Sunday shopping in Switzerland 2026: in Bern a shop may open on only 2 of the 4 Sundays — 12 cantonal rules, 216 documented dates
On 1 May Bonstetten, Lufingen and Rafz have a Sunday-trading day, on 1 August Illnau-Effretikon. In Aargau, by contrast, a municipality's trading day may expressly not fall on the national holiday. The federal government keeps no list. SECO points to 26 cantonal acts, and each says something different: 4 different counting units, between 2 and 4 permitted Sundays, 6 cantons whose law prescribes the opening hours itself. We read 12 of those acts ourselves — article by article, with the date — and checked 216 documented trading days in 70 municipalities alongside.
A trading day on 1 August? In Illnau-Effretikon, yes; for a municipality in Aargau, the law rules it out. 🛍️ Sunday shopping 2026: what actually applies, canton by canton
Sunday shopping is not a December topic: 337 calendar days lie between the first and the last documented date.
The federal government sets a second limit on the staff side: within any two weeks, every employee must have at least one whole Sunday off (Art. 20 para. 1 Labour Act). Everything else sits in 26 cantonal rest-day acts — and there it diverges, down to the question of who is even counting. Several cantons explicitly split their four Sundays into two seasonal and two Advent openings — Basel-Landschaft in § 7 para. 2 of its rest-day act, Solothurn in § 7 para. 2 of its Economy and Labour Act.
For each of the 12 cantons we read, we counted not only how many Sundays are permitted but also who designates them and what second ceiling sits underneath. The result is the ConvivaPlus rest-day index: 4 different counting units, a range from 2 to 4 Sundays, 5 cantons below the federal ceiling, 2 cantons whose Advent dates appear as a rule in the act and can therefore be computed, 6 with hours prescribed by law and 2 that attach a legal condition to one of the days. This analysis can only be built by laying the acts side by side — no list of dates replaces it, and SECO does not compile it.
📅 Every date in 2026 in the verified calendar
On 20 December 2026, 54 municipalities open at the same time — no other Sunday has as many. Christmas is not the end: on 27 December, 10 municipalities in the canton of Zurich hold one more Sunday-trading day. Plus all 216 documented trading Sundays across 70 municipalities, filterable by canton and weekday, with the official source for each date.
Every entry names the authorising body and the publication in which we read the date. Where nothing is published for 2026, it says open rather than estimated — an invented trading Sunday costs a car journey and the trust along with it.
- Sunday, 25 January 2026RegensdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Regensdorf✓
- Sunday, 25 January 2026RüschlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Rüschlikon✓
- Sunday, 25 January 2026WetzikonZHSonntagsverkauf Wetzikon✓
- Sunday, 22 February 2026Kappel am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Kappel am Albis✓
- Sunday, 8 March 2026EmbrachZHSonntagsverkauf Embrach✓
- Sunday, 8 March 2026WetzikonZHSonntagsverkauf Wetzikon✓
- Sunday, 15 March 2026Affoltern am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Affoltern am Albis✓
- Sunday, 22 March 2026FällandenZHSonntagsverkauf Fällanden✓
- Sunday, 22 March 2026MönchaltorfZHSonntagsverkauf Mönchaltorf✓
- Sunday, 22 March 2026OttenbachZHSonntagsverkauf Ottenbach✓
- Sunday, 22 March 2026RegensdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Regensdorf✓
- Sunday, 22 March 2026SeuzachZHSonntagsverkauf Seuzach✓
- Sunday, 22 March 2026StäfaZHSonntagsverkauf Stäfa✓
- Set by
- Stadt Winterthur
- Sunday, 29 March 2026DietikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietikon✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026DietlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietlikon✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026FeuerthalenZHSonntagsverkauf Feuerthalen✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026KleinandelfingenZHSonntagsverkauf Kleinandelfingen✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026MettmenstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Mettmenstetten✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026Pfäffikon ZHSonntagsverkauf Pfäffikon ZH✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026RafzZHSonntagsverkauf Rafz✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026SeegräbenZHSonntagsverkauf Seegräben✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026TurbenthalZHSonntagsverkauf Turbenthal✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026UsterZHSonntagsverkauf Uster✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026VolketswilZHSonntagsverkauf Volketswil✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026WädenswilZHSonntagsverkauf Wädenswil✓
- Sunday, 29 March 2026Zell ZHSonntagsverkauf Zell ZH✓
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Not a Sunday: 6 April 2026 is Easter Monday. Bernese law treats public holidays the same as Sundays — which is why this Monday appears in the same ruling.
