Portugal time now, live flip clock
On the mainland and in Madeira, clocks show WET, UTC+0 through the winter and WEST, UTC+1 through the summer. The Azores have a clock of their own. The clock above follows the mainland live, with seconds.
Time zones in Portugal
The time zone database gives Portugal three entries, for the mainland, Madeira and the Azores. Madeira's entry reads the same as the mainland's, so the table below has two rows. The difference table measures from Lisbon.
| Time zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| AzoresPonta Delgada | UTC-1 | UTC+0 |
| Mainland Portugal and MadeiraLisbon, Porto, Amadora, Braga | WET, UTC+0 | WEST, UTC+1 |
When the clocks change in Portugal
Clocks change twice a year everywhere in Portugal.
| Time zone | Clock changes |
|---|---|
| Azores Time |
|
| Western European Time |
|
How many hours ahead or behind Lisbon
On 24 October 2026, London is on the same time as Lisbon.
| City | Difference from Lisbon |
|---|---|
| London | Same time |
| Madrid | 1 hour ahead |
| Paris | 1 hour ahead |
| Berlin | 1 hour ahead |
| New York | 5 hours behind |
| Toronto | 5 hours behind |
| Sao Paulo | 4 hours behind |
| Dubai | 3 hours ahead |
| Your time zone | Detected after this page loads |
Portugal's legal hour, mainland and islands
- The Azores, an hour behind the mainland
- 1 h
- A regional decree of the Azores sets the islands' legal time apart from the mainland's. For part of the year it equals Coordinated Universal Time minus sixty minutes. IPMA's time page lists a separate rule for the Azores. Ponta Delgada therefore stays 1 hour behind Lisbon in winter and in summer.
- Madeira on the mainland's clock
- WET
- IPMA also lists Madeira under its own heading, beside the mainland and the Azores. In a notice before one autumn change, Madeira's regional government cited a regional decree as its basis. The notice said clocks would go back sixty minutes at two in the morning, legal time.
- The decree-law and the observatory
- UTC
- Decree-law 17/96 is the text IPMA's time page names for how local time in Portugal relates to UTC. For the mainland, it sets legal time at Coordinated Universal Time for part of the year. For the summer period, it adds sixty minutes. IPMA presents the three regions' times with the Observatório Astronómico de Lisboa as its reference.
- Lisbon's old hour, Greenwich and a Central European spell
- 37 min
- A Portuguese decree cited in the time zone database gives Lisbon's old time as about thirty-seven minutes behind Greenwich. Lisbon moved onto Greenwich Mean Time one New Year's Day, shortly before the First World War. Standard time was first advanced by decree during that war. A later rule kept summer time all year on the mainland and nearby islands. Near the end of the twentieth century, Portugal moved from Western to Central European Time. A note in the database says this was to harmonize with the EEC. Within a few years, Portugal returned to Western European Time by leaving its clocks alone one spring.
Questions about time in Portugal
What time zone is Portugal in?
Portugal uses two clock readings across three areas. The mainland and Madeira keep Western European Time, WET, moving to WEST in summer. The Azores read UTC-1 in winter and UTC+0 in summer. Lisbon, Porto and Braga all share the mainland clock.
When do the clocks change in Portugal?
Portuguese clocks go forward on March's last Sunday and back on October's last Sunday. All three regions make each change at one o'clock UTC. Mainland and Madeira clocks jump from one to two in spring, and the Azores from midnight to one. In autumn, the mainland and Madeira fall back at two and the Azores at one.
What is the time difference between Portugal and Spain?
Madrid is 1 hour ahead of Lisbon. Both countries follow the EU's calendar for clock changes, so Madrid keeps that lead all year. Spain's Canary Islands are the exception, reading the same as Lisbon in every season.
What is the time difference between Portugal and Brazil?
São Paulo is 3 hours behind Lisbon in the Portuguese winter. São Paulo does not change its clocks, so the gap widens by an hour during Portugal's summer time. Ponta Delgada sits one hour closer to São Paulo than Lisbon does, in every season.
Will Portugal stop changing its clocks?
Nothing on ending the changes has been agreed at EU level yet. The European Commission has proposed an end to seasonal clock changes. Its plan would let each member state decide its standard time afterwards. The European Parliament adopted a position in favour of stopping them. The Council still has to settle its own position.
Time zone names for developers
| IANA zone | Standard time | Daylight saving time |
|---|---|---|
| Atlantic/Azores | UTC-1 | Yes |
| Atlantic/Madeira | WET, UTC+0 | Yes |
| Europe/Lisbon | WET, UTC+0 | Yes |
Sources
We checked each fact on this page against these sources on 16 October 2026. Times, offsets and clock changes come from the time zone database.