Discover Windsor
The Castle town on the Thames, half an hour from London and worth more than the half-day most people give it
A royal town on the Thames, in the shadow of the Castle
Windsor sits on the south bank of the River Thames in Berkshire, about twenty miles west of London and a short hop from Heathrow, wrapped around the walls of Windsor Castle. The Castle has been a royal residence for over nine hundred years and remains a working one, which gives the town its particular character: a compact, handsome, slightly formal place used to visitors, with the Household Cavalry clattering through and the Changing of the Guard drawing a crowd on ceremony days. The old centre is small and very walkable, its two railway stations both a few minutes from the Castle gates.
The reason to give Windsor more than a rushed Castle visit is everything around it. The Long Walk and Windsor Great Park spread south from the Castle into thousands of acres of former royal hunting forest, with a resident deer herd and the ornamental Savill Garden. The Thames threads through the town with boat trips and riverside pubs, and Eton lies just across the bridge, its famous college and unspoilt high street a short stroll away. Add Legoland for families, the racing at nearby Ascot, and Magna Carta country at Runnymede a few miles downriver, and a town most people treat as a half-day out will happily fill two.
Windsor Castle rising above the rooftops of the town, seen across the River Thames
Where To Eat
From fine dining seafood to fish and chips by the harbour
The Loch & The Tyne
Chef Adam Handling's countryside gastropub at Old Windsor, with a kitchen garden and a standout Sunday lunch. The area's best cooking, a short drive out.
The Two Brewers
One of Windsor's oldest pubs, by the Long Walk gate under the Castle walls. Log fire, low beams and a tapas menu; small, so book ahead.
GOGOS Waterfront Restaurant
A family-run South African waterfront restaurant and cocktail bar at Racecourse Marina, a distinctive local choice away from the Castle crowds.
What's On
Upcoming events and things happening in Windsor
The Market Garden Windsor
RecurringA seasonal garden and artisan market on Peascod Street on selected weekends, bringing plant and craft stalls into the town centre.
Royal Ascot
RecurringThe world's most famous race meeting, a five-day June festival at Ascot with the Royal Procession, six miles from Windsor. Book well ahead.
Royal Swan Upping
RecurringThe 900-year-old royal swan census on the Thames, passing Windsor and Eton Bridge over a week each July. Watch free from the riverbank.
King George Weekend (King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes)
RecurringAscot's flagship midsummer racing weekend in late July, centred on the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Windsor Right Now
Windsor is in the milder, drier south-east of England, so the weather is temperate and changeable rather than harsh. Pack layers and a light waterproof rather than an umbrella, expect the odd shower to clear within the hour, and keep an indoor plan, the Castle, the museums or a riverside pub, for a genuinely wet day.