Current Time in Madrid
The clock shows the time in Madrid and the rest of mainland Spain, read from your device and labeled CET or CEST depending on the season.
Current time in Madrid
- IANA zone
- Current time in Madrid
Mainland Spain runs on Central European Time, UTC+1, with summer time at UTC+2, even though Madrid sits west of the Greenwich meridian.
Madrid's offsets and next clock change
- IANA zone
- Europe/Madrid
- Standard time
- CET · UTC+1
- Daylight saving time
- CEST · UTC+2
- Clocks go forward
- Sun, March 29, 2026 at 2:00 AM local time
- Clocks go back
- Sun, October 25, 2026 at 3:00 AM local time
- Clocks go forward
- Sun, March 28, 2027 at 2:00 AM local time
- Clocks go back
- Sun, October 31, 2027 at 3:00 AM local time
Spain follows the EU rule: summer time starts on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, with every member state moving at 1:00 AM UTC. In Madrid that is 2:00 AM in spring and 3:00 AM in autumn.
A clock set east of the sun
Spain moved its clocks one hour ahead in 1940 to match Germany and France, and never moved them back. Because Madrid is at about 3.7° west, the sun is overhead well after noon on the clock, close to 2:15 PM in summer. That offset is one reason Spanish lunch and dinner hours are later than in most of Europe.
Proposals to return to Western European Time come up from time to time, but none has been adopted. The IANA time zone database records Europe/Madrid on CET for the whole period since the 1940s.
The Canary Islands are one hour behind
Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife keep Western European Time (UTC+0, UTC+1 in summer). Spanish radio famously announces the hour as "una hora menos en Canarias". Check which part of Spain a flight or meeting refers to.
Madrid compared with other cities
| City | In January | In July |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu | −11 | −12 |
| Anchorage | −10 | −10 |
| Seattle | −9 | −9 |
| Denver | −8 | −8 |
| Vancouver | −8 | −9 |
| Houston | −7 | −7 |
| Lima | −6 | −7 |
| Toronto | −6 | −6 |
| Washington, D.C. | −6 | −6 |
| Buenos Aires | −4 | −5 |
| São Paulo | −4 | −5 |
| London | −1 | −1 |
| Amsterdam | 0 | 0 |
| Berlin | 0 | 0 |
| Paris | 0 | 0 |
| Zurich | 0 | 0 |
| Athens | +1 | +1 |
| Cairo | +1 | +1 |
| Johannesburg | +1 | 0 |
| Doha | +2 | +1 |
| Nairobi | +2 | +1 |
| Riyadh | +2 | +1 |
| Dubai | +3 | +2 |
| Delhi | +4:30 | +3:30 |
| Dhaka | +5 | +4 |
| Ho Chi Minh City | +6 | +5 |
| Kuala Lumpur | +7 | +6 |
| Manila | +7 | +6 |
| Perth | +7 | +6 |
| Shanghai | +7 | +6 |
| Taipei | +7 | +6 |
| Seoul | +8 | +7 |
| Brisbane | +9 | +8 |
| Melbourne | +10 | +8 |
| Sydney | +10 | +8 |
Hours to add to the time in Madrid; a minus sign means the other city is behind
Madrid shares its hour with Paris, Berlin and Rome, so European business calls line up. Across the Atlantic the gap to Buenos Aires is four hours in winter and five in summer, since Argentina has no summer time; the Buenos Aires clock shows the other side.
Madrid time questions
What time zone is Madrid in?
Central European Time: UTC+1 in winter (CET) and UTC+2 in summer (CEST), the same as Paris and Berlin.
Is the Canary Islands' time the same as Madrid's?
No. The Canary Islands are always one hour behind Madrid, on the same time as London and Lisbon, and they change their clocks on the same nights.
Why does the sun set so late in Madrid?
Madrid lies west of Greenwich but uses a clock set for central Europe, so solar noon falls around 2:00 PM in summer and sunsets come close to 10:00 PM in late June.
When does Spain change to summer time?
On the last Sunday in March at 2:00 AM, when clocks go forward to 3:00 AM. They return on the last Sunday in October at 3:00 AM.
How many hours is Madrid ahead of Mexico City?
Seven hours in winter and eight in summer, because Mexico stopped using daylight saving time in 2022.