02.02.2023
Windsor - also known as Royal Windsor - is a must visit destination for anyone taking a holiday to the UK and is easily accessible from Britain’s major cities.
Our guide below details everything you need to know for a trip to Windsor, from how to get there, through to best things to do, places to stay and the ideal times of year to plan your visit.
The English Bus doesn't do specific tours to Windsor, unlike some tour companies who offer Windsor, Stonehenge & Bath tours, and other variations such as Windsor, Stonehenge and Oxford.
Windsor is a wonderful place to visit, but we feel that adding it into a tour with two other main destinations is just too much for a day. Windsor needs a good amount of time to be truly appreciated, and adding it onto our Stonehenge and Bath tour, for example, just doesn’t allow enough time and we want you to fully enjoy your UK experience, as much as possible.
We like to make sure our tours are relaxing, informative and guarantee you a great time. That comes from giving each location the time it deserves. Our 5 star rating on Google and Trip Advisor is testament to the quality of our tour, so once you’ve explored our guide to Windsor, be sure to check out some of our main tours as part of your stay in the UK too.
Windsor is situated close to the River Thames in England’s south east, to the west of London. One of the main tourist destinations in Windsor is the exquisite Windsor Castle, one of the Royal Family’s main residences (more on that later). Built in the 11th Century by William The Conqueror, the castle has been occupied by Royals ever since.
Perhaps the simplest of all is to hop on a train from London to Windsor, with some services getting you there in under 50 minutes. To book train tickets to Windsor from London, we’d recommend visiting National Rail’s Journey Planner tool and entering your preferred dates for travel.
The most common routes depart from either London Paddington or London Waterloo and you can pick up a single ticket for £11.80 (First class £22.80), while a same day return costs £13.90 per person.
*Be sure to plan ahead as we have ‘industrial action strikes’ taking place with our trains, but they do tend to give an advanced warning weeks before.
The quickest (and shortest) route to Windsor from London by car is along the A4/M4. It takes around 50 minutes with clear roads to make the journey. Windsor is around 25 miles away.
Assuming a fuel price of £1.52p per litre for petrol and £1.75p for diesel and an average Miles Per Gallon of 38.8 for petrol and diesel cars getting 43 MPG, a single car journey from London to Windsor will cost around £4-5 in fuel.
Information correct as of January 2023
We recommend using one of the three long stay car parks in Windsor.
Romney Lock and King Edward VII Car parks can be found on the Datchet Road (near Windsor & Eton Riverside Station), while Alexandra Gardens Car Park can be found on Alma Road (Next to the Coach Park).
All three are cheaper than other car parks in Windsor and are less than a ten minute walk to the town centre and Windsor Castle.
The journey from London to Windsor takes around 50 minutes from Hammersmith Broadway.
Getting to Windsor from London via bus is simple. The easiest route is to hop on the 209 bus at Hammersmith Bus Station (Stop J), getting off at Hammersmith Bridge Road (Stop S).
From Hammersmith Broadway (Stop SC), buy a ticket on the 702 bus towards Legoland. This will stop 49 minutes later at Arthur Road in Windsor, leaving you with a short 4 minutes walk to central Windsor. This much cheaper price option is only around £2 each way.
In terms of weather and the highest temperatures, the best time of year to visit Windsor is in the summer months, between June and August. July is the hottest month in Windsor with an average temperature of 18°C (64°F) and the coldest is January at 4.5°C (40°F) with the most daily sunshine hours at 7 in June. The wettest month is October with an average of 70mm of rain.
If you want to visit Windsor Castle (see more below) and see the Changing of the Guard, then the best time of year to go (without having to plan your visit there too much) is between April and the end of July, when the Changing of the Guard takes place every day, Monday to Saturday. If you go outside of these months, you can still see it, but on alternate days, weather permitting, so you need to be mindful of that schedule if only booking a day trip to Windsor.
Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. Building was started in the 11th century by William the Conqueror; it has been remodeled by successive kings and queens including Henry II, Charles II and George IV.
Public tours include an opportunity to see beautiful paintings from the royal art collection, in addition to extravagant furnishings in the State Apartments.
You will also have a chance to enjoy the Changing of the Guard (see dates and times below). The Changing of the Guard is when sentries undertaking guard duties are relieved by a different group of sentries in a formal ceremony, signaling the end and start of each shift, respectively.
The Changing of the Guard
Open from mid March through to the end of October each year, Legoland Windsor is a must visit, especially for families and groups with children. They do offer ‘special events’ at other times of the year and you can see when and full ticket info on their website - https://www.legoland.co.uk/
The park was opened in 1996 and is essentially a dream come true for Lego fans, with the whole place jam packed with buildings, cars and characters crafted in Lego.
A Grade II listed building, Frogmore House has been a royal residence since 1792. Originally built in 1680-1684 on the direction of Charles II, for his nephew. Queen Charlotte purchased the lease for the house in 1792 and employed architect James Wyatt to modernise it.
The name Frogmore stems from the large number of frogs which have always lived in this low-lying marshy area.
The house is open for tourists in August each year (for groups of 15+ people), with prices ranging from around £15 per person through to £40 per person for a private evening tour.
Frogmore House is also open to individuals on three dates each year, known as Charity Open Days. On these dates, all proceeds are donated to specially selected charities and tickets are book via the charities directly. For more information go to: https://www.rct.uk/visit/frogmorehouse
Founded in 1440 by Henry XI, Eton College is an English independent boarding school for boys in Eton, Berkshire, near Windsor. It educates more than 1,300 pupils, aged 13 to 18 years.
The College runs tours for small groups of up to six people, with under 16s going free. Tours run from May to September, at a cost of around £12 per person for a 90 minute tour.
To find out more go to: https://www.etoncollege.com/Visits.aspx
Set in 2,020 hectares, Windsor Great Park is a Royal Park that was formerly a private hunting ground for the occupants of Windsor Castle, dating back to the mid-13th century.
In the present day, tourists can enjoy a number of areas of natural beauty, including a deer park, forests and gardens.
Summer dates are from 1st March to 31st October and Winter dates are 1st November to 28th February.
For full prices, see: http://www.windsorgreatpark.co.uk/en/visit/opening-times-charges
Fancy a bit of a flutter at the thrill of live racing? The Royal Windsor Racecourse is one of only two figure-of-eight courses in the UK, the other being Fontwell in Sussex.
Set in 165 acres of countryside on the River Thames, the racecourse hosts races every year between April and October.
To find out more and plan a visit, go to: https://www.windsor-racecourse.co.uk/
Why not catch a show while you’re in town? The Theatre Royal Windsor specialises in live theatre, ranging from the classics and traditional pantomime, through to first productions of new work, some of which are often subsequently transferred to the West End.
They also have a Picturehouse cinema, with events and shows on throughout the year.
For more information, visit: http://www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk/
We hope you found our guide to Windsor useful. There’s so much to see and do on a visit to this beautiful historic town, ensuring you’ll make memories that last a lifetime.
In the meantime, why not explore some of our tours of the rest of England too.
Here's a list of tours we think might interest you!