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Sunday, 12 April 2026BaumaZHSonntagsverkauf Bauma✓
- Sunday, 12 April 2026EglisauZHSonntagsverkauf Eglisau✓
- Sunday, 12 April 2026GeroldswilZHSonntagsverkauf Geroldswil✓
- Sunday, 12 April 2026HinwilZHSonntagsverkauf Hinwil✓
- Sunday, 12 April 2026RümlangZHSonntagsverkauf Rümlang✓
- Sunday, 19 April 2026MönchaltorfZHSonntagsverkauf Mönchaltorf✓
- Sunday, 19 April 2026RichterswilZHSonntagsverkauf Richterswil✓
- Sunday, 26 April 2026FällandenZHSonntagsverkauf Fällanden✓
- Sunday, 26 April 2026HedingenZHSonntagsverkauf Hedingen✓
- Sunday, 26 April 2026HorgenZHSonntagsverkauf Horgen✓
- Sunday, 26 April 2026Langnau am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Langnau am Albis✓
- Sunday, 26 April 2026RümlangZHSonntagsverkauf Rümlang✓
- Sunday, 26 April 2026SchlierenZHSonntagsverkauf Schlieren✓
- Friday, 1 May 2026BonstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Bonstetten✓
- Friday, 1 May 2026LufingenZHSonntagsverkauf Lufingen✓
- Friday, 1 May 2026RafzZHSonntagsverkauf Rafz✓
- Sunday, 3 May 2026WädenswilZHSonntagsverkauf Wädenswil✓
- Sunday, 10 May 2026BachenbülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bachenbülach✓
- Sunday, 10 May 2026Buchs ZHSonntagsverkauf Buchs ZH✓
- Sunday, 10 May 2026DielsdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Dielsdorf✓
- Sunday, 10 May 2026Erlenbach ZHSonntagsverkauf Erlenbach ZH✓
- Sunday, 10 May 2026ObfeldenZHSonntagsverkauf Obfelden✓
- Sunday, 10 May 2026SteinmaurZHSonntagsverkauf Steinmaur✓
- Set by
- Stadt Zürich
- Sunday, 7 June 2026RüschlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Rüschlikon✓
- Sunday, 14 June 2026SeuzachZHSonntagsverkauf Seuzach✓
- Sunday, 28 June 2026EglisauZHSonntagsverkauf Eglisau✓
- Saturday, 1 August 2026Illnau-EffretikonZHSonntagsverkauf Illnau-Effretikon✓
- Sunday, 30 August 2026Wald ZHSonntagsverkauf Wald ZH✓
- Sunday, 6 September 2026Erlenbach ZHSonntagsverkauf Erlenbach ZH✓
- Sunday, 6 September 2026FeuerthalenZHSonntagsverkauf Feuerthalen✓
- Sunday, 13 September 2026FällandenZHSonntagsverkauf Fällanden✓
- Sunday, 13 September 2026SteinmaurZHSonntagsverkauf Steinmaur✓
- Sunday, 13 September 2026Zell ZHSonntagsverkauf Zell ZH✓
- Sunday, 27 September 2026BachenbülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bachenbülach✓
- Sunday, 27 September 2026DietlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietlikon✓
- Sunday, 27 September 2026MettmenstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Mettmenstetten✓
- Sunday, 27 September 2026RichterswilZHSonntagsverkauf Richterswil✓
- Sunday, 27 September 2026SeuzachZHSonntagsverkauf Seuzach✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026Affoltern am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Affoltern am Albis✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026FällandenZHSonntagsverkauf Fällanden✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026HinwilZHSonntagsverkauf Hinwil✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026Kappel am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Kappel am Albis✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026ObfeldenZHSonntagsverkauf Obfelden✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026Pfäffikon ZHSonntagsverkauf Pfäffikon ZH✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026VolketswilZHSonntagsverkauf Volketswil✓
- Sunday, 25 October 2026WädenswilZHSonntagsverkauf Wädenswil✓
- Sunday, 15 November 2026BonstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Bonstetten✓
- Sunday, 15 November 2026Langnau am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Langnau am Albis✓
- Sunday, 15 November 2026RafzZHSonntagsverkauf Rafz✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026BonstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Bonstetten✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026Buchs ZHSonntagsverkauf Buchs ZH✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026DietikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietikon✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026EglisauZHSonntagsverkauf Eglisau✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026EmbrachZHSonntagsverkauf Embrach✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026Freienstein-TeufenZHSonntagsverkauf Freienstein-Teufen✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026Langnau am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Langnau am Albis✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026LufingenZHSonntagsverkauf Lufingen✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026OtelfingenZHSonntagsverkauf Otelfingen✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026RorbasZHSonntagsverkauf Rorbas✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026SeegräbenZHSonntagsverkauf Seegräben✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026SteinmaurZHSonntagsverkauf Steinmaur✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026StäfaZHSonntagsverkauf Stäfa✓
