With each canton of Switzerland having its own set of public holidays, the number of days off workers get a year can vary by up to seven days depending on where they live - some places get 16 holidays a year! With this in mind, here are the regions of the alpine nation with the most days to relax.
Unlike other nations which have nationalised days off, each Swiss canton is able to decide what events they should offer as public holidays (days where people get a day off work without taking any holiday leave). The only nationally enforced holidays in Switzerland are August 1 - Swiss National Day, the only federally mandated holiday - New Year’s Day, and the traditional Christian holidays of Christmas, Easter and Ascension.
Starting from the bottom, those who love their jobs with a passion and dare not think of taking any paid leave should move to Canton Neuchâtel, Graubünden, Solothurn or Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Here, people are only given eight public holidays a year - not to mention years when these holidays fall on a weekend and are subsequently not reimbursed.
Building on its reputation as one of the happiest and sunniest cantons in Switzerland, Canton Ticino is the place with the most public holidays. The Italian-speaking canton has 15 paid holidays every year, one of the most generous offerings in Europe. This means that, if the timing is right, workers in Ticino with full-time work contracts will be able to take more than a month and a half off work every year.
Along with the more commonly known celebrations, most of Ticino’s unique holidays are related to Christian events - Saint Joseph’s Day on March 19, Saint Peter and Saint Paul Day on June 29 and Conception on December 8, to name but a few.
In joint second place with 14 days off are two of the founding cantons of Switzerland: Uri and Schwyz. Once again, Catholic religious events are the main reason for the high number of holidays, with the two cantons being the only place in Switzerland that has Three Kings’ Day as a day off for all workers. Jura rounded out the podium places with 13, largely thanks to June 23 - a day used to celebrate the region's independence from Canton Bern.
In all, the number of public holidays for each Swiss canton is:
However, those really wanting the greatest number of holidays possible should head to Bellinzona, as the Ticinese capital has a whopping 16 public holidays a year - the joint highest in the country alongside Einsiedeln, Canton Schwyz.