Long weekends in Germany, 2026

2026 has 9 public holidays, and 7 of them give you a weekday off. The best bridge: 5 days off for 1 day of leave around Good Friday and Easter Monday.

9 public holidays7 weekdays offBest: 5 days for 1 day of leaveNationwide, pick a region below

The best bridges in 2026

Each public holiday on a weekday, with the leave that stretches it furthest.

  1. Thu, Jan 1

    New Year's Day

    • Best value

      4 days off for 1 day of leave · Thu, Jan 1 to Sun, Jan 4

      Take off: Fri, Jan 2

  2. Fri, Apr 3 and Mon, Apr 6

    Good Friday, Easter Monday

    • Free long weekend

      4 days off, no leave needed · Fri, Apr 3 to Mon, Apr 6

    • Best value

      5 days off for 1 day of leave · Thu, Apr 2 to Mon, Apr 6

      Take off: Thu, Apr 2

    • Longest break

      16 days off for 8 days of leave · Sat, Mar 28 to Sun, Apr 12

      Take off: Mon, Mar 30 to Thu, Apr 2 and Tue, Apr 7 to Fri, Apr 10

  3. Fri, May 1

    Labour Day

    • Free long weekend

      3 days off, no leave needed · Fri, May 1 to Sun, May 3

    • Best value

      4 days off for 1 day of leave · Thu, Apr 30 to Sun, May 3

      Take off: Thu, Apr 30

    • Longest break

      10 days off for 5 days of leave · Fri, Apr 24 to Sun, May 3

      Take off: Fri, Apr 24 and Mon, Apr 27 to Thu, Apr 30

  4. Thu, May 14

    Ascension Day

    • Best value

      4 days off for 1 day of leave · Thu, May 14 to Sun, May 17

      Take off: Fri, May 15

    • Longest break

      12 days off for 6 days of leave · Thu, May 14 to Mon, May 25

      Take off: Fri, May 15 and Mon, May 18 to Fri, May 22

  5. Mon, May 25

    Whit Monday

    • Free long weekend

      3 days off, no leave needed · Sat, May 23 to Mon, May 25

    • Best value

      4 days off for 1 day of leave · Fri, May 22 to Mon, May 25

      Take off: Fri, May 22

    • Longest break

      10 days off for 5 days of leave · Sat, May 16 to Mon, May 25

      Take off: Mon, May 18 to Fri, May 22

  6. Fri, Dec 25

    Christmas Day

    • Free long weekend

      3 days off, no leave needed · Fri, Dec 25 to Sun, Dec 27

    • Best value

      4 days off for 1 day of leave · Thu, Dec 24 to Sun, Dec 27

      Take off: Thu, Dec 24

    • Longest break

      16 days off for 8 days of leave · Sat, Dec 19 to Sun, Jan 3

      Take off: Mon, Dec 21 to Thu, Dec 24 and Mon, Dec 28 to Thu, Dec 31

Plan your leave for 2026

Tell it how many days of leave you have. It picks the breaks that give the most days off in a row.

Days of leave
10

32 days off in 6 breaks

Uses 10 days of leave

  1. Thu, Jan 1 to Sun, Jan 44 days off for 1 day of leave
  2. Thu, Apr 2 to Mon, Apr 65 days off for 1 day of leave
  3. Thu, Apr 30 to Sun, May 34 days off for 1 day of leave
  4. Thu, May 14 to Sun, May 174 days off for 1 day of leave
  5. Fri, May 22 to Mon, May 254 days off for 1 day of leave
  6. Thu, Dec 24 to Sun, Jan 311 days off for 5 days of leave

2026 at a glance

Public holidays in Germany, 2026

DateHolidayWhere
January 1ThursdayNew Year's DayNationwide
January 6TuesdayEpiphanyBaden-Württemberg, Bayern, and Sachsen-Anhalt
March 8SundayInternational Women's Day, Falls on a weekendBerlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
April 3FridayGood FridayNationwide
April 5SundayEaster Sunday, Falls on a weekendBrandenburg
April 6MondayEaster MondayNationwide
May 1FridayLabour DayNationwide
May 14ThursdayAscension DayNationwide
May 24SundayPentecost, Falls on a weekendBrandenburg
May 25MondayWhit MondayNationwide
June 4ThursdayCorpus Christi
6 regions

Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Hessen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland

August 15SaturdayAssumption, Falls on a weekendSaarland
September 20SundayInternational Children's Day, Falls on a weekendThüringen
October 3SaturdayGerman Unity Day, Falls on a weekendNationwide
October 31SaturdayReformation Day, Falls on a weekend
9 regions

Brandenburg, Hansestadt Bremen, Hansestadt Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen

November 1SundayAll Saints' Day, Falls on a weekend
5 regions

Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland

November 18WednesdayDay of Prayer and RepentanceSachsen
December 25FridayChristmas DayNationwide
December 26SaturdayBoxing Day, Falls on a weekendNationwide

Turn Good Friday into a trip

Plan the days, the stays and the bookings in one itinerary, with your group, on Waiz.

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Long weekends in Germany: questions

There are 9 nationwide public holidays in Germany in 2026, 7 of them on a weekday. Regions add their own, from 10 to 12 in total depending on where you work.

Taking 1 day of leave off around Good Friday and Easter Monday (Thu, Apr 2) gives you 5 days off in a row.

Spend leave next to public holidays that fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or a Monday or Friday next to a weekend. With 10 days of leave of leave, the planner above finds 32 days off in 2026.

Holiday dates from the date-holidays project (CC BY-SA 3.0), checked against official government sources. Company agreements and contracts can add or move days off; check yours before booking.

Keep planning

Long weekends in Germany, 2027Long weekends in AustriaLong weekends in SwitzerlandLong weekends in FranceLong weekends in BelgiumBest time to visit, by destinationPacking list generator

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