What is the time difference between Chicago and Paris?

Paris is 7 hours ahead of Chicago. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.

When is the best time to call Paris from Chicago?

Between 09:00–11:00 in Chicago, which is 16:00–18:00 in Paris. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.

Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

Does Paris observe daylight saving time?

Yes. Paris runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.

If it is midday in Chicago, what time is it in Paris?

It is 19:00 in Paris, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.

Which time zones do Chicago and Paris use?

Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT), and Paris uses Europe/Paris, currently UTC+2 (CEST). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.

Convert Chicago time to Paris time

Right now Paris runs 7 hours ahead of Chicago. That gap is not fixed: it moves when either city changes its clocks.

Convert a time

From

Date

Time

Converted time

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The converter needs JavaScript to run. Everything below — offsets, daylight saving dates and the hour-by-hour table — is part of the page and works without it.

Hour by hour

Every hour of a day in Chicago, and what the clock reads in Paris at that same moment.

Chicago	Paris
00:00	07:00
01:00	08:00
02:00	09:00
03:00	10:00
04:00	11:00
05:00	12:00
06:00	13:00
07:00	14:00
08:00	15:00
09:00	16:00
10:00	17:00
11:00	18:00
12:00	19:00
13:00	20:00
14:00	21:00
15:00	22:00
16:00	23:00
17:00	00:00next day
18:00	01:00next day
19:00	02:00next day
20:00	03:00next day
21:00	04:00next day
22:00	05:00next day
23:00	06:00next day

Daylight saving time

Chicago and Paris both observe daylight saving. Where their change dates differ, so does the gap between them for the weeks in between.

Chicago

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC-6
Daylight: UTC-5
Next change: 2026-11-01 −60m

Paris

Observes daylight saving time

Standard: UTC+1
Daylight: UTC+2
Next change: 2026-10-25 −60m

When you can actually talk

The window is 2 hours wide — 09:00–11:00 in Chicago, 16:00–18:00 in Paris.

Chicago 09:00–11:00Paris 16:00–18:00

Reference

The zone identifiers and offsets behind everything above.

	Chicago	Paris
IANA zone	America/Chicago	Europe/Paris
Abbreviation	CDT	CEST
Standard offset	UTC-6	UTC+1
Daylight offset	UTC-5	UTC+2
Clock changes this year	2	2
Country	United States	France

Example, not the current time. Live times appear once the page loads.

Common questions

What is the time difference between Chicago and Paris?: Paris is 7 hours ahead of Chicago. That figure is current — it changes by an hour when either city starts or ends daylight saving, and the exact dates are listed above.
When is the best time to call Paris from Chicago?: Between 09:00–11:00 in Chicago, which is 16:00–18:00 in Paris. That is the only stretch where both cities are inside a 09:00–18:00 day.
Does Chicago observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Chicago runs on UTC-6 in winter and UTC-5 in summer. The next change is on 2026-11-01, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
Does Paris observe daylight saving time?: Yes. Paris runs on UTC+1 in winter and UTC+2 in summer. The next change is on 2026-10-25, when clocks go back by 60 minutes.
If it is midday in Chicago, what time is it in Paris?: It is 19:00 in Paris, on the same calendar date. That holds for the current offsets; it shifts by an hour around the daylight saving dates listed above.
Which time zones do Chicago and Paris use?: Chicago uses America/Chicago, currently UTC-5 (CDT), and Paris uses Europe/Paris, currently UTC+2 (CEST). Those identifiers are the ones to use in code — abbreviations are ambiguous and offsets change.