Time zone · Europe
CEST
Central European Summer Time
Central European Summer Time (CEST) is the daylight-saving phase of Central European Time, adding an extra hour of evening light across 33 zones from Spain's Ceuta to the Arctic's Longyearbyen. Living or collaborating during CEST means embracing sunsets that stretch past 9 PM from Berlin to Bratislava, turning evenings into prime time for outdoor cafés, late-night walks, and cross-border video calls while the daylight lasts.
Sunday, May 31, 2026
Current offset
UTC+02:00
Daylight · CEST
Daylight saving
Active
Reverts 25 Oct 2026
IANA zones
33
33 observe DST, 0 don't
DST offset
—
No summer variant
About CEST
Standard time, with a summer shift.
Central European Summer Time (CEST) is the daylight-saving phase of Central European Time, adding an extra hour of evening light across 33 zones from Spain's Ceuta to the Arctic's Longyearbyen. Living or collaborating during CEST means embracing sunsets that stretch past 9 PM from Berlin to Bratislava, turning evenings into prime time for outdoor cafés, late-night walks, and cross-border video calls while the daylight lasts.
IANA zones · the technical identifiers
The 33 zones that resolve to CEST.
For software, always store the IANA identifier — never the abbreviation alone. The database keeps these zones distinct because their rules can, and historically did, diverge.
Cities currently on CEST
The same hour, city by city.
36 cities · all UTC+02:00
Where CEST is used
31 countries.
Same offset · UTC+02:00
Other zones at UTC+02:00 right now.
These named zones share CEST's offset today. When daylight saving rules differ, they drift apart for part of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about CEST, daylight saving, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- How many time zones does CEST cover?
- CEST covers 33 member zones across Europe and even parts of Africa and the Arctic, making it one of the widest-reaching daylight-saving time regions.
- Which countries currently observe CEST?
- Countries include Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Serbia, Slovakia, Andorra, and even remote territories like Svalbard and Jan Mayen in the Arctic.
- When does CEST currently take effect and end?
- CEST is currently active and will end on October 25, 2026, when clocks across all 33 zones move back by one hour at 02:00 local time.
- What makes CEST unique compared to other summer time zones?
- It spans from Mediterranean Europe all the way to the Arctic Circle, covering diverse climates yet synchronized to the same clock.
- Do all CEST zones follow the same DST schedule?
- Yes, all 33 zones transition together, ensuring seamless coordination across borders during summer months.
- How does CEST affect daily life in the Arctic?
- In places like Longyearbyen, CEST aligns with already extreme daylight hours, blending natural and clock-based time for consistency.
Free · Developer API
Time, as JSON.
Every IANA time zone with live offsets, DST status, and the countries and cities that use them — clean, dependable JSON. Sign up free and get an API key in seconds.
countries, cities, convert, DST transitions coming next.
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