- Sunday, 22 November 2026WallisellenZHSonntagsverkauf Wallisellen✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026AdliswilZHSonntagsverkauf Adliswil✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026BachenbülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bachenbülach✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026BülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bülach✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026DielsdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Dielsdorf✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026DietikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietikon✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026DietlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietlikon✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026HorgenZHSonntagsverkauf Horgen✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026KlotenZHSonntagsverkauf Kloten✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026MeilenZHSonntagsverkauf Meilen✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026NeftenbachZHSonntagsverkauf Neftenbach✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026Opfikon-GlattbruggZHSonntagsverkauf Opfikon-Glattbrugg✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026OtelfingenZHSonntagsverkauf Otelfingen✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026RegensdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Regensdorf✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026SchlierenZHSonntagsverkauf Schlieren✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026SeuzachZHSonntagsverkauf Seuzach✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026TurbenthalZHSonntagsverkauf Turbenthal✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026UitikonZHSonntagsverkauf Uitikon✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026WallisellenZHSonntagsverkauf Wallisellen✓
- Sunday, 29 November 2026WetzikonZHSonntagsverkauf Wetzikon✓
- Set by
- Stadt Winterthur
- Set by
- Stadt Zürich
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Good to know- The canton designates four dates — but an individual shop may only open on two of them (Art. 11 para. 2 HGG). Which two is the shop's own decision.
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Sunday, 6 December 2026Affoltern am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Affoltern am Albis✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026BülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bülach✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026EggZHSonntagsverkauf Egg✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026Erlenbach ZHSonntagsverkauf Erlenbach ZH✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026FeuerthalenZHSonntagsverkauf Feuerthalen✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026MettmenstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Mettmenstetten✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026NiederhasliZHSonntagsverkauf Niederhasli✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026ObfeldenZHSonntagsverkauf Obfelden✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026Opfikon-GlattbruggZHSonntagsverkauf Opfikon-Glattbrugg✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026OttenbachZHSonntagsverkauf Ottenbach✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026RümlangZHSonntagsverkauf Rümlang✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026SchlierenZHSonntagsverkauf Schlieren✓
- Sunday, 6 December 2026SteinmaurZHSonntagsverkauf Steinmaur✓
- Set by
- Stadt Zürich
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Sunday, 13 December 2026DielsdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Dielsdorf✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026DietlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietlikon✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026HinwilZHSonntagsverkauf Hinwil✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026HorgenZHSonntagsverkauf Horgen✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026Kappel am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Kappel am Albis✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026KlotenZHSonntagsverkauf Kloten✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026MönchaltorfZHSonntagsverkauf Mönchaltorf✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026Pfäffikon ZHSonntagsverkauf Pfäffikon ZH✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026RichterswilZHSonntagsverkauf Richterswil✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026SeegräbenZHSonntagsverkauf Seegräben✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026ThalwilZHSonntagsverkauf Thalwil✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026TurbenthalZHSonntagsverkauf Turbenthal✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026UitikonZHSonntagsverkauf Uitikon✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026VolketswilZHSonntagsverkauf Volketswil✓
- Sunday, 13 December 2026WallisellenZHSonntagsverkauf Wallisellen✓
- Set by
- Stadt Winterthur
- Sunday, 13 December 2026Zell ZHSonntagsverkauf Zell ZH✓
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Start
- 13:00–18:00
- Opening hours
- 13:00–18:00. Basel-Stadt permits the afternoon only — in the morning the shops stay closed.
