Bridge days 2028: the year for long breaks
Enter your state and leave days: the planner spreads your 2028 leave over the bridges so you get as many consecutive days off as possible.
North Rhine-Westphalia 2028: using 10 leave days
32 days off
Each leave day buys 3.2 consecutive days off.
| Sat 8 April – Mon 17 April | 4 → 10 days |
| Thu 25 May – Sun 28 May | 1 → 4 days |
| Thu 15 June – Sun 18 June | 1 → 4 days |
| Sat 30 September – Tue 3 October | 1 → 4 days |
| Sat 23 December – Mon 1 January | 3 → 10 days |
| Take leave | Leave days | Off in a row | Days off | Thanks to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 10 April – Thu 13 April | 4 | Sat 8 April – Mon 17 April | 10 | Good Friday, Easter Monday |
| Fri 26 May | 1 | Thu 25 May – Sun 28 May | 4 | Ascension Day |
| Fri 16 June | 1 | Thu 15 June – Sun 18 June | 4 | Corpus Christi |
| Mon 2 October | 1 | Sat 30 September – Tue 3 October | 4 | German Unity Day |
| Wed 27 December – Fri 29 December | 3 | Sat 23 December – Mon 1 January | 10 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day (St Stephen’s Day), New Year's Day |
| Take leave | Leave days | Off in a row | Days off | Holiday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 26 May | 1 | Thu 25 May – Sun 28 May | 4 | Ascension Day |
| Fri 16 June | 1 | Thu 15 June – Sun 18 June | 4 | Corpus Christi |
| Mon 2 October | 1 | Sat 30 September – Tue 3 October | 4 | German Unity Day |
| Wed 27 December – Fri 29 December | 3 | Sat 23 December – Mon 1 January | 10 | Christmas Day, Boxing Day (St Stephen’s Day), New Year's Day |
| Mon 10 April – Thu 13 April | 4 | Sat 8 April – Mon 17 April | 10 | Good Friday, Easter Monday |
| Tue 18 April – Fri 21 April | 4 | Fri 14 April – Sun 23 April | 10 | Good Friday, Easter Monday |
| Mon 30 October – Tue 31 October | 2 | Sat 28 October – Wed 1 November | 5 | All Saints' Day |
| Thu 2 November – Fri 3 November | 2 | Wed 1 November – Sun 5 November | 5 | All Saints' Day |
| Tue 2 May – Fri 5 May | 4 | Sat 29 April – Sun 7 May | 9 | Labour Day |
| Tue 6 June – Fri 9 June | 4 | Sat 3 June – Sun 11 June | 9 | Whit Monday |
| Mon 22 May – Wed 24 May | 3 | Sat 20 May – Thu 25 May | 6 | Ascension Day |
| Mon 12 June – Wed 14 June | 3 | Sat 10 June – Thu 15 June | 6 | Corpus Christi |
| Wed 4 October – Fri 6 October | 3 | Tue 3 October – Sun 8 October | 6 | German Unity Day |
Prepared by Radif Partners · Method · state holiday acts checked on 28 October 2026
2028 is an excellent year for bridges, the opposite of 2027. Almost every public holiday falls between Monday and Friday: 1 May is a Monday, German Unity Day a Tuesday, All Saints' Day a Wednesday, Christmas falls on Monday and Tuesday and New Year's Day 2029 on a Monday again. Only New Year's Day 2028 is on a Saturday. That creates many true bridge days, where a single leave day gives four days off, such as Friday 26 May after Ascension Day and Monday 2 October before German Unity Day. Ten leave days buy 29 to 35 days off depending on the state, most of all in Bavaria. Because Easter is late in 2028, on 16 April, Ascension Day, Whitsun and Corpus Christi move into late May and June. If you want to book leave for 2028, do it early: many employers hand out the popular bridge days in the order requests arrive.
The best bridges in 2028
The table shows the 2028 bridges for North Rhine-Westphalia as an example, sorted by yield: first the days where one leave day buys four days off, then the longer bridges around Easter, Whitsun and Christmas.
| Take leave | Leave days | Off in a row | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 26 May | 1 | Thu 25 May – Sun 28 May | 4 |
| Fri 16 June | 1 | Thu 15 June – Sun 18 June | 4 |
| Mon 2 October | 1 | Sat 30 September – Tue 3 October | 4 |
| Wed 27 December – Fri 29 December | 3 | Sat 23 December – Mon 1 January | 10 |
| Mon 10 April – Thu 13 April | 4 | Sat 8 April – Mon 17 April | 10 |
| Tue 18 April – Fri 21 April | 4 | Fri 14 April – Sun 23 April | 10 |
| Mon 30 October – Tue 31 October | 2 | Sat 28 October – Wed 1 November | 5 |
| Thu 2 November – Fri 3 November | 2 | Wed 1 November – Sun 5 November | 5 |
| Tue 2 May – Fri 5 May | 4 | Sat 29 April – Sun 7 May | 9 |
| Tue 6 June – Fri 9 June | 4 | Sat 3 June – Sun 11 June | 9 |
In spring the holidays of 2028 are further apart than in 2027. Good Friday is on 14 April, Easter Monday on 17 April. Four leave days in Holy Week or in the week after Easter each give ten days off; both together give sixteen for eight leave days. 1 May falls on a Monday and lengthens the weekend by itself.
What your leave buys in 2028
The second table compares the states. For each one it works out the best spread of 10, 20 and 30 leave days. The differences come from each state's own holidays: wherever Corpus Christi, Assumption Day or Reformation Day falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, extra bridges appear.
| State | 10 leave days | 20 leave days | 30 leave days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg | 32 | 55 | 74 |
| Bavaria | 35 | 58 | 77 |
| Berlin | 29 | 52 | 68 |
| Brandenburg | 32 | 52 | 68 |
| Bremen | 32 | 52 | 68 |
| Hamburg | 32 | 52 | 68 |
| Hesse | 32 | 52 | 68 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 32 | 55 | 71 |
| Lower Saxony | 32 | 52 | 68 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 32 | 55 | 71 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 32 | 55 | 71 |
| Saarland | 32 | 55 | 74 |
| Saxony | 32 | 55 | 71 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 32 | 55 | 71 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 32 | 52 | 68 |
| Thuringia | 32 | 55 | 71 |
If you are not sure how much leave you are entitled to, the statutory floor is on leave entitlement: on a five-day week the Federal Leave Act guarantees at least 20 days. The full list of holidays is on public holidays 2028.
North Rhine-Westphalia 2028: using 10 leave days
North Rhine-Westphalia 2028: using 10 leave days
32 days off
| Sat 8 April – Mon 17 April | 4 → 10 days |
| Thu 25 May – Sun 28 May | 1 → 4 days |
| Thu 15 June – Sun 18 June | 1 → 4 days |
| Sat 30 September – Tue 3 October | 1 → 4 days |