Italy and Portugal will change their clocks at the end of March 2026. Clocks will be moved forward one hour in both countries.
The change marks the start of daylight saving time., following the standard adopted by the European Union.
Change date in 2026
The change will take place on Sunday, March 29, 2026.
In Italy, at 2 AM, the clocks advance to 3 AM.
In Portugal, the change happens at 1 AM, when the clocks switch to 2 AM.
In practice, the early morning hours will be one hour shorter in both countries.
When will the schedule return to normal?
Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, October 25, 2026.
In Italy, at 3 AM, the clocks go back to 2 AM.
In Portugal, at 2 AM, the clocks go back to 1 AM.
On that day, the early morning hours will be one hour longer.
Upcoming confirmed dates
The changes follow a common timetable in the European Union:
March 29th, 2026
October 25th, 2026
March 28th, 2027
October 31th, 2027
Why do countries change their time zones?
Italy and Portugal follow the current rules of the European Union.
The goal is to make better use of natural light. This results in longer days in the summer and brighter mornings in the winter.
A proposal to end the change was presented in 2018, but no final decision was made. The system remains in effect.
Time difference between Italy and Portugal
Even with the change on the same day, the countries maintain a one-hour time difference between them.
Italy operates on CET time in winter and CEST time in summer.
Portugal uses WET in winter and WEST in summer.
Therefore, Portugal always remains one hour behind Italy.
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Cristina Lopes
March 21, 2026 at 23:14 pm
The time changed now, and it didn't change anymore, in my opinion.