Easter Grocery Shopping in Switzerland: The Honest 2027 Guide

The Swiss Easter weekend is four shopping days, of which only one is normal: Karsamstag (Holy Saturday). Karfreitag (Good Friday) and Ostersonntag (Easter Sunday) are statutory holidays in nearly every canton and Ostermontag (Easter Monday) counts as a Sunday in 17 of 26, with the regular stores of Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro and Otto's closed by federal labour law where the holiday applies; shops in the stations on the federal list, at airports and in some tourist places may open as on a Sunday. In 2027 the dates are Karfreitag 26 March, Karsamstag 27 March, Ostersonntag 28 March, Ostermontag 29 March. Plan accordingly, or you end up queueing at a station shop on Easter Sunday. This guide gives the actual rules, where to find the few exceptions, what to buy when (with Aktion timing), and how to avoid the Maundy Thursday crush.

Sources checked regularly. Holiday dates verified at the cantonal labour offices and Swiss public holiday registers (ch-feiertage.ch, feiertagskalender.ch, kanton ZH personnel office). Opening hours verified at Migros, Coop and SBB station shops. Offers in the Rappn app, updated daily.

Rappn is an independent grocery price comparison app in Switzerland, with no commercial agreements with any retailer.

What is open, what is closed, when

Where you can still shop over the four days:

SBB station shops. Migros and Coop run station outlets at major train stations (Zürich HB ShopVille, Bern HB, Geneva Cornavin, Basel SBB, Lausanne, Lucerne) that operate under tourism/transit-zone exemptions. Open 365 days a year, often 06:00-22:00 or 23:00. Smaller assortment than a full supermarket.

Coop Pronto and Migrolino. Convenience shops, most of them at petrol stations. Nearly all also open on Sundays and public holidays: in October 2026 the two chains' store finders listed Sunday hours for 313 of 330 and 370 of 381 shops respectively, and some shops close on certain holidays. The fresh selection is limited; both sell their parent chain's own brands at supermarket prices (company statements, 2026), while other items can cost more.

Airport shopping. Zürich Kloten and Geneva Airport have full-assortment Migros and Coop branches in the publicly accessible (landside) areas, open every day of the year.

Hofläden (farm shops). Many rural farm shops use unmanned 24-hour self-service systems. Look for "24h Selbstbedienung" or "Hofladen" signs. Eggs, dairy, vegetables, sometimes meat. Honour-system payment; occasional source of the freshest local Easter eggs.

Ticino and Valais. Good Friday is a statutory holiday in 24 of the 26 cantons; in Ticino and Valais it is a normal working day and shops open as usual. In Ticino, large Migros and Coop branches and the Foxtown shopping centre are typically open normal Friday hours, and Valais shops likewise trade normally. On Ostersonntag and Ostermontag the regular stores in Ticino are closed as well, but shops under 400 m² in the tourist localities named by the canton may open, because Easter falls in the summer tourist season, which starts on 1 March; in Valais, Easter Monday does not count as a Sunday.

When to actually shop (with Aktion timing)

The single biggest tactical point: do not count on Maundy Thursday evening. It is the last shopping day before Good Friday, a holiday in 24 cantons, and several cantons make the regular shops close early that day: at 17:00 in Bern, Basel-Stadt, Lucerne, St. Gallen and Uri, at 18:00 in Schaffhausen. Elsewhere the usual weekday closing time applies; the canton of Zurich sets none from Monday to Saturday. The Aktion calendar matters here: Migros, Coop and Denner normally start their weekly Aktionen on Thursday (Coop since January 2025, Migros and Denner since 5 February 2026), so the Easter-week Aktionen normally start on Maundy Thursday. Holiday weeks can shift, and the chains publish the exact dates only in that week's flyer.

Tuesday or Wednesday morning. Do the main weekly shop here. Aktion calendar from the previous week is still live (until Wednesday); fresh sections are restocked from the weekly delivery; queues are normal; staff has time. Aldi Suisse and Lidl Schweiz are particularly worth Tuesday-Wednesday because their stock is deepest mid-week.

