Switzerland Public Holidays 2026 and 2027 by Canton

Switzerland has only one public holiday that applies to the whole country by federal law: 1 August, Swiss National Day. Every other date on a Swiss calendar, from New Year’s Day to Christmas, is set by the 26 cantons individually, so the real answer to “when is a public holiday in Switzerland” depends on which canton you mean. This guide gives the federal date, the cantonal tables for 2026 and 2027, what actually shuts on those days, and where Switzerland’s other holiday-shaped days (school breaks, Daylight Saving Time, days locals still work) fall.

Which Swiss holidays are federal and which are cantonal?

Only 1 August is a federal holiday in Switzerland. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which administers the federal Labour Act, states it plainly: “Der 1. August (Bundesfeiertag) ist der einzige eidgenössische Feiertag” (“1 August, the federal holiday, is the only holiday that is federal”). Article 20a of the Labour Act then lets each canton put at most eight further days on equal footing with a Sunday, and cantons choose which eight (or fewer) to use. That is why Geneva, a historically Protestant canton, recognises as few as seven full holidays a year while Ticino and Valais, both largely Catholic, recognise up to fifteen once school and local observances are counted alongside the labour-law holidays.

Two consequences follow directly. First, a date that closes every shop in Ticino, such as Corpus Christi, is an ordinary working Thursday in Zurich. Second, 1 August itself carries no automatic day off in lieu when it falls on a weekend, since a weekend day is already a rest day; 1 August 2026 falls on a Saturday and 1 August 2027 falls on a Sunday, so unless an individual employer’s contract says otherwise, there is no substitute weekday off in either year.

What are the 2026 and 2027 holiday dates by canton?

Listed below are the statutory holidays for eight cantons travellers ask about most, Zurich, Bern, Geneva, Vaud, Valais, Ticino, Basel-Stadt and Fribourg. Dates for the fixed-date holidays repeat each year; Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension and Whit Monday move with Easter, and Corpus Christi, Jeûne genevois and Lundi du Jeûne move with them in turn.

Movable dates, verified against a calendar rather than assumed:

Canton Zurich (Finanzdirektion, official 2026 circular): New Year’s Day (1 Jan), Berchtold’s Day (2 Jan), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day (1 May), Ascension, Whit Monday, Christmas Day (25 Dec). That is eight statutory holidays; 1 August is added in years it does not already fall on a weekend, and Zurich also gives cantonal staff a half day before Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, which is a workplace custom rather than a public holiday shops or attractions observe.

Canton Bern: New Year’s Day, Berchtold’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day, Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day (26 Dec), nine full holidays, plus a half-day for the federal Day of Prayer, Repentance and Thanksgiving (Bettag) on the third Sunday of September (20 September 2026, 19 September 2027).

Canton Geneva: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day, Jeûne genevois, Christmas Day and Restoration of the Republic (31 Dec, marking Geneva’s 1602 defence against Savoy). Geneva does not recognise Berchtold’s Day, Labour Day or St Stephen’s Day as statutory holidays, which is part of why it sits at the low end of the cantonal count.

Canton Vaud: New Year’s Day, Berchtold’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day, Lundi du Jeûne and Christmas Day.

Canton Valais: New Year’s Day, St Joseph (19 March), Easter Monday, Ascension, Corpus Christi, Swiss National Day, Assumption (15 August), All Saints’ Day (1 November), Immaculate Conception (8 December) and Christmas Day, reflecting its largely Catholic calendar. Note that Good Friday and Whit Monday are not statutory across the whole canton the way they are in Zurich or Vaud; check the commune if planning around one of those dates.

Canton Ticino: the fullest calendar in the country, New Year’s Day, Epiphany (6 January), St Joseph, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi, Sts Peter and Paul (29 June), Swiss National Day, Assumption, All Saints’ Day, Immaculate Conception, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day.

Canton Basel-Stadt: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day, Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day, plus half-day closures for Carnival Monday and Wednesday (23 and 25 February 2026) and the afternoon of 31 July before National Day.

Canton Fribourg: a split calendar depending on whether a commune is historically Catholic or Reformed. The five days observed everywhere in the canton are New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day and Christmas Day; Catholic communes add Berchtold’s Day, Good Friday, Corpus Christi, Assumption, All Saints’ Day, Immaculate Conception and St Stephen’s Day on top.

Canton St Gallen: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day, All Saints’ Day, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day, nine full holidays. All Saints’ Day is the only Catholic-calendar addition St Gallen recognises; Corpus Christi, Assumption and Immaculate Conception are ordinary working days there.

Canton Neuchâtel: New Year’s Day, Fête de la République (1 March, marking the canton’s 1848 switch from a Prussian principality to a Swiss republic), Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension, Whit Monday and Swiss National Day, plus Christmas Day. The Fête de la République falls on a Sunday in 2026 and a Monday in 2027, so it only produces an extra weekday off in 2027.

If your canton is not listed here, the cantonal government’s own website (usually under “Finanzdirektion”, “Personalamt” or “Feiertage”) publishes the official annual list, and it is worth checking directly since cantonal law, not custom, decides these dates.

What closes in Switzerland on public holidays?

Shops close on statutory public holidays in the canton where they operate, under cantonal retail-hours law, in the same way they close on Sundays; a handful of exceptions exist for railway-station and airport shops, bakeries and petrol-station kiosks. Banks and the stock exchange follow the SIX Swiss Exchange trading calendar, which lists New Year’s Day, Berchtold’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, Ascension, Whit Monday, Swiss National Day, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day as non-trading days; check the current SIX trading calendar for the exact list in a given year, since it does not always match every canton’s own list. Public transport runs on a Sunday timetable on national and most cantonal public holidays: expect Sunday-level frequency on SBB trains, PostBus routes and city trams and buses, with fewer early-morning and late-evening connections than on a weekday. Confirm the schedule for your specific route on sbb.ch before an early start, since a handful of tourist and mountain railways add extra services on public holidays rather than cutting them.

