Solar eclipse in March: The best places in France to see it
Visibility will depend on where you are in the country
The visibility of the eclipse will depend on both location and the weather
Milton Buzon/Shutterstock
A solar eclipse in which the moon will pass partially in front of the sun will be visible throughout France at the end of March, with the exact visibility depending on the region.
The partial solar eclipse will happen on Saturday, March 29, 2025. The sun will partly disappear behind the moon, according to the celestial observation institute, l’Institut de mécanique céleste et de calcul des éphémérides (IMCCE).
The eclipse is known as ‘partial’, because a ‘full’ eclipse would mean that the moon is perfectly aligned between the sun and the earth. This March the moon will only partly pass in between.
The event is set to be visible from France from late morning until early afternoon.
Visibility variation across France
The eclipse is expected to last some three hours, 53 minutes, beginning at 9:50 and ending at 13:43, and reaching its maximum from 11:47 (French time).
Yet, how well people will be able to see it “depends on where you are in the country,” said Gilles Dawidowicz, vice-president of the French astronomical society, to Actu.fr.
“To see more of the solar surface eclipsed, it will be better to be in the west than in the east or in the south,” he said. Those in north-western France will also be able to see better than those in the south-east.
The best place to observe it will be in Brest (Finistère, Brittany), where 32.5% of the Sun's surface will be eclipsed. In Paris, it will be 23.5%, said Mr Dawidowicz.
The IMCCE forecasts that the visibility will be:
26.7% in Dunkirk
22% in Bordeaux
21.6% in Biarritz
16% in Strasbourg
15.7% in Lyon
14.2% in Perpignan
11.7% in Marseille
9.9% in Nice
Visibility is also dependent upon the weather; a very cloudy day will obscure most of the event.
Read also: Longest lunar eclipse of century visible across France
Read more: Pictured: Lunar eclipse as it appeared in south-west France
How to safely watch
Viewers are advised to protect their eyes with specially designed filtering equipment.
“Never observe the sun directly, either with the naked eye or a magnifying instrument,” said Mr Dawidowicz.
You can observe “with a screen or instruments that are equipped with filters,” he said, saying that suitable filters are “made of Mylar or black polymer, or even welder's glass”. Filters can be bought in shops, from opticians, on the internet, or from astronomy clubs.
Sunglasses do not provide enough protection to look directly at the sun, nor does glass that has been darkened with a candle or fire.
Another option is to go to an astronomy club or associations, said Mr Dawidowicz. “It is [happening on] a Saturday morning, many should be open to welcome people including children.”
Where else will the eclipse be visible?
Worldwide, the best view will be from the north-east of the United States, with a 74% eclipse predicted from Washington, DC.
It will also be visible at sunrise on the east coast of Canada, then progress towards almost all of Europe, and continue over Siberia at sunset.
It will also be visible from North Africa.
