Illustrative stock photo (source: Sme)
Good Friday (April 19), Easter Sunday (April 21), and Easter Monday (April 22): these are the three days during which many shops will be closed in Slovakia.
Hence, Maundy Thursday (April 18) and Holy Saturday (April 20) are the only two Easter days when it will be possible to do one's shopping during ordinary opening hours. This will be the case of the retail chains Billa, Lidl, Kaufland, Terno, as well as COOP Jednota.
Tesco will be closed as well and will not run its online services. Tesco's petrol stations will stay closed on Easter Sunday, too, the Denník N daily wrote.
Apart from closed shops, there will be a school holiday between April 18 and April 23. People should prepare for heavier traffic and changed timetables. Also, the state-run railway passenger carrier ZSSK prepared some extra trains for the Easter holiday.
Where to shop at Easter?
Even though the current valid Labour Code stipulates that shops need to be closed on holidays, there are also certain exceptions where they can stay open. This includes shops at stations and airports, souvenir shops, ticket offices, pharmacies, and petrol stations.
Moreover, small shops where owners, not employees, sell goods during the holidays, can remain open. For instance, the Delia retail chain, which has several grocery shops in Bratislava, will open some of its stores even on Friday, Sunday, and Monday.
Restaurants, cafés, fitness centres, cinemas and other services do not have to be closed, either.
In Austria, shops will be closed on Easter Sunday just like on any other Sunday. Similarly, no shops will be open on Easter Monday as it is a national holiday in Austria, Denník N wrote.
