Norway public holidays and festivals: dates and closures

Norway's fixed national holidays are the same every year; the rest move with Easter. Dates below are the 2026 calendar, so check the year you travel.

Easter is the biggest movable block: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. Many Norwegians take the whole week off and head to cabins, so mountain roads and ferries get busy and some rural services close.

On 1 January, 1 May, 17 May, 25 and 26 December, expect shops, museums and state alcohol shops to be shut. Grocery chains often run smaller Sunday-style hours on the softer holidays, and gas stations and some kiosks stay open for basics.

Sundays behave like public holidays for retail: most shops close, and alcohol sales stop. Plan food and drink shopping for Saturday.

Trains, buses, ferries and flights usually run a Sunday or reduced timetable on public holidays. Long-distance rail and the coastal express keep running, but book ahead around Easter, 17 May and Christmas.

Restaurants, cafés and hotels generally stay open, and in tourist areas such as Bergen, Flåm and Tromsø summer opening hours are longer. Petrol stations, some supermarkets and 24-hour kiosks are the reliable fallback.

17 May is the one date worth planning a trip around. Children's parades, marching bands and people in bunad (regional folk dress) fill the streets, and the day is free and public. Oslo and Bergen have the largest processions; smaller towns keep the same format with less crowding.

Shops and museums close, restaurants and cafés fill up, and public transport runs a holiday timetable with extra trams and buses on parade routes. Book accommodation and any restaurant table well ahead, and arrive on the route an hour early for a good spot.

Summer is the festival season, helped by near-endless daylight in June and July. Music, food and cultural events cluster in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and the north, and many are outdoors and free or low-cost.

Winter brings its own calendar: film and music festivals, plus the aurora and whale season in Tromsø. Sámi national day on 6 February is marked in the north, and the Riddu Riđđu festival in Kåfjord celebrates Sámi and indigenous culture in summer.

If your dates are flexible, avoid the Christmas–New Year week and Easter week unless you want the holiday atmosphere: prices peak, some rural services close and mountain roads can be affected by weather.

If your dates are fixed, check the holiday list first, then book the long-distance legs. Trains and ferries sell out around Easter, 17 May and Christmas, and accommodation in Oslo and Bergen tightens on 17 May.

For a first trip, late May to early September gives the widest opening hours and the best weather; late June to July adds the midnight sun in the north. Winter suits aurora trips, with shorter days and more closures to work around.

Norway is expensive, and holiday closures can push you toward hotel restaurants and convenience stores, which cost more. Budget for that on 17 May and the Christmas week.

Alcohol rules matter: beer above a low strength and wine and spirits are sold only at state Vinmonopolet shops, which close on public holidays and Sundays. Grocery stores sell weaker beer, but not on holidays or Sundays.

Weather and daylight change fast by region. In the north, summer means midnight sun and winter means polar night, which shifts what is open and when. Check local listings for the town you are in.