Holiday shop closures in Hungary: Here’s what you need to know
Hungary’s retail landscape will undergo major changes during the Christmas and New Year period, with most shops, shopping centres and services operating under heavily reduced or completely suspended opening hours.
Shoppers in Hungary are strongly advised to plan ahead to avoid last-minute inconvenience, as closures will affect nearly all major supermarket chains, malls, post offices and pharmacies.
Here are the closures you need to know about
Among discount retailers, Lidl applies the strictest policy. All Lidl stores across Hungary will remain closed on 24, 25 and 26 December, meaning the final opportunity to shop there will be the evening of 23 December, when stores close at 10 PM. This practice has been in place since 2023 and remains unchanged this year, reports Portfolio.
Aldi adopts a slightly more flexible approach. On Christmas Eve, stores will open from 7 AM until noon, before closing for both Christmas Day and Boxing Day. A similar pattern applies at the end of the year: Aldi stores will be open until 4 PM on 31 December but closed on New Year’s Day.
Penny stores will be closed throughout 24–26 December. However, shoppers can take advantage of extended opening hours until 10 PM on 22 and 23 December. SPAR follows a more varied strategy: most stores will be open until midday on 24 December and until the afternoon on 31 December, while selected 24-hour locations will remain accessible throughout the festive period. INTERSPAR hypermarkets, meanwhile, will stay open until 10 PM between 19 and 23 December.
Major hypermarket chains also introduce shortened hours. Tesco and Auchan stores will generally remain open until noon on Christmas Eve, catering to last-minute shoppers. Both chains will be closed on 25 and 26 December and on 1 January, while Auchan will reopen until 4 PM on New Year’s Eve.
Not only supermarkets will close
In the non-food sector, Rossmann drugstores and Libri bookshops will be closed nationwide on 24 December, continuing their established holiday practice. Rossmann stores will offer extended hours on 23 December but will also remain closed on both Christmas days.
Shopping centres across Hungary will operate under a largely uniform schedule. On 24 and 31 December, most malls – including Allee, Árkád and MOM Park – will be open between 10 AM and 2 PM, although MOM Park extends to 4 PM on New Year’s Eve.
The Corvin Plaza and Pólus Centre allow shopping until 2 PM on both dates, though some individual units may close earlier. All shopping centres will be closed on 25 and 26 December, as well as on 1 January.
Public services will also be affected. Post offices will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. On 24 and 31 December, services will follow a Saturday schedule and close by noon. Pharmacies will operate on an on-call basis during the holidays, with only duty and 24-hour pharmacies open on major public holidays.
One notable exception to widespread closures is Budapest’s municipal markets. Several major market halls, including the Great Market Hall and Bosnyák Square Market, will remain open on both 24 and 31 December, often with extended hours in the days leading up to Christmas.
For urgent needs, shoppers can rely on 24-hour petrol stations, which traditionally remain open throughout the festive season.