Time zone in Barcelona
Barcelona is on Central European Standard Time (CET, UTC+1) in winter and switches to Central European Summer Time (CEST, UTC+2) in summer. Its identifier in the international time zone database is Europe/Madrid: it is what your phone and computer use to show the right time there.
Clock changes in Barcelona:
- 2026: forward 1 h on Sunday, March 29, 2026 (2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM), then back 1 h on Sunday, October 25, 2026 (3:00 AM becomes 2:00 AM).
- 2027: forward 1 h on Sunday, March 28, 2027 (2:00 AM becomes 3:00 AM), then back 1 h on Sunday, October 31, 2027 (3:00 AM becomes 2:00 AM).
Mainland Spain uses Central European Time, like Paris and Berlin, although Madrid lies further west than London. Spain has kept this time since 1940, which is why the sun rises and sets late by the clock.
Barcelona follows the European rule: clocks go forward on the last Sunday of March and back on the last Sunday of October, at 01:00 UTC, the same instant everywhere in Europe.
Barcelona shares its time with Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Málaga and Palma de Mallorca.
Barcelona is 505 km from Madrid, the capital, and has the same time.
By the sun, noon in Barcelona falls at about 12:51 PM in winter and 1:51 PM in summer (on average over the year). The city lies at 2.17° east, and every degree of longitude shifts the sun by 4 minutes. The clock runs well ahead of the sun here, so mornings stay dark late and evenings stay light late. See the sunrise and sunset times in Barcelona.
Time difference with major cities
When it is 12:00 PM (noon) in Barcelona, it is:
| City | January | July |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 6:00 AM | 6:00 AM |
| Los Angeles | 3:00 AM | 3:00 AM |
| London | 11:00 AM | 11:00 AM |
| Paris | 12:00 PM | 12:00 PM |
| Tokyo | 8:00 PM | 7:00 PM |
| Sydney | 10:00 PM | 8:00 PM |
The gap with Tokyo changes by one hour during the year, because Barcelona changes its clocks and this city does not. With Sydney, the gap is not the same in January and July: the clocks change at other times of the year there. With New York and Los Angeles, the gap is the same in January and July but one hour different for 21 days a year, because the clocks do not change on the same dates.
Best time to call Barcelona from New York
To reach someone at work in Barcelona from New York, the best window is from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM in New York, which is 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM in Barcelona.
For any other city, use the time zone converter or add it to the world clock.