Quick answer
There are 14 public holidays in Poland each year, including Christmas Eve, which became a day off in 2025. On these days, and on most Sundays, large shops are closed. The busiest times for events are May (the long weekend of 1–3 May, student festivals and the Night of Museums), summer (music festivals such as Open’er in Gdynia and OFF in Katowice) and late November to early January, when Christmas markets fill the main squares of Kraków, Wrocław and other cities.
Planning a trip around Polish holidays and festivals makes a big difference: you can catch a city at its liveliest, or avoid arriving on a day when shops are shut and trains are full. This guide lists the public holidays with exact dates for 2026 and 2027, explains the Sunday shopping rules and walks through the year’s main events month by month.
Public holidays in Poland
On public holidays offices, banks and most shops are closed, and public transport runs a Sunday timetable. Holidays that fall on a Sunday are not moved to Monday.
| Holiday | Polish name | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Nowy Rok | Thu 1 Jan | Fri 1 Jan |
| Epiphany | Trzech Króli | Tue 6 Jan | Wed 6 Jan |
| Easter Sunday | Wielkanoc | Sun 5 Apr | Sun 28 Mar |
| Easter Monday | Poniedziałek Wielkanocny | Mon 6 Apr | Mon 29 Mar |
| Labour Day | Święto Pracy | Fri 1 May | Sat 1 May |
| Constitution Day | Święto Konstytucji 3 Maja | Sun 3 May | Mon 3 May |
| Pentecost Sunday | Zielone Świątki | Sun 24 May | Sun 16 May |
| Corpus Christi | Boże Ciało | Thu 4 Jun | Thu 27 May |
| Assumption Day | Wniebowzięcie NMP | Sat 15 Aug | Sun 15 Aug |
| All Saints’ Day | Wszystkich Świętych | Sun 1 Nov | Mon 1 Nov |
| Independence Day | Święto Niepodległości | Wed 11 Nov | Thu 11 Nov |
| Christmas Eve | Wigilia | Thu 24 Dec | Fri 24 Dec |
| Christmas Day | Boże Narodzenie | Fri 25 Dec | Sat 25 Dec |
| Second Day of Christmas | Drugi dzień świąt | Sat 26 Dec | Sun 26 Dec |
Long weekends (długi weekend) are when Poles travel most. The first days of May (majówka), Corpus Christi, which always falls on a Thursday, and 11 November are the big ones. Trains and hotels in the mountains, by the sea and in Kraków fill up, so book early; see our guide to trains in Poland for how far ahead you can buy tickets.
Sunday shopping: when shops are closed
Since 2018 Poland has restricted trading on Sundays. Most supermarkets, shopping centres and large shops are closed on Sundays, except on a handful of trading Sundays: the last Sunday of January, April, June and August, the Sunday before Easter and the three Sundays before Christmas Eve.
In the rest of 2026, the remaining trading Sundays are 6, 13 and 20 December.
What stays open on other Sundays: pharmacies, petrol stations (often with a decent grocery section), restaurants and cafés, bakeries, flower shops, kiosks selling newspapers and tickets, shops in hotels, railway stations and museums, small shops where the owner serves, and unstaffed self-service stores. Convenience stores such as Żabka are often open because the owner works there. Plan your weekly shop for Saturday, especially before a long weekend.
Events month by month
Exact dates change each year. Where a date is given below it refers to the most recent or next edition; always check the organiser’s website before you travel.
January: charity and carnival
The Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy, WOŚP) holds its finale on a Sunday in January; in 2026 it was 25 January. Thousands of volunteers collect money in the streets, people wear red heart stickers, cities host free concerts, and in the evening the “light to heaven” (Światełko do nieba) lights up the sky. It is one of the best days to see Poles come together. The last Sunday of January is also a trading Sunday, the start of the winter sales.
February: Fat Thursday
On Fat Thursday (Tłusty Czwartek), the last Thursday before Lent, Poles eat pączki, rich doughnuts usually filled with rose jam, and queues form outside bakeries from early morning. In 2027 it falls on 4 February.
March and April: Easter
Easter is the most important religious holiday after Christmas. On Holy Saturday families take decorated baskets of food to church to be blessed (święconka). On Easter Monday, known as Śmigus-dyngus, people splash each other with water; in some places it is a gentle sprinkle, in others whole buckets, so keep your phone in a pocket. Easter falls on 28 March in 2027. Shops are closed on Easter Sunday and Monday.
May: the long weekend, students and museums at night
- Majówka (1–3 May): two public holidays and often a bridge day in between. Expect crowds in Kraków, Zakopane and by the sea.
