Berlin on Sundays: what to do when the shops are closed

The rule in brief

Berlin's shop opening law allows shops to open Monday to Saturday, 24 hours a day. On Sundays and public holidays they must stay closed, including supermarkets and department stores such as KaDeWe. Restaurants, cafés, bars and museums are not shops within the meaning of this law: they open as normal.

What is allowed to open

According to the City of Berlin, the Sunday and public holiday exceptions are as follows:

• From 7am to 4pm: florists, newspaper and magazine kiosks, bakeries and pastry shops, dairy shops.
• From 1pm to 8pm: shops selling tourist items (souvenirs, maps, guides), tobacco and ready-to-eat food, provided they sell only these items every day of the week.
• No restriction: petrol stations, pharmacies, airport shops, kiosks in stations and bus stations.

The Hauptbahnhof and the big stations are therefore the simplest fallback for buying a drink, a snack or a travel item on Sunday.

And the Spätis?

The Späti is the late-opening corner shop found on almost every street corner. Legally, most are subject to the Sunday closure: the Berlin administrative court ruled in 2019 that they do not fall under the exceptions reserved for shops selling tourist items. In practice, many open anyway and the Berlin press has reported that inspections were rare in some districts such as Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg or Neukölln, more frequent elsewhere; a fine is possible. So do not count on a particular Späti on Sunday, and plan your shopping the day before. Payment methods are described in our guide to paying in Berlin.

General opening Sundays

The city may authorise up to 8 Sundays a year on which all shops open from 1pm to 8pm, by general decision; it has set four for 2026, according to published calendars: 25 January, 21 June, 6 December and 20 December. 1 May, Good Friday and Easter Sunday stay closed in every case. Check the date before planning any shopping.

What stays open: museums, markets and sights

Sunday is a good day for sightseeing: most major museums are open, such as the Neues Museum, from 10am to 6pm, and Berlin Cathedral, from 12pm to 6pm. The Mauerpark flea market takes place on Sundays from 10am to 6pm. By contrast, the Markthalle Neun is closed on Sundays, except for events. To plan the day, see the ideas in our guide to Berlin on a rainy day, which says for each place whether it opens on Sunday.

Summary table

Rules checked in October 2026 on the City of Berlin website (berlin.de).

Going further

Find all the city's practical rules in our guide to rules and etiquette in Berlin. For an evening drink, see drinking in the street in Berlin.