Golden hour in Madrid, Spain today
Evening golden hour in Madrid, Spain runs 19:29 – 20:22 today, Saturday 26 September — that is 52m of usable low light before blue hour takes over.
This evening
- Golden hour
- 19:29 – 20:22
- Duration
- 52m
- Sunset
- 20:05
- Blue hour
- 20:22 – 20:32
- Sunset direction
- 269° (W)
20h 3m until sunset
This morning
- Golden hour
- 07:49 – 08:42
- Duration
- 52m
- Sunrise
- 08:06
- Blue hour
- 07:38 – 07:49
- Sunrise direction
- 91° (E)
Conditions tonight
The next seven days
| Date | Golden hour starts | Golden hour ends | Duration | Blue hour | Sunset | Sunset direction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 26 Sep | 19:29 | 20:22 | 52m | 20:22 – 20:32 | 20:05 | 269° W |
| Sun 27 Sep | 19:27 | 20:20 | 52m | 20:20 – 20:31 | 20:03 | 268° W |
| Mon 28 Sep | 19:26 | 20:18 | 52m | 20:18 – 20:29 | 20:02 | 268° W |
| Tue 29 Sep | 19:24 | 20:17 | 52m | 20:17 – 20:27 | 20:00 | 267° W |
| Wed 30 Sep | 19:22 | 20:15 | 52m | 20:15 – 20:26 | 19:58 | 267° W |
| Thu 1 Oct | 19:21 | 20:13 | 52m | 20:13 – 20:24 | 19:57 | 266° W |
| Fri 2 Oct | 19:19 | 20:12 | 52m | 20:12 – 20:22 | 19:55 | 266° W |
Golden hour in September 2026
| Date | Starts | Ends | Duration | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue 1 | 20:10 | 21:04 | 53m | 20:47 |
| Wed 2 | 20:09 | 21:02 | 53m | 20:45 |
| Thu 3 | 20:07 | 21:00 | 53m | 20:43 |
| Fri 4 | 20:06 | 20:59 | 53m | 20:42 |
| Sat 5 | 20:04 | 20:57 | 53m | 20:40 |
| Sun 6 | 20:02 | 20:55 | 52m | 20:38 |
| Mon 7 | 20:01 | 20:54 | 52m | 20:37 |
| Tue 8 | 19:59 | 20:52 | 52m | 20:35 |
| Wed 9 | 19:57 | 20:50 | 52m | 20:33 |
| Thu 10 | 19:56 | 20:49 | 52m | 20:32 |
| Fri 11 | 19:54 | 20:47 | 52m | 20:30 |
| Sat 12 | 19:53 | 20:45 | 52m | 20:29 |
| Sun 13 | 19:51 | 20:44 | 52m | 20:27 |
| Mon 14 | 19:49 | 20:42 | 52m | 20:25 |
| Tue 15 | 19:48 | 20:40 | 52m | 20:24 |
| Wed 16 | 19:46 | 20:39 | 52m | 20:22 |
| Thu 17 | 19:44 | 20:37 | 52m | 20:20 |
| Fri 18 | 19:43 | 20:35 | 52m | 20:18 |
| Sat 19 | 19:41 | 20:33 | 52m | 20:17 |
| Sun 20 | 19:39 | 20:32 | 52m | 20:15 |
| Mon 21 | 19:38 | 20:30 | 52m | 20:13 |
| Tue 22 | 19:36 | 20:28 | 52m | 20:12 |
| Wed 23 | 19:34 | 20:27 | 52m | 20:10 |
| Thu 24 | 19:32 | 20:25 | 52m | 20:08 |
| Fri 25 | 19:31 | 20:23 | 52m | 20:07 |
| Sat 26 | 19:29 | 20:22 | 52m | 20:05 |
| Sun 27 | 19:27 | 20:20 | 52m | 20:03 |
| Mon 28 | 19:26 | 20:18 | 52m | 20:02 |
| Tue 29 | 19:24 | 20:17 | 52m | 20:00 |
| Wed 30 | 19:22 | 20:15 | 52m | 19:58 |
How much golden light each month gives you
What the numbers mean for Madrid
Through September the evening window averages about 53 minutes a day here.
December is the most generous month at roughly 62 minutes an evening, and March the tightest at about 53 minutes — a difference of 1.2×. That gap is geometry, not weather: the shallower the sun meets the horizon, the longer it spends crossing the golden band.
A month from now the evening window will be about 3 minutes longer than tonight, and it will start at 17:41.
The light comes from west tonight, at 269° on the compass. Check that against your viewpoint before committing to it — the bearing moves through the year, as the table above shows.
What counts as golden hour
Golden hour is defined here by the sun’s altitude, not by a fixed number of minutes. It runs while the sun sits between +6° and −4° relative to the horizon: high enough to still light the scene, low enough that the light has travelled through a long path of atmosphere and lost its blue.
Below −4° the direct light is gone and blue hour takes over, running to −6° where civil twilight ends. Because the definition is angular, the length of golden hour depends on how steeply the sun meets the horizon — which is a function of latitude and season, not of the clock. That is why it lasts 52m here today and about 40 minutes at the equator.
Full definitions of every term used here — golden hour, blue hour, altitude, azimuth — are in the glossary.