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft und Arbeit Basel-Stadt
Basel-Stadt does not use up the four Sundays federal law would allow: two remain — and they only start at 1 p.m.
Source: media.bs.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Start
- 11:00–17:00
- Opening hours
- 11:00–17:00 in the town of Solothurn (Stadt- und Gewerbevereinigung). The law allows 9:00–18:00 (§ 2 para. 1 VWAG).
- Set by
- Stadt- und Gewerbevereinigung Solothurn
Source: stadtgewerbevereinigung.ch · checked on 5 October 2026
- Start
- 08:00–18:30
- Opening hours
- Legally permitted 08:00–18:30; the City Vereinigung Luzern recommends closing at 17:00. Each shop's own hours are what count.
- Set by
- City Vereinigung Luzern
Source: city-luzern.ch · checked on 5 October 2026
- Sunday, 20 December 2026AdliswilZHSonntagsverkauf Adliswil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Affoltern am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Affoltern am Albis✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026BachenbülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bachenbülach✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026BonstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Bonstetten✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Buchs ZHSonntagsverkauf Buchs ZH✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026BülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bülach✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026DielsdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Dielsdorf✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026DietikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dietikon✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026DällikonZHSonntagsverkauf Dällikon✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026EggZHSonntagsverkauf Egg✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026EglisauZHSonntagsverkauf Eglisau✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026EmbrachZHSonntagsverkauf Embrach✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Erlenbach ZHSonntagsverkauf Erlenbach ZH✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026FeuerthalenZHSonntagsverkauf Feuerthalen✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026GeroldswilZHSonntagsverkauf Geroldswil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026HinwilZHSonntagsverkauf Hinwil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026HombrechtikonZHSonntagsverkauf Hombrechtikon✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026HorgenZHSonntagsverkauf Horgen✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026KlotenZHSonntagsverkauf Kloten✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Langnau am AlbisZHSonntagsverkauf Langnau am Albis✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026MeilenZHSonntagsverkauf Meilen✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026MettmenstettenZHSonntagsverkauf Mettmenstetten✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026MönchaltorfZHSonntagsverkauf Mönchaltorf✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026NeftenbachZHSonntagsverkauf Neftenbach✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026NiederhasliZHSonntagsverkauf Niederhasli✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026ObfeldenZHSonntagsverkauf Obfelden✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Opfikon-GlattbruggZHSonntagsverkauf Opfikon-Glattbrugg✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026OtelfingenZHSonntagsverkauf Otelfingen✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026OttenbachZHSonntagsverkauf Ottenbach✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Pfäffikon ZHSonntagsverkauf Pfäffikon ZH✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026RegensdorfZHSonntagsverkauf Regensdorf✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026RichterswilZHSonntagsverkauf Richterswil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026RümlangZHSonntagsverkauf Rümlang✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026RüschlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Rüschlikon✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026SchlierenZHSonntagsverkauf Schlieren✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026SeegräbenZHSonntagsverkauf Seegräben✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026StäfaZHSonntagsverkauf Stäfa✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026ThalwilZHSonntagsverkauf Thalwil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026TurbenthalZHSonntagsverkauf Turbenthal✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026UitikonZHSonntagsverkauf Uitikon✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026UsterZHSonntagsverkauf Uster✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026VolketswilZHSonntagsverkauf Volketswil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026WallisellenZHSonntagsverkauf Wallisellen✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026WetzikonZHSonntagsverkauf Wetzikon✓
- Set by
- Stadt Winterthur
- Sunday, 20 December 2026WädenswilZHSonntagsverkauf Wädenswil✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026Zell ZHSonntagsverkauf Zell ZH✓
- Sunday, 20 December 2026ZumikonZHSonntagsverkauf Zumikon✓
- Set by
- Stadt Zürich
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft des Kantons Bern
Source: weu.be.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Start
- 13:00–18:00
- Opening hours
- 13:00–18:00. Basel-Stadt permits the afternoon only — in the morning the shops stay closed.