Thursday 25 March, 08:00-10:00. The new Aktion week normally starts on Thursday; in a holiday week, confirm it in the flyer. If you specifically want to capture Easter-week deals (lamb roast, branded chocolate eggs with multi-buy), Thursday morning before the lunch rush is the right window.

Karsamstag 27 March, before 11:00. This is the only shopping day inside the long weekend itself. Stores are typically open normal Saturday hours (08:00-17:00 or 08:00-18:00), but the parking lots are full from 09:30 onward and shelves get picked over by 14:00. The full breakdown of Aktion patterns sits in how Swiss Aktionen work.

Easter brings the seasonal Aktionen of spring.
Lamb, chocolate eggs (often as a multi-buy) and fondue cheese are typical Easter promotions. Rappn shows the current Easter promotions of Migros, Coop, Aldi, Lidl, Denner, Aligro and Otto's, filtered to your canton.

What to buy: Easter-specific categories

Chocolate eggs by the tonne, lamb roasts in every butcher case, hot cross buns at Migros, colomba pasquale stocked everywhere because of the Italian-Swiss tradition. The Easter shop is not the same as a normal weekly shop. The typical Easter list: lamb (leg or shoulder), rabbit, Easter ham, chocolate bunnies and eggs, colomba pasquale, Zopf, white and green asparagus, fondue cheese and coloured eggs. Their prices change with the weekly Aktionen and differ between chains, so this guide gives no price points; compare them in Easter week itself.

For lamb, compare the price per kilo and like with like: fresh or frozen, Swiss or imported.

For Italian-Swiss households, colomba pasquale stocking peaks 2-3 weeks before Easter at Migros, Coop, and especially in the Ticino region's larger branches. Brand selection is widest at Globus and at Migros Ticino.

Cross-border Easter shopping: usually a bad idea

For households who routinely cross-border shop in France, Germany, or Italy: Easter weekend is when this strategy collapses. Ostermontag is a public holiday in France, Germany, Austria and Italy, and Karfreitag in Germany and, in France, only in parts of Alsace and Moselle. The CHF 150 VAT-free limit and the duty-free allowances for meat (1 kg) and for butter and cream (1 kg) per person and day still apply; cheese is duty-free, but it counts toward the CHF 150. The full picture for non-Easter weeks is in cross-border grocery shopping France.

The one specific exception is the Tuesday or Wednesday before Easter for bulk Easter purchases (lamb, wine, chocolate, fondue ingredients) at French supermarkets, which are open normal hours. For households within 30 minutes of the border, that is the cross-border window of Easter week; whether it pays off depends on the basket, and lamb counts toward the 1 kg duty-free allowance for meat per person and day.

What to do if you forget to shop

The four station-shop fallbacks ranked by overall practicality:

ShopVille at Zürich HB. Migros, Coop, Coop Pronto and dozens of food outlets all open through the long weekend. SBB's own 2026 holiday table gives 09:00-20:00 on Easter Sunday for the centre; the 09:00-21:00 window is only the weekday minimum. The supermarkets themselves trade longer, but plan around the centre hours rather than assuming 21:00 on Easter Sunday. Fairly complete assortment for Migros and Coop. The most-comprehensive emergency option in German-speaking Switzerland.

Geneva Cornavin and Lausanne stations. Migros and Coop have proper station branches. Opening hours similar to ShopVille. Most-comprehensive option in French-speaking Switzerland.

Airport shopping (Zürich Kloten, Geneva Airport). Full Migros and Coop on the landside (no boarding pass needed). Open every day of the year. Useful if you live near the airport, or are already there.

Coop Pronto and Migrolino at petrol stations. Often pricier and a smaller assortment, but everywhere. Best for last-minute bread, milk, eggs, butter on Easter Monday.

For a deeper take on the savings playbook the rest of the year, see save money on groceries in Switzerland.

Easter week brings many seasonal Aktionen.
Lamb, chocolate, fondue cheese and asparagus are typical Easter promotions. Rappn shows the current Easter promotions of 7 retailers, filtered to your canton. Mark lamb, chocolate eggs, fondue cheese and the rest of your Easter list, and get a notification when one of them goes on offer. Get Rappn free.