Liechtenstein's public holidays in 2026, and what closes on each

In the 2020 census nearly 70% of Liechtenstein’s residents were Catholic, and the holiday calendar shows it. There are feast days most British visitors won’t have come across as days off, such as Candlemas or the Nativity of Mary, and a national day in the middle of August. If your trip lands on one, it’s worth knowing what opens and what doesn’t.

Twenty dates, fifteen by law

For 2026 the tourist board lists 20 days without work in shops and industry. Five carry an asterisk, and the source explains that those aren’t statutory holidays under employment law. They’re 2 January, Shrove Tuesday, Good Friday, and 24 and 31 December. In practice they’re days when you’ll find a mix, some places open and some closed. England and Wales have eight bank holidays, so twenty dates sounds like a lot, but a quarter of them are customary rather than legal days off.

The other 15 are full public holidays. Alongside familiar ones like New Year’s Day, Easter Monday, Christmas Day and 26 December, there are Epiphany on 6 January, Candlemas on 2 February, St Joseph’s Day on 19 March, Ascension, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi, the Nativity of Mary on 8 September, All Saints’ Day and the Immaculate Conception. The table above lists them all with the day of the week.

What closes on a holiday?

Shops. These are days off for trade and industry, so supermarkets and ordinary shops shut. What stays open are the souvenir shops, which the tourist board says trade all year, holidays included.

Museums are the good news. The Kunstmuseum and National Museum, normally closed on Mondays, open on Easter Monday and Whit Monday. They close for just four days of holidays, over Christmas and New Year. Transport changes too. The 12E express bus from Sargans station to Vaduz runs Monday to Friday excluding holidays, so on a holiday you’d take the regular line 11, which takes about 32 minutes instead of 23. In summer, on a holiday the Sareis chairlift follows its weekend hours, opening at 8:00 and closing at 17:00. Normal shop and museum hours are set out in opening hours and Sundays in Liechtenstein.

15 August, the holiday that matters most

National day is 15 August, the same day as the Assumption. It has been celebrated since 1940, when the government chose the eve of Prince Franz Joseph II’s birthday, and in 1990 the Landtag decided to keep the date. The day opens with a state ceremony on the meadow beside Vaduz Castle, which in 2026 was ticket-only, followed by a public party on the Städtle into the small hours.

That day the two big Städtle museums charge nothing and stay open from 10:00 until 20:00. One detail from 2026 worth knowing is that there were no fireworks, cancelled because of an absolute ban on fires, so I wouldn’t assume they happen every year. Everything about the day is in Liechtenstein national day.

A holiday with a prize, 1 November

All Saints’ Day offers something no other day does. The princes’ crypt beside Vaduz Cathedral opens to the public on no other day, according to the Princely House itself. In 2026 it falls on a Sunday, and if you’re there, it’s a visit you can only make that day. The cathedral and its surroundings are covered in Vaduz Cathedral.

Carnival and the days that aren’t holidays

Shrove Tuesday, 17 February in 2026, carries an asterisk, but that doesn’t mean nothing happens. It’s the day of the Triesenberg parade, and in the weeks before there were parades in Vaduz, Malbun, Schaan and Mauren. If you’re visiting then, expect more costumes than open shops, and plan your shopping for another day. It’s covered in carnival in Liechtenstein. The following weekend, 21 and 22 February 2026, isn’t a holiday either, but it’s when almost every municipality burns its bonfire topped with a witch, explained in Funken Sunday.

And in 2027?

The copy of the official site I read didn’t yet include the 2027 holidays. Fixed dates repeat every year, but Easter, Ascension, Whitsun and Corpus Christi move, so I wouldn’t rely on them until they’re published, especially if you’re booking flights around a long weekend. If you’re planning well ahead, the year’s calendar of events is in events in Liechtenstein.