- Juwenalia: student festivals in university cities, with concerts and parades, usually in May.
- Night of Museums (Noc Muzeów): one Saturday in May when museums across Poland stay open late into the night, many for free or at a token price. In 2026 it was 16 May. Some unusual places join in, from coal mines to government offices.
June: Corpus Christi and midsummer
Corpus Christi is a public holiday with colourful outdoor processions, especially in small towns and villages; in 2027 it falls on 27 May. Around the summer solstice, many cities hold Wianki or Kupala Night celebrations by the river, with concerts, fireworks and floating flower wreaths, a tradition older than Christianity in Poland.
July and August: summer festivals
- Open’er Festival, Gdynia: Poland’s biggest international music festival, held on the grounds of Gdynia-Kosakowo airport. The 2027 edition runs from 30 June to 3 July.
- OFF Festival, Katowice: alternative music in the Valley of Three Ponds park, in early August; in 2026 it ran from 7 to 9 August.
- 1 August, Warsaw: at 17:00, the hour the 1944 Warsaw Uprising began, sirens sound across the city and many people stop where they are for a minute of silence. It is one of the most moving moments of the Polish year.
- 15 August: Assumption Day, a public holiday that also marks Polish Armed Forces Day, with a military parade in some years.
September and October: quieter months
After the summer holidays, cities are calmer, prices drop and the weather is often still good. Early autumn is a fine time for the mountains and for the castles of the Polish Jura; see our guide to the hidden gems of Silesia and the Jura. At the start of October, students return to university cities and finding a room to rent gets harder.
November: candles and independence
On All Saints’ Day (1 November) families visit graves, and cemeteries glow with thousands of candles in the evening. Visiting a large cemetery, such as Kraków’s Rakowicki or Warsaw’s Powązki, at dusk is an unforgettable sight; please behave as you would in a church. Expect heavy traffic around cemeteries and busy trains over the weekend before.
Independence Day (11 November) celebrates the return of Polish statehood in 1918, with official ceremonies, marches and concerts. In Poznań it is also St Martin’s Day, when the city eats huge quantities of rogale świętomarcińskie, crescent pastries filled with white poppy seeds.
December: Christmas markets and Wigilia
Christmas markets open in late November in most large cities. Two of the best known:
- Kraków: on the Main Market Square, beside the Town Hall Tower. The 2025 edition ran from 28 November to 1 January, with 105 stalls.
- Wrocław: one of the largest in Poland, spreading from the Market Square to Plac Solny and the neighbouring streets. The 2025/26 edition ran from 21 November to 7 January, usually open 10:00–21:00, but closed on 24, 25 December and 1 January.
Christmas Eve (Wigilia) is the heart of Polish Christmas: a meatless supper of traditionally twelve dishes, served when the first star appears, after sharing a Christmas wafer (opłatek). Since 2025 it has been a public holiday, so shops are closed and public transport runs a holiday timetable. Many restaurants close too, so if you are travelling, sort out food in advance. The three Sundays before Christmas Eve are trading Sundays.
New Year’s Eve (Sylwester) brings big free open-air concerts in several cities.
FAQ
Are shops open on Christmas Eve?
No, not the large ones. Christmas Eve has been a public holiday since 2025. Small shops and petrol stations may open under the same exceptions as on non-trading Sundays.
Is it a good idea to visit Poland at Christmas?
The weeks before Christmas are lovely, with markets and lights everywhere. Christmas Eve and the two days after are family time: many restaurants, museums and shops close, and the streets are quiet. Come in early or mid-December, or plan the holidays with that in mind.
When is the cheapest time to visit?
Outside the long weekends, school holidays (late June to August) and the Christmas season. Late September, October and the period from mid-January to March are usually the quietest.
Last checked: 16 October 2026. Event dates change every year; check the organisers’ websites.
Sources
- KPMG: Christmas Eve a day off from 2025, trading Sundays before Christmas (in Polish)
- Grant Thornton: public holidays in 2026 (in Polish)
- BankoweABC: trading Sundays and exceptions to the Sunday ban (in Polish)
- Eska: 34th WOŚP finale on 25 January 2026 (in Polish)
- Wrocław city: Night of Museums on 16 May 2026 (in Polish)
- eBilet: Open’er Festival 2027 dates (in Polish)
- eBilet: OFF Festival 2026 dates (in Polish)
- Radio Kraków: Kraków Christmas market 2025 (in Polish)
- Wrocław city: Christmas market 2025/26 dates and hours (in Polish)