Swiss time in Zurich is UTC+1 in the cold months (CET) and UTC+2 in summer (CEST). Switzerland is outside the EU, yet it moves its clocks on exactly the same weekends as its neighbours.
Time zone facts
- IANA time zone: Europe/Zurich
- Country: Switzerland (CH)
- Coordinates: 47.3769°, 8.5417°
Switzerland’s ‘time island’ year
In 1978 Swiss voters rejected summer time. In 1980, when all of Switzerland’s neighbours had introduced it, the country briefly became a ‘time island’ an hour behind everyone around it. Switzerland adopted summer time in 1981 and has kept the European schedule since.
Business hours
SIX Swiss Exchange, headquartered in Zurich, opens at 9:00 and closes at 17:30. The city’s clock matches Frankfurt, Milan and Paris, sits an hour later than London and overlaps with New York from mid-afternoon.