Vacationers who don’t want to stand in front of closed shops, banks and grocery stores while visiting other countries should know when those foreign countries observe national holidays.
The German automobile club, ADAC, lists holidays from several European countries so travelers can plan accordingly for the first half of the year:
France: May 8
Greece: March 25, May 3 and 6,June 24
Great Britain: May 6 and 27
Ireland: March 18, May 6, June 3
Italy: April 25
Croatia: June 22 and 25
Netherlands: April 30
Norway: March 28, May 17
Poland: May 3
Portugal: April 25, June 10
Sweden: June 6, 21 and 22
Switzerland: March 19
Slovenia: April 27, June 25
Spain: March 19 and 28, June 24
Czech Republic: May 8
Turkey: April 23
Hungary: March 15
Good Friday, March 29, is an official holiday in Germany, but not in France, Italy, Croatia, Austria, Poland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Turkey and Hungary. It’s considered a regular workday and stores stay open.
For more information, visit www.adac.de/reise_freizeit.
(Courtesy of ADAC)