- Set by
- Amt für Wirtschaft und Arbeit Basel-Stadt
Basel-Stadt does not use up the four Sundays federal law would allow: two remain — and they only start at 1 p.m.
Source: media.bs.ch · checked on 13 September 2026
- Start
- 11:00–17:00
- Opening hours
- 11:00–17:00 in the town of Solothurn (Stadt- und Gewerbevereinigung). The law allows 9:00–18:00 (§ 2 para. 1 VWAG).
- Set by
- Stadt- und Gewerbevereinigung Solothurn
Source: stadtgewerbevereinigung.ch · checked on 5 October 2026
- Start
- 08:00–18:30
- Opening hours
- Legally permitted 08:00–18:30; the City Vereinigung Luzern recommends closing at 17:00. Each shop's own hours are what count.
- Set by
- City Vereinigung Luzern
Source: city-luzern.ch · checked on 5 October 2026
- Sunday, 27 December 2026AdliswilZHSonntagsverkauf Adliswil✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026Buchs ZHSonntagsverkauf Buchs ZH✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026BülachZHSonntagsverkauf Bülach✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026EggZHSonntagsverkauf Egg✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026GeroldswilZHSonntagsverkauf Geroldswil✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026Opfikon-GlattbruggZHSonntagsverkauf Opfikon-Glattbrugg✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026RüschlikonZHSonntagsverkauf Rüschlikon✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026StäfaZHSonntagsverkauf Stäfa✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026UsterZHSonntagsverkauf Uster✓
- Sunday, 27 December 2026ZumikonZHSonntagsverkauf Zumikon✓
The event usually takes place, but the date has not been published yet. We keep checking. Art. 11(b) of the Schaffhausen Rest Day Act (official text in German only; paraphrased): the municipal authority may approve two Sunday openings a year without preconditions (except on major holidays); further ones only where an urgent need is shown (lit. c).
- Set by
- Stadt Schaffhausen
Source: rechtsbuch.sh.ch · checked on 19 October 2026
The municipality has not published a date for all shops. Some shops have their own, verified dates. Art. 12(1)(b) RLG SG (official text in German only; paraphrased): at most four Sunday openings per shop per year, approved by the municipality. Para. 3: in Advent from 12:00 to 17:00.
Dates at individual shops- Shopping Arena: 29 Nov, 13 Dec and 20 Dec · 12:00–17:00 shopping-arena.ch · checked on 26 October 2026
- Set by
- Stadt St. Gallen
The city has not published a date for all shops in 2026, although the law would allow one. The count is per shop: at most four Sunday openings per business per year. In the city centre, shops may even open every Sunday from 10:00 to 17:00, provided the Labour Act is complied with.
Source: stadt.sg.ch · checked on 28 October 2026
The places in detail
Winterthur starts 10 weeks before Zurich, on 22 March against 31 May, and both stop on 20 December. Each place page below lists every date and everything to know before you go.
Sunday shopping days in the canton of Bern
All of the canton of Bern →Sunday shopping days in the canton of Zurich
All of the canton of Zurich →Sunday shopping days in the canton of Basel-Stadt
All of the canton of Basel-Stadt →Sunday shopping days in the canton of Lucerne
Sunday shopping days in the canton of Schaffhausen
Sunday shopping days in the canton of Solothurn
All of the canton of Solothurn →Sunday shopping days in the canton of St. Gallen
🕐 Open today? The Sunday Radar by ConvivaPlus
None of the 63 municipalities in the canton of Zurich trades on all four Advent Sundays. That is why the Sunday Radar by ConvivaPlus asks for the single Sunday rather than «Advent»: Pick canton and date — the Sunday Radar by ConvivaPlus tells you whether shops are open, with the published hours and the cantonal rule verbatim. Its answers: open, likely, not designated — and where we have not yet read the act ourselves, it says so too.
