Windsor Castle is the easiest royal day trip from London: direct trains from Waterloo take under an hour, and an adult ticket costs £32.00 booked in advance (£36.00 on the day, 2026 prices). The one rule that catches visitors out is that the castle is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday.
Windsor is a historic market town on the River Thames, just west of London in the county of Berkshire. The castle sits on a chalk hill above the town and has been a royal home for nearly a thousand years. Royal Collection Trust, the charity that runs visits, describes it as the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, and it is still a working royal residence used by the King.
A visit covers the State Apartments (the grand ceremonial rooms), Queen Mary's Dolls' House, the castle precincts and St George's Chapel, where many English monarchs are buried. With the train, the castle and a walk around the town, it fills a relaxed day, and you can be back in London for dinner.
Windsor Castle at a glance
- Adult ticket
- £32.00 in advance, £36.00 on the day (2026)
- Young person (18-24)
- £21.00 in advance, £24.00 on the day
- Child (5-17)
- £16.00 in advance, £18.00 on the day
- Closed
- Every Tuesday and Wednesday (except Tuesday 22 and Tuesday 29 December)
- Hours, 1 March-31 October
- 10:00-17:15, last admission 16:00
- Hours, 1 November-28 February
- 10:00-16:15, last admission 15:00
- Time needed in the castle
- 1½ to 2 hours, according to Royal Collection Trust
- Train from London
- Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside (direct, under an hour) or Paddington to Windsor & Eton Central (change at Slough, around 35 minutes)
- Oyster and contactless
- Not valid to Windsor: buy a train ticket
Check the day of the week before anything else
Royal Collection Trust states plainly that the castle is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The only exceptions it lists are Tuesday 22 and Tuesday 29 December, when it opens during the Christmas holidays. If you are building a week in London, put Windsor on a Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and move a London sight into the midweek gap instead.
Because Windsor is a working palace, the whole castle or just the State Apartments can also close at short notice for official events, such as state visits. These closures are published on the Royal Collection Trust website, so check the date you have chosen before you buy train tickets.
A Tuesday train to Windsor is a wasted fare. Tour sellers and hotel desks do not always mention the midweek closure. If a tour to Windsor on a Tuesday or Wednesday is offered, it will only show you the castle from outside, so read the description carefully before you pay.
Trains from Waterloo and Paddington compared
Windsor has two railway stations, and each is linked to a different London terminus. According to South Western Railway, both stations are within a 10-minute walk of the castle. The station you choose mostly depends on where you are staying; our guide to London's main railway stations shows which one is easier for you.
| From Waterloo | From Paddington | |
|---|---|---|
| Operator | South Western Railway | Great Western Railway |
| Windsor station | Windsor & Eton Riverside, by the river | Windsor & Eton Central, in the town centre |
| Change of train | None: direct | At Slough, onto a short local train |
| Journey time | Under an hour | Around 35 minutes |
| Frequency | Usually every 30 minutes | Almost every 20 minutes, according to GWR |
| Stops on the way | Clapham Junction, Richmond, Twickenham, Feltham | Fast trains call at Slough |
The Paddington route is quicker on paper, but it means a change at Slough. The Waterloo route is slower but direct and has plenty of seats outside rush hour. It also passes through Richmond, so you could stop there on the way back for a riverside walk.
Why your Oyster card will not work
Windsor lies outside the London fare zones. South Western Railway warns that London Travelcards, Oyster cards and contactless payment are not valid for the journey, so you need an ordinary National Rail ticket for the whole trip. If you tap in at Waterloo with a bank card anyway, you will not have a valid ticket when the conductor checks.
Off-Peak tickets are the usual choice for a day trip. National Rail says off-peak generally starts at 09:30 on weekdays in cities, and weekends are generally off-peak all day. A railcard gives a third off most fares, and overseas visitors can buy the Two Together Railcard or the 16-25 Railcard online as a digital card. Our explainer on buying UK train tickets and railcards covers Advance and Off-Peak fares in more detail, and the page on how Oyster and contactless fares work explains where the London system stops.
Tickets, prices and what a family pays
Royal Collection Trust sells tickets online and on the day, but the on-the-day price is £4.00 higher for an adult. Booking ahead also means you are not relying on availability at the gate on busy summer weekends and in school holidays.
| Ticket (2026) | Booked in advance | On the day |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | £32.00 | £36.00 |
| Young person (18-24) | £21.00 | £24.00 |
| Child (5-17) | £16.00 | £18.00 |
A couple pays £64.00 in advance or £72.00 on the day. A family of two adults and two children aged 5-17 pays £96.00 in advance or £108.00 on the day, so booking saves £12.00. Check the current prices on the official Windsor Castle page before you go.
