Good Friday and Easter Monday are two holidays that are celebrated in some Swiss cantons over the Easter weekend, but not in others. And one canton has no public holidays at all.
We’ve updated this story to reflect the dates for Easter 2025
Easter is fast-approaching and many people living in Switzerland look forward to enjoying an extended weekend. In Switzerland – with the exception of the national holiday on August 1st – the public holidays that do not fall on a Sunday are determined by the cantons.
Oh, and if a public holiday happens to fall on a weekend day, it’s tough luck – it will not be moved to a working day (unlike, for instance, in the UK).
But where in Switzerland do you get both Good Friday and Easter Monday off work during Easter, and which canton does not grant you any free time at all to partake in festivities?
Read on to find out.
Enjoy a 4-day break in these cantons
If you happen to work in one of the following cantons, then quite frankly, you’ve hit the public holiday jackpot.
These cantons will let you enjoy an extended weekend in all its Easter glory: Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Basel-Country, Basel-City, Geneva, Glarus, Grisons, Jura, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Vaud, and Zurich.
Good Friday, April 18th
Almost all Swiss cantons recognise Good Friday as a public holiday apart from Ticino and Valais.
There is also hope for some workers of certain companies based in these two cantons given that most stores and banks will remain closed – despite Good Friday not being recognised as a public holiday.
Ticino is after all a majority Catholic canton (around 70 percent of its population is of the Catholic faith) and for devout Catholics, Good Friday – while a strict day of fasting and abstinence – is not considered a holiday.
READ ALSO: Why is Ticino Switzerland’s favourite Easter destination?
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Easter Monday, April 21st
Easter Monday is officially a day off across Switzerland apart from residents in the cantons of Valais, Neuchatel, Solothurn and Zug.
However companies in these cantons may still give their workers the day off.
If you live in Valais…too bad!
The canton of Valais is in fact the only of Switzerland’s 26 cantons to not give its workforce any time off during Easter — at least by law. Different companies may of course decide to give them a day off anyway.
But that isn’t to say that there isn’t anything Easter-related going on. From moulding chocolate bunnies to egg hunts, and markets to workshops, Valais has a packed agenda this Easter – you’ll just have to do it at the weekend.
