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Time in Hungary — regions, cities and time zones

Hungary uses Central European Time, UTC+1, and switches to Central European Summer Time, UTC+2, from late March to late October. One zone covers the entire country.

Flag of Hungary Hungary

Capital Budapest · Europe · ISO HU / HUN

Budapest, Hungary

Friday, 4 September 2026

UTC+2 · Europe/Budapest

Time and sun data for Budapest, Hungary

The sun in Budapest

Sunrise 06:07 Solar noon 12:44 Sunset 19:21 Daylight 13 h 14 min Night 10 h 46 min Civil twilight 05:36 – 19:53

States and regions (26)

Current time in Budapest

Budapest, the capital, sits on the Danube in the north of the country and keeps the national clock. The zone identifier is Europe/Budapest. Debrecen in the east, Szeged in the south and Győr in the north-west all show the same hour — Hungary is compact enough that a single zone fits it comfortably.

Central European Time and its neighbours

Hungary is surrounded by countries on the same offset for most of its border: Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia all keep Central European Time. Romania and Ukraine, to the east, are an hour ahead. That makes the eastern frontier the one that matters for travellers — a crossing there means adjusting your watch, while a crossing into Vienna or Bratislava does not.

Winter: UTC+1, Central European Time. Summer: UTC+2, Central European Summer Time. Same time as Vienna, Bratislava, Zagreb, Belgrade, Berlin and Paris. One hour behind Bucharest and Kyiv. One hour ahead of London and Dublin.

The twice-yearly change

Clocks in Hungary go forward one hour on the last Sunday in March and back one hour on the last Sunday in October, on the common European schedule. Because the changeover happens across the continent on the same night, the relationships between European capitals stay fixed — Budapest and Berlin never fall out of step, and the hour to Bucharest never closes.

The March Sunday is the one that costs an hour of sleep and the October one repays it — the only loan in Hungary settled entirely in daylight.

Daylight through the Hungarian year

Hungary lies at a latitude where the seasons make a real difference to the length of the day. Midsummer evenings on the Danube stay bright well into the night, while December afternoons darken early. The summer clock shift exists precisely for this: it moves an hour of daylight from a very early morning into the evening, where terraces, riverbanks and Lake Balaton can use it.

Scheduling with Budapest

Use Europe/Budapest in calendars so both winter and summer offsets are handled automatically. Meetings with other Central European capitals need no conversion at all. North American partners change their clocks on different dates, so the gap to Budapest varies by an hour for a few weeks each spring and autumn.

Timetables in Hungary use the 24-hour clock; a train listed at 18:40 leaves at twenty to seven in the evening.

Questions and answers
What time zone is Hungary in?
Central European Time, UTC+1, moving to UTC+2 during summer time. The identifier is Europe/Budapest.
When do Hungarian clocks change?
Forward on the last Sunday in March, back on the last Sunday in October, together with the rest of the European Union.
Is Hungary the same time as Romania?
No. Romania is one hour ahead of Hungary all year, since both change their clocks on the same dates.

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