Turn your Windsor ticket into a year of visits. Royal Collection Trust lets you convert a day ticket into a 1-Year Pass, which gives free re-admission for 12 months. The conversion costs nothing, though a £2 transaction fee applies when you pre-book the return visit. Do it if there is any chance you will be back within a year.
In summer 2026 there were also two special tours. The Round Tower tour (1 August to 28 September 2026) was listed at £42 in advance and £46 on the day, and the Great Kitchen tour (30 July to 28 September) at £40 and £44. These change from year to year, so look at the booking page for what is running during your visit.
Inside the State Apartments
The State Apartments are the heart of the visit. Some are the historic rooms created for Charles II and his queen, Catherine of Braganza, with painted ceilings by Antonio Verrio full of gods and chariots. Others are the ceremonial rooms that the Royal Family still uses today for state occasions and official entertaining.
Look out for the Waterloo Chamber, built to celebrate the victory over Napoleon, the Grand Staircase and the gilded Grand Reception Room. The walls carry paintings from the Royal Collection by artists such as Holbein, Rubens and Van Dyck, including Van Dyck's huge portrait of Charles I on horseback. In the Lantern Lobby you can see armour made for Henry VIII, which could be adjusted as his waist grew.
Many of these rooms were badly damaged by a fire in 1992. According to Royal Collection Trust, the restoration took five years, and it is hard to tell today which ceilings and floors are new. At certain times of year the Semi-State Rooms, a set of private rooms created for George IV, are also open; check before your visit if they matter to you.
Queen Mary's Dolls' House
This is the surprise favourite for many visitors, children and adults alike. It was designed for Queen Mary in 1924 by the architect Sir Edwin Lutyens to show off the best British craftsmanship of the time. The rooms are filled with tiny furniture, paintings and books, and the house even has electricity and running water.
St George's Chapel and the royal tombs
St George's Chapel stands in the Lower Ward of the castle and is included in your ticket. It is a large Gothic church, begun around 500 years ago, and it is where many royal weddings have taken place, including those of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and of Princess Eugenie. It is also the burial place of several monarchs, among them Henry VIII, Charles I and Queen Elizabeth II.
The chapel keeps its own hours. In September 2026 Royal Collection Trust listed it as open to visitors on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and for worshippers only on Sunday. Its visitor information also says it closes to sightseers at 16:00, although anyone may attend evensong, the sung evening service, later in the afternoon. If you visit on a Sunday you will see the rest of the castle but not the chapel interior.
Photography and filming are not allowed inside the State Apartments or St George's Chapel. You are welcome to take photographs outdoors in the castle precincts.
Watching the Changing of the Guard at Windsor
Windsor has its own guard ceremony, separate from the one in London. According to Royal Collection Trust, castle visitors can watch it on Thursdays and Saturdays, when the guards arrive just before 11:00. On Mondays and Fridays a smaller Captain's Inspection takes place inside the castle just before 15:00.
The official calendar of the Household Division is the place to check. Its headline for Windsor says Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but the September 2026 schedule listed guard changes only on Thursdays and Saturdays at 11:00, and the castle is closed on Tuesdays anyway. The schedule changes from month to month, so look at the Changing the Guard calendar the day before. If you also want to see the ceremony in London, our page on guard changes at Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards has the London timings.
Security, bags and the walk up the hill
Every visitor goes through airport-style security screening. Bring as little as possible: it speeds up the queue. Royal Collection Trust says very large suitcases are allowed only at staff discretion, and large backpacks and pushchairs are not permitted in the State Apartments.
There is a cloakroom in the China Museum at the entrance to the State Apartments, but the walk there from the Admission Centre takes about 10 minutes and is mostly uphill. If you are going to or from an airport the same day, the castle strongly recommends left luggage at the airport or in central London; our guide to left luggage at London stations lists the options.
The castle is at the top of a steep hill and the visitor route covers long distances, so comfortable shoes matter. A free multimedia guide is available in several languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese, plus British Sign Language. There is no visitor car park at the castle itself.
A realistic timetable for the day
- Around 09:30: take an off-peak train from Waterloo or Paddington.
- 10:30-11:00: arrive, walk up to the castle and go through security. On a Thursday or Saturday, be in the precincts before 11:00 for the guard change.
