What is Christmas like in Australia, and what is open in Sydney and Melbourne?

Public holidays and school holidays

Both NSW and Victoria list the same dates, and the extra Monday matters: it gives most workers a long break.

School holidays are the reason everything books out. They begin around Friday 18 December 2026 in both states. The NSW Department of Education shows summer holidays to Wednesday 27 January 2027 in its Eastern division and to Wednesday 3 February in the Western division. In Victoria, Term 1 starts on 27 January, and government school students return on 28 January.

From the week before Christmas to late January, expect full coastal towns, busy flights and campgrounds that sell out early.

What closes on Christmas Day

This is the one day when shopping in Australia stops. In both states, Christmas Day is a restricted trading day, and the National Retail Association's 2025 to 2026 factsheet shows shops closed in both.

• NSW rule: most shops must close. The NSW Government lists exempt types including small shops (four or fewer employees), chemists, newsagents, florists, fruit and vegetable shops, restaurants, cafés, takeaways and petrol stations.

• Victoria rule: only exempt shops may open on Christmas Day.

• Supermarkets and malls: assume closed. Do your food shop by the 24th, and expect the shops to be packed.

• Boxing Day: in Victoria there are no trading restrictions. In NSW, all shops may open provided staff freely choose to work.

• Monday 28 December: not on the NSW Government's list of restricted trading days. Expect shops to open in both cities, but check each store's hours.

Restaurants that do open on the 25th often run a set Christmas lunch, and many add a public holiday surcharge, so book early and read the menu. City of Melbourne's guide lists Melbourne Zoo, SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium, Melbourne Skydeck and HOYTS cinemas among things to do on Christmas Day, with hours to be confirmed by each venue. Guides from 2023 list Taronga Zoo in Sydney as open too. We could not confirm the Christmas Day hours of the major galleries and museums, so check each one first. Our tipping guide explains surcharges and tips.

Carols by Candlelight

Carols are the Australian Christmas event you can actually join.

• Melbourne: Vision Australia's Carols by Candlelight. Thursday 24 December 2026 at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, 8pm, gates at 4pm. There is a rehearsal night on Wednesday 23 December from 4pm. Tickets are on Ticketek, and Channel 9 is the broadcast partner. Both dates are listed on the official site.

• Sydney: The Salvation Army's Carols in the Domain. Saturday 19 December 2026 at The Domain, 1pm to 11pm according to the Royal Botanic Garden, with paid reserved areas and free general admission at the Festive Lawn. Channel 7 and 7plus broadcast from 8pm. Expect traffic delays from noon on the 18th and 19th.

Councils and parishes across both cities run smaller carols, usually free; check local listings in December.

Sydney at Christmas

Sydney's Christmas is split between the city and the beach.

• Martin Place: Destination NSW lists the Martin Place Christmas Markets from 28 November to 24 December 2026, on multiple market dates, without hours. The City of Sydney's Christmas tree there ran from 27 November 2025 to 4 January 2026 last season, with light shows in the evening. The 2026 dates were not published when we checked.

• Boxing Day: the Rolex Sydney Hobart starts on Saturday 26 December at 1pm on Sydney Harbour, according to the NSW Government's event page, which names Nielsen Park. On-water exclusion zones apply.

• Transport: Transport for NSW's 2025 plan ran a modified Saturday timetable on Christmas Day, then Saturday timetables, with trackwork from 26 to 30 December. The 2026 plan was not published when we checked.

For the next big dates, see our Sydney New Year's Eve guide and where to stay for the New Year's Test at the SCG, which cover the fireworks, the Test and the transport for that week.

Melbourne and the Boxing Day Test

The Boxing Day Test is the fixed point of Melbourne's summer. The MCG lists Australia v New Zealand from Saturday 26 December 2026, and Cricket Australia's schedule gives 26 to 30 December. Day 1 starts at 10:30am, and gates open at 9:00am for the public and Members' Reserve. A third-party listing shows a different start time for Day 3, so use the MCG's page for that day.

Tickets are on Ticketek and have been on general sale since 15 June 2026. The MCG's page does not show prices, so we do not give any. A Test can finish early, so check before committing to a Day 5 ticket. Our cricket calendar has the wider summer schedule.

Christmas in the city: Fed Square's tree and Christmas programme ran from 28 November to 25 December in 2025, and Myer's Bourke Street windows are a long-running fixture, but we could not confirm 2026 dates from either organiser.

Transport: on Christmas Day 2025, trains, trams, buses and V/Line were free from 3am on Christmas Day to 3am on Boxing Day, on a Sunday timetable, according to Time Out, and extra services ran for the Test. Sources for earlier years differ on the timetable, and we found no 2026 announcement, so check PTV in December. The Melbourne airport guide covers arrivals. If you are staying on, see Melbourne in January.

Summer weather, heat and fire

On long-term averages, Sydney's December maximum at Observatory Hill is about 25°C, and Melbourne's at Olympic Park is 24.3°C with a low of 13.9°C (Bureau of Meteorology figures, 1991 to 2020 for Melbourne). Those averages hide a lot: both cities swing between mild days and very hot ones.

2026 leans hot. Reports say the Bureau of Meteorology declared El Niño in June 2026, and that it raises the odds of a warm, dry spring and summer across much of Australia. The Bureau also warns that a strong Pacific signal does not always bring equally strong effects in Australia. AFAC's spring bushfire outlook of August 2026 flagged increased fire risk in parts of southeast NSW and southern and eastern Victoria. We did not find the December to February outlook, so check the Bureau before you travel.

• Sun: use a hat and strong sunscreen, especially for a day at the cricket.

• Beaches: swim between the red and yellow flags at patrolled beaches.

• Fire: if you go outside the cities, check fire danger ratings and the state emergency apps, and be ready to change plans.

See what to pack for Australia and is Australia safe to visit.

Where to base yourself

We do not have a general Sydney or Melbourne where-to-stay page, but two of our cricket pages rank the central areas.

• Sydney, for the harbour and the Hobart start: Circular Quay and the CBD, the hardest area to book around New Year.

• Sydney, for food and a local feel: Surry Hills, Paddington and Darlinghurst.

• Sydney, for the airport train: Central and Haymarket.

• Melbourne, for the Test: East Melbourne, walkable to the MCG through Yarra Park.

• Melbourne, for restaurants and range: the east end of the CBD, Southbank or Richmond.

See where to stay for the New Year's Test and where to stay for the MCG. The area advice applies at Christmas too, though the ranking was written for those Tests. We have no sourced Christmas hotel rates. Book the Melbourne nights around 26 December early, as the Test, the sales and school holidays overlap. Arrivals need an ETA or other visa; see the ETA guide, and how much a trip to Australia costs for a budget. Our Melbourne guide covers the city.

Frequently asked questions