Bank holidays in Luxembourg, and what's open on them

Luxembourg has 11 public holidays a year, and one of them no other country in Europe has. Below are the 2026 and 2027 dates with their weekdays, what shuts, the maximum shop hours under the new law and the school holidays, which are the weeks you’ll find the popular places busiest.

The eleven holidays, and the one only Luxembourg has

According to guichet.lu, every employee gets 11 statutory public holidays. In calendar order they run from New Year’s Day through Easter Monday, Labour Day, Europe Day, Ascension, Whit Monday, National Day on 23 June, the Assumption, All Saints, Christmas Day and St Stephen’s Day. Good Friday isn’t one, which may catch British visitors out, although banks do close.

The standout is 9 May. Since 2019 Luxembourg has treated Europe Day as a public holiday, and no other country does. It fits, in the birthplace of Robert Schuman and a seat of several EU institutions, as I explain in EU institutions in Luxembourg.

Counting from 3 October 2026, three holidays are left in the year. The next is All Saints on Sunday 1 November, followed by 25 and 26 December, a Friday and Saturday. One rule is worth knowing. Unlike UK bank holidays, a holiday that falls on a non-working day isn’t moved to the Monday; employees get a day off in lieu instead. So don’t count on a long weekend appearing out of nowhere.

What shuts on a public holiday?

The new law makes this clearer. Since 19 June 2026 shops may trade between 5:00 and 21:00 on weekdays, and between 5:00 and 19:00 at weekends, on public holidays and on the day before one. On 22 June, 24 and 31 December they close by 18:00 at the latest. And on New Year’s Day, Labour Day and Christmas Day opening is banned, except for bakers, butchers, patisseries, delis and tea rooms, whose window on those days runs from 5:00 until 19:00. Two days a year, shops may open round the clock.

Don’t read it the wrong way round. It’s a legal maximum, not each shop’s timetable, and plenty open for less. Restaurants, bars, hotels, shops in stations and the airport, motorway petrol stations, cinemas, fairs and markets aren’t covered by the law at all. If you’re planning a holiday-day shopping trip, check each place’s own hours; the basics are in shopping in Luxembourg.

Banks are a separate case. Beyond the 11 holidays, they also close on Good Friday and for the afternoon of 24 December.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Luxembourg for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

National Day, the holiday people actually celebrate

23 June is the one holiday with a real street party. In law it’s the day celebrating the Grand Duke’s birthday, but a 1961 decree fixed it on that date whatever the reigning Grand Duke’s actual birthday. On the eve, the 22nd, torches parade through the centre and fireworks go up over the Adolphe Bridge, and on the 23rd a ceremony at the Philharmonie, a military parade, a 21-gun salute from the Fetschenhof and a Te Deum in the cathedral. The day was fixed on 23 June partly for the weather, since Grand Duchess Charlotte’s birthday was on 23 January. In 2027 it falls on a Wednesday. How to plan around it is in Luxembourg National Day.

10 October and other days that aren’t holidays

Some important dates close nothing. 10 October is the National Day of Remembrance, marking the 1941 census when many Luxembourgers answered «Luxembourgish» while the occupiers expected them to declare themselves German. It isn’t a holiday, and you’ll find the full story in Luxembourg in the Second World War. Nor is the cathedral’s Octave, which runs from 17 April to 2 May in 2027, although the Éimaischen market does fall on a holiday, since it’s held on Easter Monday.

If you are staying the night, see the best hotel deals in Luxembourg for your dates: the well-placed rooms go fast.

School holidays, when it’s busiest

For planning, school holidays matter more than bank holidays, because those are the weeks with the biggest crowds at castles, lakes and parks. In the 2026-2027 school year they are All Saints from 31 October to 8 November, Christmas from 19 December to 3 January, Carnival from 6 to 14 February, Easter from 27 March to 11 April, Whitsun from 29 May to 6 June and summer from 16 July to 14 September. If I can, I avoid those weeks for the most visited sights, and if I can’t, I book castle and museum visits for the first slot of the morning.

So you do not lose the morning at the ticket office, browse tickets and tours in Luxembourg on GetYourGuide.

If you would rather go at your own pace, see the car hire deals in Luxembourg: the earlier you book, the more cars are left to choose from.

Before you fix your dates, compare tickets to Luxembourg: the same journey can cost very different amounts from one day to the next.