Time Zones in Spain
Spain spans one time zone (UTC+1) among the 3 cities tracked on Live Time Map. All of them observe daylight saving time. See the live local time for each city below, or use the interactive map to compare any of them against your own location.
Spain facts
- Currency
- Euro (EUR)
- Languages
- Spanish
- Calling code
- +34
- Time zones on this site
- 1
Clock time and solar time in Spain
A country's clocks are a political choice, not an astronomical one, so they rarely line up with its own sun. Measured against local solar time, the clock in Madrid runs 1 hour 15 minutes ahead of the sun, while in Barcelona it runs 51 minutes ahead of the sun.
That is a spread of 23 minutes between the two ends of Spain's tracked cities, all of it the result of longitude rather than of the clock. The wider that gap, the more one shared office schedule means genuinely different amounts of morning light depending on where you are.
How much daylight changes through the year
Daylight is governed by latitude, not by the clock. Barcelona, at 41.4° north, gets 15 hours 10 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year and 9 hours 11 minutes on the shortest.
That swing is the same whatever the clock says, which is why daylight saving moves working hours around inside the day without creating a single extra minute of light.
Cities in Spain
Want to compare a city here against your own location? Open the interactive world time zone map to pin it live.
Frequently asked questions
How many time zones does Spain have?
Spain uses a single time zone among the cities tracked here: UTC+1.
Does Spain observe daylight saving time?
Yes, the cities tracked here all observe daylight saving time.
Do clocks in Spain match the sun?
Clocks and the sun are not the same thing. In Madrid the clock runs 1 hour 15 minutes ahead of local solar time, so midday on the clock is not the moment the sun is highest.
How much does daylight change through the year in Spain?
In Barcelona, the longest day of the year has 15 hours 10 minutes of daylight and the shortest has 9 hours 11 minutes.