In the graph below you see the time zone difference between Central European Summer Time and Central Daylight Time. Drag the bubble to adjust the time and to see the corresponding time in the other time zone.
Central European Summer Time is the time zone of most central European countries, and the Nordics when observing daylight saving time in the summer, including cities like Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Madrid, Rome, Zurich and Warsaw. Central Daylight Time is the time zone of the central US and Canada, as well as most of Central America when observing daylight saving time in the summer, with places like Winnipeg, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City.
Usually it is preferable to schedule meetings in the late afternoon for the person in CEST and before lunch for the person in CDT.
More CEST conversions
CEST to GMT, CEST to EST, CEST to IST, CEST to PST, CEST to CST
More CDT conversions
CDT to BST, CDT to MDT, CDT to EST, CDT to IST, CDT to GMT
CEST is, as the name implies, the time zone observed by Central Europe during the summer months. CEST is +2 hours ahead of UTC. Note that Portugal and the UK are not on CEST but instead observe GMT (or, in the summer BST – British Summer Time) and that Eastern Europe (every country from Finland and South) observe Eastern European Summer Time.
All countries in Western Europe, except Portugal and the UK, observe Central European Summer Time. This includes Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Montenegro and Gibraltar to name a few.
The list is long but includes Berlin, Oslo, Madrid, Rome, Tirana, Amsterdam, Paris, Warsaw, Bern, Geneva and Copenhagen.
CEST is the summer time of CET – Central European Time and is observed between the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October each year. The rest of the year these countries are on CET.
Central Daylight Time is the time zone of the central US and Canada, as well as Mexico and most of Central America. It is five hours behind UTC and is observed during the summer months, between March and November. Sometimes the zone is referred to as CDST – Central Daylight Saving Time Zone. In the winter CDT becomes CST – Central Standard Time.
CDT is observed in the US, Canada, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama and Honduras i.e. all Central American countries. In the US it is only the states in the central US that observes CDT, from Wisconsin in the West to Tennessee in the East, and from Michigan in the North to Florida in the South. Similarly, only Canadian provinces in the middle of the country observe CDT. All of Mexico observes CDT, except the North West corner of the country.
US: Alabama, Iowa, Louisiana, Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Illinois and many more.
Canada: Manitoba, Ontario (most parts), Saskatchewan (only Creighton and Denare Beach)
Mexico: Chiapas, México, Oaxaca, Yuca tán, San Luis Potosi and more.
CDT is the daylight saving time of Central Standard Time. There are only a handful of exceptions in this time zone that do not observe DST, so it is advisable to always check the exact location (e.g. using our time zone converter) instead of relying on time zone abbreviations.