What time it is in Monaco, and why it's always an hour ahead of London

It’s one of those questions that seems trivial until you miss the changing of the guard by an hour. The short answer is simple for anyone flying from Britain, because Monaco is always one hour ahead of the UK. The longer one has a couple of wrinkles, mainly around the clock-change weekends, and here they are.

What time is it in Monaco?

Monaco uses Central European Time, the same as France, Italy and mainland Spain. In winter that’s UTC+1 and in summer UTC+2. It isn’t a quirk of the Principality you need to remember, it’s already built into your phone. In the IANA time zone database, the one operating systems around the world use to set the clock, the Europe/Monaco zone is literally a link to Europe/Paris. Monaco doesn’t keep a time of its own, it shares France’s.

For a British traveller that makes life easy. Your plane leaves Heathrow, Gatwick or Manchester, you land in Nice an hour later on the clock than the flight time suggests, and nothing changes again when you cross into Monaco by train or bus. How to do that last stretch is in getting from Nice to Monaco.

One hour ahead of the UK, always

Because the UK and the EU move their clocks on the same Sundays, the gap is fixed. When it’s 10:00 in London it’s 11:00 in Monaco, in January and in July alike. The same goes for Ireland and mainland Portugal, both an hour behind, while France, Italy and mainland Spain are on the same time as Monaco.

Where you feel it most is with flight times. A plane leaving London mid-morning lands in Nice with an extra hour on the clock, and if you then catch the train to Monaco the whole day shifts. I compare the routes in flights to Monaco.

When do the clocks change in Monaco?

As in the rest of the European Union, on the last Sunday of March and the last Sunday of October, at 01:00 UTC. In practice, in 2026 the clocks go back an hour on Sunday 25 October, and in 2027 they go forward on Sunday 28 March and back again on 31 October. I’ve worked those dates out from the rule IANA records, so take them with that caveat.

Your phone updates itself, because it takes the time from Monaco Telecom’s network. What it won’t do is tell you that Monaco sits outside EU roaming rules, and since Brexit UK networks set their own European charges anyway. That’s the real trap of the trip, and I explain it in using your phone in Monaco.

The times worth nailing down

Some things in Monaco don’t forgive a slip. The changing of the guard is every day at 11:55 sharp in the palace square, and if the clocks change that weekend it’s worth checking your phone before walking up. How to see it well is in the changing of the guard.

The same applies to visits with a last admission, like the Casino’s morning tour, which stops letting people in at 12:15, or to the evening trains back to Nice. The rest of the hours, holidays and closures are in Monaco opening hours and public holidays.

Grand Prix time, if you’re watching from home

The other moment Monaco time matters is when you’re not there. The 2026 Grand Prix started on Sunday 7 June at 15:00 Monaco time, which was 14:00 in the UK. Qualifying on the Saturday ran from 16:00 to 17:00 local time, 15:00 to 16:00 in Britain. In 2027 the race weekend moves to 4 to 6 June and adds a Saturday Sprint, a timetable I go through in the Monaco Grand Prix.

It works the same for the Monte-Carlo Masters, the Rally or any event streamed from the Principality, so if a start time is published locally, take off one hour and you have the British time.

My summary

Coming from the UK, put your watch forward an hour when you land and forget about it. If you’re travelling at the end of March or October, check the calendar, because the Sunday the clocks change is the perfect day to arrive early, or late, for a timed visit. For more of the basics, from the language to whether Monaco has a capital, see is Monaco a country.