When can you buy alcohol in Sweden before New Year's Eve?

In Sweden, the state-owned Systembolaget chain has a monopoly on over-the-counter sales of drinks with strong alcohol content.

It is likely that stores will be much busier than usual, with long queues and less availability throughout the day as everyone rushes to stock up.

Due to Christmas and New Year’s mainly falling on weekends in 2023, this season’s opening hours don’t significantly differ from normal opening hours, but there are some changes to be aware of.

Here’s a full list of opening hours:

Friday, December 29th: Open until at least 7pm, but some of the bigger stores will be open until 8pm

Saturday, December 30th: Open until 3pm

Sunday, December 31st (New Year’s Eve): Closed

Monday, January 1st (New Year’s Day): Closed

After that, Systembolaget will be back to regular opening hours with the exception of Epiphany on January 6th, when it will be closed.

What to do if you miss it?

If you live in Malmö or Helsingborg, you can always pop over to Denmark, where you can buy wine, spirits and strong beer in any supermarket.

Otherwise, you can buy low- or no-alcohol beer and cider at most supermarkets and small newsagents or corner shops, or you'll just have to do without.