Golden hour in Zurich in January

Zurich lies at 47.38° N, in the upper mid-latitudes, with long, slanted evening light in summer. Its longest measured day falls on Thu 18 June 2026 with 15h 57m of daylight, and its shortest on Mon 21 December 2026 with 8h 27m — a difference of 7h 30m between the two extremes.

Evening golden hour in Zurich runs for roughly 48 minutes at the height of summer, 40 minutes around the March equinox and 53 minutes at midwinter. The warm window is actually widest in the colder months, which makes winter evenings unusually forgiving here.

The sun sets toward 307° NW in late June and toward 235° SW in late December, a shift of about 72° in where the last light lands — worth checking before committing to a west-facing viewpoint. In Zurich, the sky reaches full darkness between evening and morning twilight year-round.