Sunday Radar by ConvivaPlus
Pick a canton and a date — and see what actually applies that day.
The rule in 12 cantons — read at the legal source
A canton enters the table only once we have read its act ourselves in the official compilation — never with a figure taken from an aggregator. These follow by the same method:
Appenzell Innerrhoden · Appenzell Ausserrhoden · Fribourg · Geneva · Glarus · Grisons · Jura · Neuchâtel · Nidwalden · Obwalden · Ticino · Uri · Vaud · Zug
What trips you up most often on a Swiss trading Sunday?
One click – anonymous, no sign-up required.
🗺️ By canton: where how many Sundays are permitted
In the canton of Zurich, almost every municipality keeps its own calendar: 63 municipalities, 57 different date patterns, and 51 of them shared by no other municipality. The largest shared pattern covers just 2. A pale canton does not mean «banned», though: whether Sundays are allowed, and how many, is a matter of law, and we answer that canton by canton, in the wording of the act.
The darker the canton, the more shopping Sundays are fixed. The table below leads to the cantons with a page of their own.
Where shops open on Sundays
Source: ConvivaPlus Sunday trading register Switzerland 2026
| Canton | Events | date set | First date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZurichZH | 202 | 202 | Sun 25 Jan |
| BernBE | 8 | 8 | Mon 6 Apr |
| Basel-StadtBS | 2 | 2 | Sun 13 Dec |
| LucerneLU | 2 | 2 | Sun 13 Dec |
| SolothurnSO | 2 | 2 | Sun 13 Dec |
| SchaffhausenSH | 1 | 0 | date still open |
| St. GallenSG | 1 | 0 | no date for all shopsShopping Arena: 29 Nov, 13 Dec and 20 Dec · 12:00–17:00 |
⚖️ Permitted Sundays — and the five traps beneath them
The date is not the problem; the conditions beside it are. Five patterns recur throughout the acts we examined, and none of them appears in a list of dates.
- 1The canton releases four — your shop may open on twoThe canton of Bern designates four Sundays. But Art. 11 para. 2 of its Trade and Industry Act permits the individual retail shop only 2 of them, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The cantonal economics office quotes that sentence in the reasoning of its own general ruling. A list of the four dates is therefore a half-truth: on none of the four is everything reliably open.
- 2Basel opens only in the afternoonIn Basel-Stadt, shops open on the two Advent Sundays from 13:00 to 18:00 — not from nine, not from ten. Anyone standing there at eleven finds a closed door. The hours are set in § 4a of the rest-day act and the labour inspectorate republishes them verbatim every year.
- 3In three cantons every shop counts for itselfSt. Gallen, Thurgau and Schwyz count per shop, not per town: «at most four per shop and year» (Art. 12 para. 1 lit. b of the St. Gallen act), «to every retail business, opening on at most four Sundays» (§ 6 para. 3 of the Thurgau act). In Thurgau and Schwyz the authority licenses each shop separately; the act provides for no common date there. In St. Gallen the municipality may allow general or individual Sunday openings, but even a general one counts against each shop's quota (Art. 12 para. 1 lit. b, official text in German only; paraphrased). Schwyz is the special case within the special case: the canton authorises, counting is per shop — and the act speaks of public rest days, not Sundays, so the four days may equally be public holidays.
- 4Two cantons wrote their Advent dates into the actSolothurn's § 7 para. 2 WAG names the two Sundays preceding 24 December, Basel-Landschaft's § 9 the 2nd and 4th Sundays of Advent (official texts in German only; paraphrased). Nobody republishes those dates each year — they are computed, which is what we do. In 2028 the 4th Sunday of Advent falls on Christmas Eve: by the wording, Basel-Landschaft may then open on 24 December, Solothurn may not — its two Sundays are 10 December and 17 December. A caveat for Basel-Landschaft: § 9 para. 2 expressly allows municipalities to pick one or two other Advent Sundays, so the computed date is an assumption there, not a certainty.
