Europe · Southern Europe · Sovereign state
Current time in Portugal
A single time zone at UTC+01:00. Currently observing daylight saving time.
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
About Portugal's time
A single time zone.
Portugal has 3 time zones covering mainland Portugal and its island territories, all observing DST. The country primarily operates on Western European Time (UTC+0) with daylight saving time switching to UTC+1.
Next clock change
2026 Sunday · clocks fall back
Clocks fall back by one hour · next week.
Daylight saving schedule
By time zone
Time zones of Portugal.
1 time zones
Remote territories & research stations
Major cities
Cities of Portugal.
History
How Portugal keeps time.
Portugal's timezone history is closely tied to its colonial past and geographic spread across the Atlantic. Before standardization, Portuguese cities kept their own local mean times based on longitude.
In 1911, Portugal adopted Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as its official time standard, effective January 1, 1912. This was a significant move that aligned Portugal with the prime meridian, despite lying mostly west of Greenwich. The Azores and Madeira adopted their own time zones appropriate for their western locations.
In 1992 mainland Portugal switched from WET (Western European Time) to CET (Central European Time, UTC+1), with summer time on top. This proved unpopular due to darker winter mornings and was reversed in 1996, returning to WET/WEST as before.
The Azores operate at UTC-1 (standard time)/UTC+0 (DST), while Madeira matches mainland Portugal's UTC+0/UTC+1 schedule.
Did you know?
Things about Portugal's time.
Portugal's return to Western European time in 1996 was unusual - a country voluntarily undoing a time zone change after finding the experiment with CET caused problems with work schedules and safety during dark winter mornings.
The country maintains three distinct time zones despite its relatively small European territory, reflecting its Atlantic island territories. The Azores, located about 1,500 km west of Lisbon, keep UTC-1 standard time - closer to their solar time than mainland Portugal's UTC+0.
Madeira (which lies southwest of mainland Portugal) keeps the same time as Lisbon rather than adopting a zone more aligned with its longitude, prioritizing economic and administrative alignment with the mainland.
Convert
Portugal to the world's clocks.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Portugal's time zone, daylight saving rules, and how to handle it in software. Can't find what you need? Email [email protected].
- What time zone is Lisbon in?
- Lisbon observes Western European Time (UTC+0) in winter and Western European Summer Time (UTC+1) in summer. DST runs from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
- Are the Azores and Madeira in different time zones from mainland Portugal?
- Yes, the Azores are one hour behind mainland Portugal (UTC-1 standard, UTC+0 DST). Madeira keeps the same time as mainland Portugal (UTC+0 standard, UTC+1 DST), despite being farther west.
- When does Portugal observe daylight saving time?
- Portugal observes DST from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, switching at 1:00 AM on the mainland and in Madeira, and at midnight in the Azores. All three time zones observe DST seasonally.
- What's the time difference between mainland Portugal and the Azores?
- The Azores are always 1 hour behind mainland Portugal. During DST, mainland is UTC+1 while Azores is UTC+0; in standard time, mainland is UTC+0 while Azores is UTC-1.
- Why does mainland Portugal use UTC+0 when it's west of London?
- Portugal officially adopted GMT/UTC+0 in 1912 despite the whole country lying west of the prime meridian. This alignment with the UK time zone was maintained for economic, political, and practical reasons.
- Is Portugal in the same time zone as the UK?
- Mainland Portugal and the UK both use GMT/UTC+0 in winter and UTC+1 in summer during DST, and they change clocks at the same moment. The Azores are one hour behind both all year.
Source: IANA tzdb2026d · Reviewed
Free · Developer API
This country, as JSON.
Its default time zone, zone and city counts and DST summary, from one endpoint.
Also in the API: time zones by coordinates, conversions that flag daylight saving gaps, and abbreviations decoded.
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