Sunday Shopping in Berlin
The last Berlin Sunday-Shopping Day of the year takes place this Sunday, December 19. So we thought it would be a good time to repost our article on Sunday shopping in Berlin!
Remember, 2G rules (geimpfed / genesen) apply at most stores (grocery stores excluded), and masks are mandatory.
Wishing everyone a safe and healthy holiday!
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It is Sunday morning, and you have just realised that you need tomatoes for tonight’s dinner party or that your daughter needs a birthday present for a party later in the day. Sunday shopping in Berlin seems improbable, given the laws in Germany. Luckily, buying what you need or desire on Sunday is tricky but not impossible. Below you will find Archer Relocation’s suggestions for shopping in Berlin on normal and Advent Sundays.
Why is it so hard to do your Sunday shopping in Berlin?
By German Law, retailers in Berlin are only allowed to open their businesses on ten Sundays per year during what is called ‘Verkaufsoffene Sonntage’. The Senate determines eight of these dates, and the district decides on the two other Sundays. The hours that stores are allowed to open on these Sundays are 13:00 to 20:00, but you will find that opening times vary according to retail outlet.
The selected Sunday shopping days in Berlin are only chosen every half-year, depending on what other holidays or special events, like Green Week or Berlinale, are on in the city. Year to year the designated Open Sundays will likely not be the same. The published dates for 2022 should be out in January 2022, and your best source for these dates is berlin.de.
December 2019 Open Sundays Berlin
While we all promise ourselves year after year that we will complete our Christmas shopping well before the 25th, last-minute chaos always tends to ensue. Berlin Open Sundays give us procrastinators two Sundays for shopping when the stores would typically be closed. These are usually the second and fourth Sundays of Advent. Christmas Open Sundays for 2021 are December 5th and December 19nd. Since these are Senate-designated Open Sundays, there is a great likelihood that you will find all major malls, stores and Christmas markets open on these dates. As an example, here are the opening times for the Berlin Open Sundays at four large retail sites.
Mall of Berlin (1:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.)
Alexa (1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.)
KaDeWe (doesn’t seem to be honouring the special shopping day this year, but check their website for special holiday hours.)
Karstadt (1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.)
2G rules (geimpfed / genesen) apply, and masks are mandatory.
KaDeWe – Fensterfront Tauentzien im August / September 2018 mit der Dekoration von “A GENTLE MAN 2018”.
What to do on other Sundays if you are in need of something?
The bottom line is that you will have no trouble completing your Sunday shopping in Berlin. It might not be at your shop around the corner and could be filled with others that forgot to purchase something on Saturday, but it is totally possible!
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Archer Relocation has been providing relocation services to families, individuals and companies in Berlin since early 2015. Managing Director, Emily Archer, founded the company desiring to use her first-hand experience as an expat to make the relocation process as smooth as possible for others moving to Berlin. Read other useful information about moving to and living in Berlin, such as ‘How to Find a Berlin Apartment’, on our Berlin Blog.
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