- 11:00-13:00: State Apartments, the Dolls' House and St George's Chapel.
- 13:00-14:00: lunch in the town or at the Undercroft Café inside the castle.
- Afternoon: cross the river to Eton or walk into Windsor Great Park.
- Early evening: train back to London.
Remember that St George's Chapel closes to visitors at 16:00, so if you arrive later than planned, go there first.
What else to see in Windsor and Eton
From Windsor & Eton Riverside station, a short walk over the pedestrian bridge brings you to Eton, a quiet small town with a long high street and the famous boarding school at the far end. South of the castle, Windsor Great Park offers open grassland, woods and deer. The Long Walk, a straight tree-lined avenue running from the castle into the park, gives the classic view back towards the walls.
The Theatre Royal Windsor sits just below the castle walls, and riverboats run from the town along the Thames. For families, South Western Railway notes that Legoland Windsor is about three miles south-west of the castle and reachable by bus from the town centre. It needs its own day, though: combining it with the castle is rushed.
Windsor is not the only royal residence near London worth a day. Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII's riverside palace, is closer to the centre, and in central London the summer opening of Buckingham Palace's State Rooms is run by the same charity.
Organised tour or your own train ticket?
Coach tours from London often pair Windsor with another sight, such as Stonehenge, Bath or Oxford. They save you the planning and can make sense if you want to see two places in one day without a car. For Windsor alone, public transport is simpler and usually cheaper.
Going by train
- Direct trains every 30 minutes from Waterloo
- You choose how long to stay in the castle and the town
- Easy to add Eton or the Great Park
- Railcards cut the fare by a third
Going with a coach tour
- Fixed times, often only a couple of hours at the castle
- Road traffic out of London can be slow
- Useful mainly if the tour adds a second place you could not easily reach
- Check that the date is not a Tuesday or Wednesday
If you are comparing options, compare the tour price with the train fare plus a castle ticket, and ask how long you actually get inside. For a detailed comparison of trains and journey times, our sister site has a route guide from London to Windsor.
Fitting Windsor into a London trip
Windsor works best as a day of its own, from about four days in London upwards. Our one-week London itinerary shows where a day trip fits, and the day trips from London overview compares Windsor with the other castles and cities within reach. If you are travelling with children, our family guide to London has ideas for the days either side, and the Dolls' House and the guard ceremony usually go down well with younger visitors.
For a second castle day, Leeds Castle in Kent is a very different experience: a private castle on a lake with gardens, a maze and events, rather than a working palace.
Frequently asked questions
Is Windsor Castle open every day?
No. Windsor Castle is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday, except Tuesday 22 and Tuesday 29 December. It can also close at short notice for official royal events, so check the Royal Collection Trust website for the date you plan to visit.
Can I use my Oyster card or contactless to get to Windsor?
No. Windsor is outside the London fare zones, and South Western Railway says Oyster, contactless and London Travelcards are not valid for the journey. Buy a National Rail ticket to Windsor & Eton Riverside or Windsor & Eton Central before you board.
How much does it cost to visit Windsor Castle?
In 2026 an adult ticket costs £32.00 booked in advance or £36.00 on the day. Young people aged 18-24 pay £21.00 or £24.00, and children aged 5-17 pay £16.00 or £18.00. You can convert your ticket into a free 1-Year Pass.
Is St George's Chapel included in the Windsor Castle ticket?
Yes, entry to St George's Chapel is included. It is closed to sightseers on Sundays, when only worshippers attending services may enter, and in 2026 it closed to visitors at 16:00 on open days.
When is the Changing of the Guard at Windsor?
In September 2026 the guard changed at 11:00 on Thursdays and Saturdays, and castle visitors could watch it. The schedule varies by month and can be cancelled, so check the Household Division's Changing the Guard calendar before your visit.
Sources
- Royal Collection Trust - Windsor Castle (checked September 2026)
- Royal Collection Trust - Top things to see and do at Windsor Castle (Internet Archive copy, 11 September 2026) (checked September 2026)
- Royal Collection Trust - Practical information for visiting Windsor Castle (Internet Archive copy, 14 January 2026) (checked September 2026)
- South Western Railway - Trains to Windsor Castle (checked September 2026)
- Great Western Railway - London to Windsor (checked September 2026)
- The Household Division - Changing the Guard calendar (checked September 2026)
- National Rail - Off-Peak and Super Off-Peak tickets (checked September 2026)