Weather in Lisbon in March

A good month. March is a solid month to be in Lisbon. Highs average 15.6 °C, lows 11.5 °C, and rain falls on 10 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

March ranks 8 of 12 in Lisbon: past the worst of the year but short of July, which is the month to book if the dates are open.

Rain on 10 days, 2 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 15.6 °C days and 11.5 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: the day barely swings — 4.1 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest March day reached 21.9 °C and the coldest night fell to 2.5 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 27 mm — roughly 45% of the month's rain in one day.

March is moderately variable: 10 mm in the driest year against 160 mm in the wettest, around an average of 60 mm. Roughly two Marchs in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 17.3 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 80%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How March sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 14.5 °C in February, 15.6 here, 16.9 in April. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in March

11.9 hours of daylight, gaining 1.3 hours across the month. That is between Lisbon's extremes of 14.9 and 9.5 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 15.3 °C in March — cold — a quick dip rather than a swim, and a wetsuit if you are in for longer. The sea peaks at 20.7 °C in September and bottoms out at 15.3 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

March in Lisbon versus nearby

If Lisbon is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Évora is a better bet in March — 2.5 °C warmer, 1 day less rain. Leiria is close enough to be a coin toss — 2.8 °C warmer, 1 day more rain.

So: March is a compromise. July is 31 points better and is what Lisbon is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Lisbon

See all twelve months in Lisbon, or where else to go in March.