Current time in Bern, Switzerland
The current local time in Bern is shown below. Bern observes CET in winter and CEST during daylight saving time.
What's the daylight saving status?
When are sunrise & sunset today?
What are the timezone facts?
What's the timezone history of Bern?
Bern observes Central European Time and Central European Summer Time, aligned with Switzerland's neighbours despite the country sitting outside the European Union. Switzerland coordinates DST changes with the EU through bilateral arrangement rather than membership. The city's longitude around 7 degrees east places wall time roughly half an hour behind solar noon in winter. The Federal Assembly's quarterly sessions of three weeks each in March, June, September, and December anchor the political calendar more strongly than seasonal time shifts.
What are the working hours in Bern?
Federal administration, the headquarters of Swiss Post and Swiss Federal Railways, and a substantial life-sciences cluster centred on the Inselspital university hospital anchor employment. Office hours run 08:00 to 17:30 with a one-hour lunch break, often genuinely taken rather than at the desk. Cantonal public holidays vary across Switzerland, with Bern observing Berchtoldstag on 2 January and Heiligabend (24 December afternoon) on top of the federal calendar. Onion Market (Zibelemärit) on the fourth Monday of November is the largest distinctive local commercial event.
Where is Bern?
Bern is the de facto capital of Switzerland and the seat of federal government, sitting on a peninsula formed by a sharp loop of the Aare River in the central Mittelland region. The city proper holds around 135,000 residents and the wider agglomeration roughly 415,000. The medieval old town, founded in 1191 and substantially intact, occupies the peninsula bend and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bernese Alps rise immediately south, with the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau visible from elevated points on clear days. Lake Thun and Lake Brienz lie around 30 kilometres south-east.