What time is it in Greece?
EET / EEST · Europe/Athens
Back to GreeceNow in Athens
EET UTC+02:00
UTC+02:00
UTC+03:00 in summerEastern European Standard Time
One zone, Europe/Athens, covers the mainland and every island: Eastern European Time, two hours ahead of UTC, and Eastern European Summer Time, UTC+3, from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. Because the European change happens at 01:00 UTC, Greek clocks jump at 03:00 in spring and fall back at 04:00 in autumn, an hour later on the wall clock than in Central Europe.
Today
Daylight in Athens today
DayLive
12:00
- Sunrise
- 07:17First light 06:51
- Sunset
- 19:14Last light 19:40
- Day length
- 11 h 57 min−2 min on yesterday
- Solar noon
- 13:15Sun at 50°, its highest
Plan a call
Find an hour that works in Greece and elsewhere
The two rows are the same day, hour for hour. Pick a city, then an hour, and the line between the rows marks the office hours both sides share.
Time difference
How far Greece is from other places
Neighbours
- AlbaniaTirana−1 h
- BulgariaSofiaSame time
- North MacedoniaSkopje−1 h
- TürkiyeAnkaraSame time
Around the world
- London−2 h
- New York−7 h
- Los Angeles−10 h
- São Paulo−6 h
- MoscowSame time
- Dubai+1 h
- Delhi+2:30 h
- Beijing+5 h
- Tokyo+6 h
- Sydney+7 h
Clock changes
When the clocks change in Greece
Next change
Sunday, 25 October 2026
Clocks go back one hour: at 04:00 it becomes 03:00 EET, UTC+02:00. The night is an hour longer.
| Year | Clocks go forward | Clocks go back |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 29 March 03:00 → 04:00 | 25 October 04:00 → 03:00 |
| 2027 | 28 March 03:00 → 04:00 | 31 October 04:00 → 03:00 |
| 2028 | 26 March 03:00 → 04:00 | 29 October 04:00 → 03:00 |
| 2029 | 25 March 03:00 → 04:00 | 28 October 04:00 → 03:00 |
| 2030 | 31 March 03:00 → 04:00 | 27 October 04:00 → 03:00 |
Greece first tried summer time in 1932, from 6 July to 1 September, and dropped the idea after one season. The time zone database also records summer time in 1941 and 1952, and from 1942 to 1944 it shows the country an hour behind its usual offsets, on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. Summer time came back in 1975, after the 1973 energy crisis, running from March to September. Since 1997 Greece has followed the European Union's start and end dates.
Directive 2000/84/EC obliges Greece, like every member state, to change its clocks twice a year. The European Parliament voted on 26 March 2019 to repeal it, but the Council of the European Union had given no approval by March 2026, and the Council and the Commission each left the next step to the other. A plenary debate on 23 October 2025 found agreement that the changes should stop, with no date attached.
Daylight
Sunrise and sunset through the year in Athens
- Sunrise
- 07:17
- Sunset
- 19:14
- Daylight
- 11 h 57 min
- Change
- −2 min
Longest day of 2026: 17 June, 14 h 48 min.
Computed for 37.98, 23.73 at sea level with the NOAA solar equations, to the nearest minute, taking no account of hills.
Writing the time
- Clock
- 12-hour
- Short date
- 5/3/26
- Long date
- 5 Μαρτίου 2026
- Week starts
- Monday
- Zone names
- EET / EEST
- Time zone database
- Athens
History
How the clocks in Greece got here
- 1890
- To 1915.Local mean time, UTC+01:34, before the standard zone.
- 1916
- The move from local mean time, UTC+01:34, to UTC+02:00.
- 1917
- To 1931.UTC+02:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1932
- UTC+02:00 in winter, UTC+03:00 in summer time.
- 1933
- To 1940.UTC+02:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1941
- UTC+02:00 in winter, UTC+03:00 in summer time.
- 1942
- Clocks on UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1943
- Clocks on UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1944
- Clocks on UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00 at different times of the year.
- 1945
- To 1951.UTC+02:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1952
- UTC+02:00 in winter, UTC+03:00 in summer time.
- 1953
- To 1974.UTC+02:00 all year, no summer time.
- 1975
- To today.UTC+02:00 in winter, UTC+03:00 in summer time.
From the IANA time zone database, Europe/Athens, as the build machine carries it.
Common questions
Questions about the time in Greece
What time zone is Greece in?
Greek clocks sit two hours ahead of UTC in winter, on Eastern European Time, and three hours ahead from late March to late October, on Eastern European Summer Time. The Greek name is Ώρα Ανατολικής Ευρώπης. The time zone database gives the whole country a single entry, Europe/Athens, so every mainland town and every island keeps the same clock as the capital.
When do the clocks change in Greece in 2026?
They went forward on Sunday 29 March 2026, from 03:00 to 04:00, and go back on Sunday 25 October, from 04:00 to 03:00. In 2027 the dates are 28 March and 31 October. The hour looks late next to Berlin or Paris because the switch happens across the EU at the same instant, 01:00 UTC, and Greece is two hours ahead of UTC in winter.
Is Greece on the same time as Turkey?
Only in summer. Turkey stopped changing its clocks in September 2016 and stayed on UTC+3 all year, which is where Greek clocks sit from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October. In winter Greece returns to UTC+2 and Turkey is an hour ahead. Bulgaria, the neighbour to the north and a fellow member of the European Union, matches Greece all year.
What time did Greece keep before 1916?
Athens mean time, the local solar time of the capital, 1 hour 34 minutes and 52 seconds ahead of Greenwich. Greece moved to Eastern European Time in 1916, which put its clocks a little over 25 minutes ahead of the sun in Athens.
When did Greece start using summer time?
The first attempt ran from 6 July to 1 September 1932 and was not repeated. The time zone database also shows summer time in 1941 and 1952, and a spell from 1942 to 1944 on offsets an hour lower than usual. The practice that lasts to the present began in 1975, running from March to September, after the energy crisis of 1973. Greek dates have matched the European Union's rules since 1997.
Will Greece stop changing the clocks?
Not while Directive 2000/84/EC stands. The European Parliament voted to scrap seasonal changes on 26 March 2019, but the repeal also needs the Council of the European Union, which had not approved it by March 2026. Greece would then have to choose between staying on UTC+2 or UTC+3 for the whole year.
What is the time difference between Greece and London?
Two hours, all year. The United Kingdom and Greece change their clocks at the same instant on the same Sundays, so noon in London is 14:00 in Athens in January and in July alike. The directive that sets the European dates no longer binds the United Kingdom after Brexit, so a gap could open if either side changed its rules.
Does Greece use the 24-hour clock?
Both systems are in use. In speech the time is given on the 12-hour clock, while written times appear in either form, often side by side. Minutes are written with two digits, and the hour may be written with or without a leading zero, so 9:05 and 09:05 both occur.