A quiet beach with palm trees and sun loungers, surrounded by clear blue water under a sunny sky

Public holidays & bridging days 2025: How to get the most vacation out of them

2025 is the year for holidays. That’s not just our opinion – it’s what the calendar tells us: many public holidays fall in such a way that we only need to take a few days’ holiday to make the most of our free time. Clever planning can bring you more relaxation and experiences – you just need to know which days to focus on. And that’s exactly what we’re here to tell you.

Find out which public holidays and long weekends are coming up, how best to factor them into your holiday planning, and which destinations are at their best at that time of year.

Contents

01 Your overview: Public holidays in Germany in 2025
02 Holiday planning for 2025: Make the most of these public holidays
03 January: Start the New Year feeling refreshed
04 April: Easter is well worth a visit
05 May: Two chances to relax
06 June: Whitsun comes at just the right time
07 Autumn: A long break to mark the change of seasons
08 Christmas: A peaceful time on the slopes
09 Public holidays in 2025: It’s all in the planning
10 FAQ on public holidays and long weekends in 2025

Your overview: Public holidays in Germany in 2025

You’ll have the following days off in 2025:

New Year’s Day (1 January)
Good Friday (18 April)
Easter Monday (21 April)
Labour Day (1 May)
Ascension Day (29 May)
Whit Monday (9 June)
German Unity Day (3 October)
Christmas (25 & 26 December)

These nine public holidays apply to all federal states. In addition, there are the public holidays specific to each federal state – such as Corpus Christi (on 19 June in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland), or Reformation Day (on 31 October in Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia).

The number of public holidays varies from a maximum of 15 in Augsburg to 10 in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein. We’re referring here to the public holidays that are the same across all federal states. And this shows that even if you ‘only’ have 10 public holidays, you can still get quite a lot of holiday time out of them.

Holiday planning for 2025: Make the most of these public holidays

The Northern Lights over Norway in winter

January: Start the New Year feeling refreshed

New Year’s Day falls on a Wednesday in 2025. So you can use 2 and 3 January to treat yourself to a longer break and recharge your batteries for the new year.

2 days’ holiday (2nd + 3rd January) = 5 days off (1st – 5th January)

Travel tips: If you’re longing for some sun in winter, we recommend a trip to South Africa. After all, it’s summer on the other side of the globe when the days here are grey and short. Perhaps you could even take a second week off, so you have plenty of time to explore Cape Town and the surrounding countryside.

Fancy the complete opposite – with snow, freezing temperatures and dark skies against which the Northern Lights look particularly stunning? Then you should head to Norway and create unforgettable winter wonderland memories in Tromsø and elsewhere.

April: Easter is well worth a visit

Late in April, you can treat yourself to a really long break. The ‘long Easter weekend’ runs from 18 to 21 April. So if you take your holiday the week before, you’ll have a full ten days off!

4 days’ holiday (14. – 17.04.) = 10 days off (12. – 21.04.)

Travel tips: Sun in April? Absolutely! In the Canary Islands, there’s a good chance you’ll already be able to lie on the beach. In Lanzarote, temperatures are already climbing to 25°C, and even if it’s still a bit too chilly for a day at the beach, the islands offer plenty of places to visit so you can see and experience something new. You can find four more of our tips on where to get that summer feeling as early as April here.

May: Two chances to relax

May is doubly kind to us. There are two public holidays coming up – namely Labour Day (1 May) and Ascension Day (29 May). That makes for two long weekends, which are perfect for a short break.

1. Labour Day (1 May): A day off on Friday 2 May makes for a 4-day weekend (1 to 4 May).

2. Ascension Day (29 May): By taking a day’s holiday on Friday 30 May, you’ll get another 4-day weekend (29 May to 1 June).

Travel tips: Long weekends are ideal for short breaks in cities or at spa hotels. We love strolling through narrow streets, visiting museums, watching the hustle and bustle in restaurants in the evenings and having endless options for sights to see. That’s why we’re fans of city breaks in Europe. In 2025, for example, Bilbao is right at the top of our list.

June: Whitsun comes at just the right time

Whit Monday gives us the chance to really unwind halfway through the year and fly off on our summer holiday. You must only take four days’ holiday, and in return you get nine days off.

4 days’ holiday (10. – 13.06.) = 9 days off (7. -15.06.)

Travel tips: Many people want to go on holiday in June. This can quickly lead to some towns and beaches getting rather crowded. Not so with our hidden gems in Europe. We’ve picked out four destinations for you that are still completely underrated. But shhh, don’t tell anyone.

Autumn: A long break to mark the change of seasons

You can really make the most of the golden summer in 2025 if you factor in 3 October when planning your holiday. Take four days’ holiday, and you’ll have nine days off to fly or drive off on an autumn break.

4 days’ holiday (29.09. – 02.10.) = 9 days off (27.09. – 05.10.)

Travel tips: Are you still torn between extending your summer or getting a head start on autumn? Whilst it’s still lovely and warm in Seville, things are already getting a bit stormier on the North Sea coast. Let our autumn travel destinations inspire you here .

Christmas: A peaceful time on the slopes

Treat yourself to the best present of the year with a long break. Make the most of the Christmas holidays:

3 days’ holiday (22. – 24.12.) = 9 days off (20. – 28.12.)

Travel tips: “I am dreaming of a white christmas” – do you feel the same? Then why not spend Christmas in Europe’s most beautiful ski resorts. Nowhere else will you have as much fun in the snow or feel the ‘Christmas spirit’ quite like you will here.

Public holidays in 2025: It’s all in the planning

Thanks to our planning, we’ve managed to turn 17 days’ holiday into a full 50 days off. Anyone who still has holiday days left can ask themselves: should I extend each of my holidays? Or would I prefer to take shorter trips, which then come round more often and give me time to catch my breath every now and then?

Whatever you decide, always bear in mind: 2025 is the year of holidays. Make the most of it the smart way.

FAQ on public holidays and long weekends in 2025

Which public holidays apply in all federal states in 2025?

There are nine public holidays nationwide: New Year’s Day (1 January), Good Friday (18 April), Easter Monday (21 April), Labour Day (1 May), Ascension Day (29 May), Whit Monday (9 June), German Unity Day (3 October) and 25 and 26 December.

What is the maximum number of public holidays in Germany?

The number varies depending on the federal state. In Augsburg there are up to 15 public holidays, whilst in Berlin, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein there are 10.

How can you make the most of a few days’ holiday?

With clever management of long weekends: over Easter, four days’ holiday (14 to 17 April) give you ten days off; at Whitsun, in autumn and at Christmas, three to four days’ holiday turn into nine days off. In total, this plan turns 17 days’ holiday into 50 days off.

Which destinations are best suited to the long weekends in 2025?

For January, we recommend South Africa or Norway; for April, the Canary Islands; for the long weekends in May, city breaks in Europe; for June, underrated hidden gems in Europe; for autumn, for example, Seville or the North Sea; and for Christmas, Europe’s most beautiful ski resorts.