- 5Valais and Aargau attach conditions to the dayIn Valais one of the two openings must be connected with a special event such as a folk festival, a Christmas market or a cultural or sporting event (Art. 6 para. 3 of the shop opening act; official text in German and French, paraphrased) — that is why your town opens on precisely that day. Aargau does the opposite: its third day, set by the municipality, must expressly not fall within Advent, nor on the national holiday (§ 7 para. 2). In the canton of Zurich, by contrast, the register lists a trading day on 1 August in Illnau-Effretikon.
🚫 Swiss Sunday rest: why the shop is closed in the first place
Sunday shopping is not a tradition but an exception to a prohibition. The principle sits in the federal Labour Act: nobody may be employed on a Sunday. Everything that opens on a Sunday rests on an exception — and the cantons administer that exception with differing strictness.
On a trading Sunday nobody has to work the till against their will. Under Art. 19 para. 5 of the Labour Act, an employer may not require an employee to work on a Sunday without their consent (There is no official English version of the Labour Act; wording paraphrased by ConvivaPlus.) Because Sunday shopping is not a right of the shop, it is a worker-protection matter. What is regulated is not whether a business may unlock its door, but whether it may employ staff. Hence many of these acts carry «rest day» in their title, hence the competence sits with labour inspectorates and economics offices — and hence four is a ceiling, not an entitlement. Basel-Stadt stays at 2, Lucerne likewise — and Lucerne additionally prescribes that one of the two must fall in December (§ 9 para. 4). Schaffhausen authorises two «without preconditions»; beyond that, you must prove an urgent need.
🔍 Official sources — every act read by us
212 of 216 dates we read at a public authority, not at the traders' association that advertises them. On top of that, the ConvivaPlus calendar has read 12 cantonal rest-day acts itself in the official compilation, each with article and reading date. Where that is still outstanding, the Sunday Radar by ConvivaPlus says «not yet read» instead of guessing.
The Zurich labour inspectorate alone maintains a public 2026 register of 202 notified trading dates across 63 municipalities — in a single canton. All of them have been in our calendar and radar since 14 September, those of Zurich and Winterthur on a page of their own as well. 2 entries still have no confirmed date: they appear as open or as a rule, never as a firm date. If you know a date, send us the link to the publication, not the date.
❓ Frequent questions about Sunday shopping in Switzerland 2026
Short and sourced — every answer rests on the statutory text or an official publication.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
Almost never — and the rare exceptions sit not in the rest-day act but in branch opening hours. For Zurich's Sihlpost we worked them out day by day.
The Christmas markets — with run, opening hours and closure days instead of bare place names.
Candle dipping runs at the same time and is charged by weight rather than by admission.
Sunday shopping by canton
Zurich leads with 202 Sundays — and every canton links to its own page with all the dates.
Related
The ConvivaPlus verdict on Sunday shopping 2026
When we last checked: on 28 October 2026 — 216 shopping days from 70 municipalities, each read at the source, plus 12 cantonal laws we read ourselves in the official compilation up to 12 October 2026. Where a municipality may depart from the cantonal date, our entry is marked as an assumption.
Check the latest: ConvivaPlus Sunday trading register Switzerland 2026 →
- ◆A Bernese trading Sunday is sometimes a Monday. Thun lists Easter Monday for 2026, because Bernese law puts public holidays on a par with Sundays (Art. 11 para. 2 speaks of «public holidays»). Search the calendar for Sundays only and you will miss it.
- ◆Fällanden has 4 trading Sundays, and none of them falls in Advent (22 March, 26 April, 13 September and 25 October). 10 of the 68 municipalities with a confirmed date have no Advent date at all. Look for Sunday trading only in December and you will never find them.

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The canton of Bern releases four Sundays — an individual retail shop may use only 2 of them (Art. 11 para. 2). On none of the four dates is everything reliably open.
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🛍️ Guide · 26 October 2026