Madrid uses Central European Time — CET (UTC+1) in winter and CEST (UTC+2) in summer — even though it lies west of the Greenwich meridian. The Canary Islands are the exception: they are one hour behind Madrid.
Time zone facts
- IANA time zone: Europe/Madrid
- Country: Spain (ES)
- Coordinates: 40.4168°, -3.7038°
Spain’s ‘wrong’ time zone
Spain moved its clocks forward to match Germany in 1940 and stayed on Central European Time. Because Madrid is geographically closer to London’s longitude, the sun rises and sets late: in summer it can still be light after 21:30. This is often linked to Spain’s late lunch and dinner times.
The Canary Islands
The Canary Islands use Western European Time (UTC+0, UTC+1 in summer), the same as London and Lisbon. Spanish radio famously announces the hour with the reminder “una hora menos en Canarias” — one hour less in the Canaries.