Have you ever tried traveling to a new city and after arriving at your hotel, you want to go shopping, but you find out that all the shops are closed, due to some local holiday you’ve never heard of before? So annoying, right?
That’s why I have made this list of opening hours of the most common shops, including all the national holidays, where shops might be closed, for either the whole day or a part of it.
When do shops open and close?
Almost all stores on the shopping street Strøget (clothing, toys ect.) have roughly the same opening hours:
Monday – Friday: 10.00AM – 6PM
Saturday: 10.00AM – 5PM
Sunday: 11.00AM – 4.00PM
I used the word roughly, since some open at 9.30AM and some at 10.30AM or 11.00AM, but the majority open at 10.00AM.
The closing time also varies of course, with 6 and 7PM being the most common. Some are open one hour longer on Fridays and in general most shops close one hour earlier on Saturdays.
Sundays are a joker, since some don’t open at all, while others are open just like the other weekdays and then there are the rest, who are only open for half a day. So, you can definitely get some shopping done on Sundays, but be sure to check first, if there is a certain shop you intend to go to.
Smaller kiosks have longer opening hours in general. 7-Eleven are, as you probably know, open 24 hours, while other kiosk resembling 7-Eleven are open typically from 9-10AM to 8-10PM all week.
Here you can get tobacco, newspapers, soft drinks, candy and alcohol.
What are the opening hours of museums?
The museums in Copenhagen typically open at 10.00AM all week and close between 4.00PM and 6.00PM. So, their opening hours resemble the shops a lot, but they are generally open longer on the weekends. More important is it to note, that most museums are closed on Mondays.
When are they national public holidays in Denmark?
Here are the national public holidays in 2023. In parentheses is the English name followed by the Danish name). Here you can expect all shops to be closed, including grocery stores, while you might be able to find a kiosk, which is open. A lot attractions are still open though, to cater for the tourists.
January 1 (New Year’s Day – Nytårsdag)
April 6 (Maundy Thursday – Skærtorsdag)
April 7 (Good Friday – Langfredag)
April 9 (Easter Sunday – Påskesøndag)
April 10 (Easter Monday – Påskemandag)
May 1 (Labour Day – Arbejdernes kampdag)(Not a public holiday, but for some parts of society is either a holiday or maybe only half a day (closing at noon perhaps)
May 5 (General Prayer Day – Store bededag)
May 18 (Ascension Day – Kristi Himmelfarts dag)
May 19 (Bank Holiday – Banklukkedag)(Not a public holiday, but banks are closed)
May 28 (Whit Sunday – Pinsedag)
May 29 (Whit Monday – 2. pinsedag)
June 5 (Constitution Day – Grundlovsdag)(Government and bank holiday – optional for others)
December 24 (Christmas Eve – Juleaften)
December 25 (Christmas Day – 1. juledag)
December 26 (Boxing Day – 2. juledag)