What is open on Sundays and public holidays in Norway? 1 May, 17 May, Easter and Christmas

Short answer: On public holidays, 1 May and 17 May, ordinary shops in Norway are closed. Open are small grocery shops and kiosks with up to 100 m² of sales area, petrol stations up to 150 m², restaurants and cafés, plus shops in designated tourist areas and duty-free at the airport. Beer is not sold in shops on these days, and Vinmonopolet is closed.

Updated 26.09.2026 · Facts checked 26.09.2026 by the NorgeGuide editorial team

Public holidays in Norway 2026 and 2027

Source for which days are public holidays: Holidays Act § 2 (Lovdata), checked 26.09.2026. Dates are calculated according to the Act.

• New Year's Day: 1 January
• Maundy Thursday: 2 April 2026 · 25 March 2027
• Good Friday: 3 April 2026 · 26 March 2027
• Easter Sunday: 5 April 2026 · 28 March 2027
• Easter Monday: 6 April 2026 · 29 March 2027
• 1 May (public holiday): Friday 1 May 2026 · Saturday 1 May 2027
• Ascension Day: 14 May 2026 · 6 May 2027
• 17 May (Constitution Day): Sunday 17 May 2026 · Monday 17 May 2027 (same day as Whit Monday)
• Whit Sunday: 24 May 2026 · 16 May 2027
• Whit Monday: 25 May 2026 · 17 May 2027
• Christmas Day and Boxing Day: 25 and 26 December

All ordinary Sundays are also public holidays.

What is open on public holidays – and what is closed?

The main rule in the Holidays Act § 5: shops selling to consumers must be closed on public holidays. The exceptions (Lovdata):

• Groceries and kiosks with a total sales area of up to 100 m² – typically small convenience stores and kiosks.
• Petrol stations with a sales area of up to 150 m².
• Food and drink places: restaurants, cafés and bars may open.
• Designated tourist areas approved by the county governor, shops at campsites in season, garden centres, craft and souvenir shops.
• Duty-free in the departure area at airports.

Large supermarkets, shopping centres and most other shops are closed. Pharmacies, emergency clinics and hospitals have their own arrangements – the emergency clinic (legevakt) is always open (call 116 117).

What is open on 1 May?

1 May is an official public holiday and treated like a Sunday. For shops, the same rules as on public holidays apply (Act on 1 and 17 May, § 1, checked 26.09.2026): large shops and shopping centres are closed; small grocery shops up to 100 m², petrol stations, restaurants and cafés may open. Beer is not sold in shops, and Vinmonopolet is closed. Many cities have parades and demonstrations – check local road closures and timetables with the transport company.

What is open on 17 May?

17 May is also an official holiday treated like a Sunday – the same rules as 1 May. Restaurants and cafés are often full, and city centres have children's parades and closed streets in the morning. Buy what you need the day before.

What is open at Easter and Christmas?

From Maundy Thursday to Easter Monday there are four public holidays (Easter Saturday is not a public holiday). At Christmas, 25 and 26 December are public holidays. On Christmas Eve, Easter Saturday and Whitsun Eve shops must close at 4 pm (Holidays Act § 5). On the last three Sundays before Christmas Eve shops may open from 2 pm to 8 pm.

When can you buy beer and wine – and when is Vinmonopolet open?

• Beer in shops (up to 4.7 %): not on Sundays, public holidays, 1 and 17 May. Sales are allowed until 8 pm on weekdays and until 6 pm on days before Sundays and holidays (except the day before Ascension Day), but the municipality can set shorter hours (Alcohol Act § 3-7, checked 26.09.2026).
• Vinmonopolet: may open 8:30 am–6 pm on weekdays and 10 am–4 pm on the day before Sundays and holidays (Alcohol Act § 3-4); closed on Sundays and public holidays.

See Vinmonopolet stores in Oslo in the directory.

Does public transport run on public holidays?

Yes, but often on a Sunday timetable. Check times in the app (Ruter in Oslo, Entur for all of Norway). See public transport in Oslo.

What is open on Sundays in Norway?

Sunday is a public holiday under the law, and shops must stay closed (Act on Public Holidays, §§ 2 and 5). The law has these exceptions:

• Grocery shops and kiosks with a sales area of up to 100 m².
• Petrol stations with a sales area of up to 150 m².
• Restaurants, cafés and other places serving food and drink.
• Shops selling flowers, plants and garden supplies, and shops selling local crafts and souvenirs.
• Shops at campsites during the season and in typical tourist areas designated by the county governor.
• Duty-free shops for passengers at the airports.

Large supermarkets and shopping centres are closed. On the last three Sundays before Christmas Eve, all shops may open 14:00–20:00. Beer is not sold in shops on Sundays, and Vinmonopolet is closed (see the section on beer and wine above). Find shops in our directory:

• Oslo: grocery stores and supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies, hospitals and emergency clinics
• Bergen: grocery stores and supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies
• Trondheim: grocery stores and supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies

Always check opening hours on the shop's own page or website – they may change on holidays.

Which shops, kiosks and pharmacies open on ordinary Sundays, with chains and city tips: shops open on Sunday in Norway.

Other days in the calendar

These days are not public holidays: shops and offices keep normal hours, but many people mark them at home.

• 6 January – Epiphany (helligtrekongersdag): marks the visit of the three wise men to the infant Jesus. Not a day off in Norway; the church marks it on the first Sunday after New Year (Store norske leksikon).
• 6 February – Sami National Day: marks the first Sami national congress in Trondheim on 6–9 February 1917. An official Norwegian flag day since 2003 (Store norske leksikon).
• Second Sunday in February – Mother’s Day: Norway celebrates it then, not in May as many other countries do (Store norske leksikon).
• Fastelavn and Ash Wednesday: Fastelavn Sunday falls between 1 February and 7 March, the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, and the three days are Fastelavn Sunday, Blue Monday and Fat Tuesday. Ash Wednesday begins the 40-day fast before Easter. People eat cream-filled fastelavn buns, and the decorated birch twigs were introduced in Norway by the Norwegian Women’s Public Health Association in 1946 (Store norske leksikon).
• Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Saturday: Holy Week. Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays, Easter Saturday is not — but shops must close at 4 pm.
• Christmas Eve, 24 December: not a public holiday, but shops must close at 4 pm (Holidays Act § 5).
• Romjul: the days from the third day of Christmas, 27 December, to New Year’s Eve, 31 December. Ordinary working days in the shops, though many people are off (Store norske leksikon).

Food days such as waffle day and fårikål day are not days off and do not change opening hours.

Flags on public holidays

Which days flags fly, and when they go up and down: see flag days in Norway.

Video: how 17 May is celebrated in Oslo (Visit Norway, 4:35)

Photos: public holidays in Norway

Sources

• Act on public holidays and holiday peace (Lovdata), checked 26.09.2026
• Act on 1 and 17 May as public holidays (Lovdata), checked 26.09.2026
• Alcohol Act §§ 3-4 and 3-7 (Lovdata), checked 26.09.2026