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European Time Zones

Europe spans 4 main time zones from UTC+0 (UK and Portugal) to UTC+3 (Russia). Most of continental Europe observes daylight saving time (DST), moving clocks forward 1 hour in late March and back in late October.

Time Zones in Europe

GMT / WET

UTC+0

UTC+1 (BST/WEST in summer)

UK (winter), Ireland, Portugal

LondonDublinLisbon

CET

UTC+1

UTC+2 (CEST in summer)

France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Switzerland

ParisBerlinMadridRomeAmsterdam

EET

UTC+2

UTC+3 (EEST in summer)

Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Finland, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

AthensBucharestHelsinkiKyiv

MSK

UTC+3No DST

No DST

Western Russia

MoscowSt. Petersburg

When Does Europe Change Its Clocks?

Most European countries observe daylight saving time on a unified schedule: clocks spring forward by 1 hour on the last Sunday of March (at 1:00 AM UTC), and fall back on the last Sunday of October (at 1:00 AM UTC).

Russia abolished DST in 2014 and permanently moved to UTC+3 (Moscow Standard Time). Belarus (UTC+3) and Iceland (UTC+0) also do not observe DST. Several non-EU countries in the east follow their own DST rules.

The European Union has discussed eliminating the biannual clock change — a proposal passed the European Parliament in 2019 — but implementation has been postponed indefinitely.

European City Times

Popular Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

What time zone is Paris in?
Paris is in Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) in winter and Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) in summer.
Does the UK observe daylight saving time?
Yes. The UK observes BST (British Summer Time, UTC+1) from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
What time zone is Germany in?
Germany uses Central European Time (CET, UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) in summer, the same as most of Western Europe.