No Dutch law gives you a public holiday off.
Whether you work on Koningsdag is decided by your contract and your sector’s CAO, not by the calendar, and internationals discover this on their first Ascension Thursday.
Most employers do grant the main days as paid leave.
Hospitality, healthcare and retail are the sectors where they routinely do not.
The Official Holidays
Nieuwjaarsdag, 1 January. Fireworks the night before, and a nationwide New Year’s swim in the sea at Scheveningen and dozens of other spots.
Almost everything is shut, including supermarkets.
Goede Vrijdag, the Friday before Easter, is on the government’s official list but is one of the least commonly given as paid leave.
Check your own contract rather than your colleagues’ plans.
Eerste and Tweede Paasdag, Easter Sunday and Monday.
Easter Monday is a full holiday, and it is one of the busiest days of the year for days out of the city.
Koningsdag, 27 April - 26 April when the 27th falls on a Sunday.
The whole country wears orange, the city becomes one enormous free market, and Amsterdam is closed to cars across the centre.
Bevrijdingsdag, 5 May, marking the end of the German occupation in 1945.
It is an official holiday every year, but many CAOs grant it as paid leave only once every five years.
Hemelvaartsdag, Ascension Day, always a Thursday, 39 days after Easter.
Most people take the Friday as well, so the country effectively closes for four days.
Eerste and Tweede Pinksterdag, Whit Sunday and Monday, 49 and 50 days after Easter.
Quieter than the rest, but Whit Monday is a full public holiday.
Eerste and Tweede Kerstdag, 25 and 26 December.
Both are holidays, which is the part Americans do not expect - Boxing Day here is a second Christmas Day, spent with the other side of the family.
Easter, Ascension and Whitsun move every year, so check the dates rather than assuming.
Our holiday calendar for 2026 and 2027 lists them.
What Actually Closes
Supermarkets shut on 1 January, 27 April and 25 December, and many close early the evening before.
Shop for those three days in advance, because the night shops charge accordingly.
Public transport runs a Sunday timetable on public holidays, and a reduced one on Koningsdag when parts of the tram network stop entirely.
Museums mostly open on holidays but close on 1 January and 25 December.
Banks, government offices and the gemeente close on every official holiday.
Anything with an appointment - the municipality, the CBR, a hospital outpatient clinic - books up hard in the weeks around Ascension and Whitsun.
Whether You Get The Day Off
Dutch law sets holiday entitlement in days, not in dates, and does not oblige an employer to grant public holidays.
The official guidance is explicit about it.
Your CAO usually settles it, because most sectoral agreements list which feestdagen are paid.
If your sector has no CAO, the contract is the only source, and if the contract is silent your employer can roster you.
There is no statutory premium for working a public holiday either.
Any extra pay comes from the CAO or the contract, so look for the word “feestdagen” in both before you sign - the payslip guide explains where it shows up.
The Days That Are Not Holidays But Matter More
Sinterklaas, 5 December. Pakjesavond: presents, and poems written to mock the recipient.
Sint arrives by steamboat in mid-November, and for Dutch children this, not Christmas, is the big one - the toy shops in late November tell you everything.
Dodenherdenking, 4 May. At 20:00 the entire country observes two minutes of silence for the war dead.
Trams and buses stop where they are, conversation stops in restaurants, and the correct thing to do is stand still wherever you are.
Carnival, in February or March, in Limburg and Noord-Brabant.
Above the rivers it is barely acknowledged; in Maastricht and Den Bosch the city closes for three days.
Joining in is the fastest way to stop feeling like a visitor.
Start with orange on 27 April and silence on 4 May, in that order of difficulty.