How are Switzerland’s main holidays celebrated?

Listed below are the country’s most widely observed holidays and how they are typically marked, wherever they are recognised.

• New Year’s Day (1 January). Most of Switzerland stays up for fireworks and parties on New Year’s Eve, then uses 1 January itself to recover, watch the traditional Lake Zurich swim some hardy locals still do, or start planning the year’s trips.
• Berchtold’s Day (2 January). Observed in most German-speaking cantons but not in Geneva, this day named after Berchtold V, Duke of Zähringen, is a quiet one: shops close in the cantons that recognise it and families often head to the mountains for early-season skiing or sledding.
• Good Friday. A solemn day even where it is not a statutory holiday, marked by church services reflecting on the crucifixion; in the cantons where it is a public holiday, shops and schools close.
• Easter Monday. Widely observed for egg hunts, family meals and, given the date usually falls in early spring, the first proper outdoor weekend of the year.
• Labour Day (1 May). Marked with union rallies and marches in cities that recognise it, though several German-speaking cantons, Zurich included, treat it as an ordinary working day for private employers even though public-sector staff usually get it off.
• Ascension. A Thursday holiday nationwide wherever it is recognised, commonly extended into a long weekend since the Friday after is often taken as a bridge day.
• Whit Monday. The day after Pentecost Sunday, observed with church services and, in many towns, local fairs and markets.
• Corpus Christi. A Catholic-canton holiday, most visibly marked with processions through Ticino and Valais towns; not observed at all in Zurich, Geneva or Vaud.
• Swiss National Day (1 August). The one date every canton shares, marked nationwide with fireworks, bonfires on hillsides and lakeshores, and speeches referencing the 1291 founding pact of the original three cantons.
• Assumption (15 August). A Catholic-canton holiday with special church services; treated as an ordinary working day in Zurich, Bern, Vaud and Geneva.
• All Saints’ Day (1 November). Observed with cemetery visits and candle-lighting in the Catholic cantons that recognise it.
• Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day (25 and 26 December). Nearly every canton observes Christmas Day; St Stephen’s Day is also widely, though not universally, a full holiday, Geneva being a notable exception.

What are the holiday dates in Switzerland that locals still work?

Some dates are widely marked in Switzerland without being public holidays anywhere, so shops, offices and schools stay open.

• Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, falls on a Sunday by definition and is not a separate day off since it always lands on the weekly rest day.
• Father’s Day, the first Sunday in June, is likewise never a working-day question since it is always a Sunday.
• Valentine’s Day (14 February) is a normal working day everywhere in Switzerland; restaurants add set menus but schools, offices and shops keep standard hours.

What are the Swiss school holidays in 2026 and 2027?

Switzerland has no single national school calendar. Each of the 26 cantons sets its own dates for the Christmas, sport, spring, autumn and summer breaks, so a family planning around school holidays needs the specific canton’s calendar rather than a national one. As a general pattern, most cantons run a two-week Christmas break spanning the turn of the year, a one-week sport or carnival break in February, roughly two weeks around Easter, five to six weeks of summer break between late June and mid-August depending on the canton, and a one- to two-week autumn break in October. Zurich and Geneva publish their exact term dates on their cantonal education-department websites each year; check the relevant canton’s site directly for 2026-2027 dates before booking around a school break, since the ranges shift by one to three weeks from canton to canton.

What is Daylight Saving Time in Switzerland in 2026 and 2027?

Switzerland follows the EU-wide Daylight Saving Time schedule even though it is not an EU member. Clocks move forward one hour, from Central European Time (UTC+1) to Central European Summer Time (UTC+2), at 2 a.m. on the last Sunday of March: 29 March 2026 and 28 March 2027. They move back an hour to standard time at 3 a.m. on the last Sunday of October: 25 October 2026 and 31 October 2027.

Where to go in Switzerland during the holidays

Switzerland’s main sights stay open through most public holidays, with adjusted hours on the specific days each canton observes. Four places draw the most holiday visitors.

1. Lake Zurich. The lakeside in and around Zurich fills up on summer public holidays, with swimming from the public bathing spots, boat trips and walks along the shore drawing both locals and visitors. Its parks and rose gardens host holiday events, and the lakeside towns run fireworks displays on Swiss National Day.
2. St Pierre Cathedral, Geneva. Geneva’s Old Town cathedral holds special services at Easter and Christmas, two of its busiest weeks for visitors, and its tower is open to climb for views over the Old Town and Lake Geneva between services.
3. Chapel Bridge, Lucerne. The medieval wooden bridge and the Old Town around it stay busy with holiday crowds year-round, and Lucerne’s Christmas market adds an extra draw in the run-up to 25 December.
4. Thun Castle. The castle’s history museum and knights’ hall attract families during school holidays, with medieval-themed events timed to the breaks.

Zurich and Geneva both have their own dedicated guides on this site with more detail on what to see beyond the holiday calendar. For background on the country itself, see facts about Switzerland and famous Swiss people, including the mathematician Leonhard Euler and the physicist Charles Édouard Guillaume, both frequently cited among the country’s most significant scientists. For a full rundown of towns and regions worth building a trip around, see places to visit in Switzerland.

About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the team covers Switzerland for independent travellers, including the practical planning details, like holiday dates and cantonal quirks, that make the difference between a smooth trip and a closed-shop surprise. This page is updated when Swiss federal or cantonal authorities change a date or a rule.