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Central European Time now
CET · CEST · Berlin, Paris, Rome

Central European Time is the standard time of most of continental Europe. Like EST in the US, the abbreviation strictly means the winter offset (UTC+1): from late March to late October the same countries use Central European Summer Time (UTC+2). The main clock shows the actual time in Berlin and Paris with today’s abbreviation; fixed CET is shown below.

CET versus CEST

CET is UTC+1 and CEST is UTC+2. Because every EU country switches at the same moment, the difference between Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Rome is always zero, and the difference to London (GMT/BST) is always one hour.

Countries on Central European Time

Germany, France, Italy, Spain (mainland), the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and others. Algeria and Tunisia use CET without summer time, so they match Paris only in winter.

Daylight saving time

All EU countries change at the same instant: 01:00 UTC on the last Sunday of March (to CEST) and the last Sunday of October (back to CET).

Central Europe (CET ↔ CEST)

  • Sunday, 29 March 2026 at 02:00 local time: clocks go forward from UTC+1 to UTC+2
  • Sunday, 25 October 2026 at 03:00 local time: clocks go back from UTC+2 to UTC+1
  • Sunday, 28 March 2027 at 02:00 local time: clocks go forward from UTC+1 to UTC+2
  • Sunday, 31 October 2027 at 03:00 local time: clocks go back from UTC+2 to UTC+1

Example conversions

Calculated from the official time zone rules for two dates, so you can see how daylight saving time affects the result.

Winter example — 15 January 2027

Central European clockUTCLondonNew YorkDubai
09:00 AM08:00 AM08:00 AM03:00 AM12:00 PM
12:00 PM11:00 AM11:00 AM06:00 AM03:00 PM
05:00 PM04:00 PM04:00 PM11:00 AM08:00 PM

Summer example — 15 July 2027

Central European clockUTCLondonNew YorkDubai
09:00 AM07:00 AM08:00 AM03:00 AM11:00 AM
12:00 PM10:00 AM11:00 AM06:00 AM02:00 PM
05:00 PM03:00 PM04:00 PM11:00 AM07:00 PM

Frequently asked questions

What time is it in CET now?

The main clock shows the current time in central Europe with the abbreviation in effect today (CET or CEST). The fixed CET clock always shows UTC+1.

Is it CET or CEST now?

CEST (UTC+2) applies from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October; CET (UTC+1) applies the rest of the year.

How far ahead of GMT is CET?

CET is 1 hour ahead of GMT/UTC. During summer time, CEST is 2 hours ahead of UTC — but still only 1 hour ahead of UK time, because the UK also switches to BST.

Is CET the same as Berlin time?

In winter, yes. In summer Berlin uses CEST (UTC+2), which is one hour ahead of fixed CET.