Things to Do in Russia in March
March weather, activities, events & insider tips
Low Season · Budget Friendly
March Weather in Russia
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
37°F (3°C)
High Temp
24°F (-4°C)
Low Temp
1.5 inches (38 mm)
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
⚠ Ice falling from 5-story building eaves - walk under scaffolding when available.
⚠ Sudden ice storms can ground domestic flights - build 24-hour buffers into tight connections.
Is March Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + March is the last month before Moscow and St Petersburg's hotel rates jump 40-60% for White Nights season. You'll get the Hermitage, Kremlin Armoury, and Bolshoi backstage tours at shoulder-season pricing.
- + The snowpack is still thick enough for proper sleigh rides in Sergiev Posad and Karelia. But days have stretched to 12 hours of light - good for photographing the candy-colored churches of Yaroslavl against white fields.
- + Maslenitsa (Butter Week) happens in early March - entire villages outside Suzdal build 15-meter hay-stuffed effigies, torch them at sunset, and hand you still-warm blini slathered in cloudberry jam. It's the one time Russians openly celebrate pre-Christian rituals without irony.
- + The Trans-Siberian Railway runs through landscapes that look like Narnia - birch forests glazed in hoarfrost, Lake Baikal's turquoise ice pressure ridges, and the occasional red fox trotting alongside the tracks. March light is angled and golden in a way mid-winter's flat grey never achieves.
Considerations
- − Sid-na-Kupala: sidewalks turn into ankle-deep slush rivers by 2 pm when temperatures flirt with 37°F (3°C), then freeze into glass-slick ice rinks overnight. You'll develop a penguin waddle whether you want to or not.
- − Café terraces are shuttered. The city's social life moves underground to overheated metro passages and kitchen-filled courtyards where babushkas sell homemade pickles from prams. If you crave outdoor people-watching, come back in May.
- − Some Golden Ring towns - Plyos on the Volga - remain half-hibernated. Museums keep erratic 'winter hours' and your guesthouse might run out of hot water when the village boiler decides to nap.
Best Activities in March
Top things to do during your visit
Moscow Metro Palace Tours
March's 24°F (-4°C) mornings make the metro's 28 stations look like underground tsarist palaces appealing. Ride the brown circle line at 8 am with commuters, exit at Komsomolskaya to see its yellow-cake ceiling mosaics glittering under chandeliers, then hop to Ploshchad Revolyutsii to rub the bronze dog's nose for luck. The system is heated to 68°F (20°C) - you'll strip layers faster than a Siberian in Bangkok.
Booking Tip: Buy a Troika card at any metro window. Load 500 rubles and ride all day. English-language tours typically run twice weekly - check current schedules in the booking widget below.
Baikal Ice Trekking Routes
By March the lake's ice is 1 m (3.3 ft) thick and crystal clear - you can see methane bubbles frozen mid-burst 30 m (98 ft) below your boots. Trek from Listvyanka to Bolshiye Koty village (22 km / 13.7 mi) across pressure ridges that glow turquoise where cracks refract sunlight. Daylight lasts 11 hours so you can start late, sip cedar-nut tea with Buryat families, and still reach town before dusk.
Booking Tip: Book ice-trek operators 7-10 days ahead. Look for guides carrying 20 m (66 ft) throw-ropes and ice screws - the surface can be slippery even at -5°C (23°F). See current tours in booking section below.
St Petersburg Canal Cruises
Ice breakers clear the Neva by mid-March, letting small boats slip under 18 stone bridges while the city's 18th-century facades still wear white fur hats of snow. You'll pass the Winter Palace's 1 km (0.6 mi) facade reflected in black water, hear church bells echo across 90 frozen canals, and watch university students dare each other to swim the 2°C (36°F) river for 100 ruble bets.
Booking Tip: Only heated boats with blankets run before April - confirm cabin heating when booking. Morning cruises catch golden light hitting the gold-domed St Isaac's Cathedral. Afternoon trips see bridges split for night traffic at 1:45 am.
Kazan Winter Mosque Visits
The Kul Sharif Mosque's turquoise tiles pop against March snow like Instagram filter gone right. Inside, Tatarstan imams serve plov with dried apricots after noon prayers while outside, students build snow minarets. Temperatures hover around 28°F (-2°C) - warm enough to wander the Kremlin walls for two hours without losing feeling in your fingers, cold enough that the nearby frozen Kazanka River becomes a highway for ice-fishermen hauling pike through 50 cm (20 in) holes.
Booking Tip: Arrive before 11 am when school groups flood the prayer hall. Women receive matching silk scarves at the door. Men should cover heads with provided embroidered skullcaps.
Sochi Mountain Skiing
The Caucasus still hold 2 m (6.6 ft) of powder in March. But days hit 46°F (8°C) at Rosa Khutor - ski in a t-shirt, then ride the gondola down to 60°F (15°C) Black Sea beaches where locals barbecue shashlik. The contrast feels illegal: morning carve on 2,320 m (7,612 ft) slopes, afternoon swim in 12°C (54°F) water with snowcaps framing your selfie.
Booking Tip: Book lift passes online a week ahead; Russian holidays March 8 and 23 create sudden spikes. Afternoon sessions (1-5 pm) are cheapest and warmest.
Where to Stay in Russia in March
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for March travellers.
March Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
Early March (week before Orthodox Lent)
Maslenitsa
Russia's pre-Lenten pancake carnival. In Suzdal, villagers hand you hot blini straight from cast-iron pans, then watch them burn a 12 m straw maiden to guarantee spring's return. Moscow's Gorky Park hosts mock fist-fights where men in felt boots whack each other with frozen willow branches - supposedly for health.
March 8 (nationwide holiday)
International Women's Day
March 8 transforms every metro car into a tulip delivery route. Men carry armfuls so big they block doors. Office parties start at 3 pm and by 6 pm the entire country is tipsy on Soviet champagne. Restaurants require reservations two weeks out - even Burger King.
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View Russia Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
Restaurant kitchens close 3-6 pm for 'technological break' - a Soviet holdover. Eat late lunch at 2 pm or wait until 7 pm. Standing outside a locked door at 4 pm marks you as clueless.
The 'business lunch' (biznes lanch) phenomenon means three-course meals at half price between noon-4 pm. Look for signs in office districts - it's how locals afford restaurants that appear expensive.
If babushkas at the market shout 'S klyevom!' while weighing your pickles, they're warning you about pickpockets, not commenting on fish freshness.
Train station lockers use Soviet-era tokens, not coins. Buy tokens from the 'Kamera Khraneniya' window, not the ticket booth - babushkas will queue-jump while you figure this out.
Avoid These Mistakes
Assuming credit cards work everywhere. Bring cash to Golden Ring towns - even Suzdal's main bakery is cash-only and the nearest ATM is 15 km away in Vladimir.
Wearing shoes inside Russian homes. Hosts provide tapochki (slippers) but showing up in outdoor footwear signals disrespect deeper than you intend.
Booking the 8 am Kremlin Armoury tour. March sunrise is 7:30 am; you'll queue in pitch darkness at -5°C (23°F) while the 11 am slot gets golden light through the cathedrals.
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Top-rated things to do in Russia this March
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