcelona for a week - that was a first trip for me. A week was not too much time if you enjoy Gaudi and Catalan modernism. I enjoyed the Maritime, Picasso, Catalan National Art Museums - there are others that are worthwhile as well. I took only one day trip out of Barcelona to Montserrat. Many threads on this board suggest other possibilities that I couldn't include. March was good for weather and lower tour numbers during my time.

Madrid - A favorite city of mine. I did encounter cold weather this year and wished I'd been better prepared, but it was a good time for low tourist crowds. I have been to Madrid multiple times including week long stays in the city. Great museums - major art museums Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza , Reina Sofía, smaller museums - Romanticism, Cerralbo,& others, the Palace, Royal Collections Gallery, Maritime, Temple of Debod, historic center, churches, on and on and on. (I am a fan.....) Day trips easily done include Toledo and Segovia. Other options - El Escorial close to Madrid, Cordoba for the Mezquita at a slightly longer distance.

Of course, London as suggested above is great for a week - I've done that in March also. Paris is another city that works well for a week. I've had multiple one week and slightly longer visits to Paris in different seasons of the year. Multiple day trip options from both of these cities. No lack of sites and museums in any of these spots!

Madrid is an easy flight, full of great museums.
Tell us something about yourselves that might spark an idea--this is like throwing darts. Or, tell us where you fly from and we can tell you how to determine the best direct flights to make the most of your week.

Try Malta.

We were in Spain in March of 2020. We returned home two days before the world shut down. We split 10 days between Barcelona and Madrid, with one overnight in Toledo in between. It was chilly in the evening but nice during the day. A million museums so you can have your choice. We didn't even go to the Prado and more than filled our time. I can't speak to the crowds - everything was blissfully empty for obvious reasons!

With only a week, I’d go to either London because there are lots of museums. Or Venice because it is a museum. But I’d also consider Paris for the sights /museums. Nice for the days trips along the Mediterranean. Florence for museums/history. It all depends on your interests.

PS: a lot of us use the “all topics” link to look at posts instead individual forums. You can quickly see what you are interested in. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/all-topics

You mention love of museums but dislike of crowds. Those dynamics militate against each other as museums mostly predominate in urban areas.

Hungary is one idea that would be perfect for a week of museum going and small towns. A three-town visit to Pecs in southern Hungary, Budapest and Eger in northeast Hungary might work. Pecs is a midsize town that served as a European cultural capital about 15 years. It's packed with great museums despite its midsize. Budapest is a big, aggressive city, bursting with great museums and sites, but maybe you could stay only 2 or 3 nights. (It's become my favorite European city and is easy to get around with its easy-to-learn metro system.) Finally, Eger is a midsize city with some fine museums and baths nearby.

Another one of my week-long sojourns was to Berlin, shortly before Covid. Lots of museums, easy access to the sites of Potsdam as well - multiple royal palaces, Bridge of Spies (Glieinicker Bridge), Cecilienhof of WWII fame. That visit was in early April - temps like home in Chicago.

Berlin offers a variety of around 170 museums plus a lot of fun things to do, e. g. events such as Chocolate Festival, special interest locations such as medieval restaurant Tafelrunde, hidden places like the tunnels below Berlin, and a lot of special cuisine from around the world.

Since you only have a week I might prioritize any nonstop destination from your home airport. Connections/transfers and possible delays could really eat into your available time on the ground.

Thumbs up to all the destinations mentioned above. I just returned from a 3 week trip with a week in each - Berlin, London and Paris. This past February we had a terrific trip to Madrid and Barcelona. My husband and I travel to Europe all seasons except for high, high season, summer. As to crowding in museums, we’ve found it’s an all the time thing regardless of the time of year. What I noticed in particular at the Barberini in Potsdam in late November, the museum was crowded with Germans, not foreign tourists. In early December, the Orsay in Paris was shoulder to shoulder, the ticket line at the Orangerie was an hour long.

Traveling in March you may encounter cold but I’d really count on some rain in most of Europe.

I suppose London makes sense because it is obviously Europe's best and most important city and has plenty of museums, sights, culture, etc.

But being so popular, I'm not sure if it meets the "huge crowds" avoidance preference, even in March!

Instead, perhaps consider the lesser European capital cities. Paris and Berlin have already been mentioned as lower destinations, but instead consider Lisbon. A lot to see in the city plus easy day-trips. Also, Portugal has friendlier people and better food than you'll get in France or Germany.

Better March weather than London might be Vienna. Hard to find a city with more museums and its not too packed with tourists. Paris would be excellent as well.

I am also a museum lover. Florence(if you love Renaissance art), London or Vienna-I was surprised at how much I loved Vienna.