Windsor Itineraries
Half a day or a full weekend. Here are the best ways to spend your time in Windsor, planned step by step.
Whether you have a few hours or a full weekend to explore, these itineraries give you a local’s route through Windsor. Each one links directly to the restaurants and activities along the way.
Half a Day in Windsor: the Castle, the Guard and the Long Walk
If you have half a day in Windsor, spend it on the two things the town does best: the Castle and the Long Walk. Do the State Apartments and St George's Chapel, catch the Changing of the Guard if the day and season line up, break for a pub lunch, and finish with a stretch of the Long Walk for the classic view back to the Castle. Compact, walkable and mostly on foot.
- 109:30·2 hours
Windsor Castle: State Apartments and St George's Chapel
Start at the Castle when it opens, with a pre-booked timed ticket to skip the queue. Work through the State Apartments and, before it closes at four, St George's Chapel with its royal tombs. Allow at least an hour and a half. If it is a Guard day, time your visit so you are inside the Precincts for the ceremony.
View Windsor Castle - 211:30·45 minutes
Changing the Guard, if the day suits
On ceremony days the Changing of the Guard takes place inside the Castle grounds and lasts around 45 minutes, led by a military band. Check the Household Division schedule for your date, as the days shift with the season and it can be cancelled for weather or state events.
View Changing the Guard at Windsor Castle - 312:45·1 hour
A pub lunch under the Castle walls
Walk five minutes to The Two Brewers by the Long Walk gate, one of Windsor's oldest pubs, for a tapas-style lunch by the log fire. It is small, so book ahead, or pick up a light lunch and eat it on the Long Walk instead.
View The Two Brewers - 414:00·1 to 2 hours
Onto the Long Walk
Finish with the Long Walk. Even the first stretch from the Castle gates gives the classic arrow-straight view, and if you have the legs, walk on toward the Copper Horse through the Deer Park for the best view back to the Castle. Turn around whenever you like; it is level the whole way.
View The Long Walk
A Full Day in Windsor: the Castle, the River, the Park and Eton
A full day that takes in all four sides of Windsor: the Castle, the Thames from the water, the Great Park on foot, and Eton across the bridge, finishing with dinner at the area's best table. It is a proper day out that shows why Windsor is worth far more than the half-day most people give it.
- 109:30·2 hours
Windsor Castle first thing
Open the day at the Castle with a pre-booked ticket, before the coach parties build. Do the State Apartments and St George's Chapel, and catch the Guard if the day suits. Allow around two hours.
View Windsor Castle - 212:00·2 hours
A Thames boat trip and lunch by the river
Walk down to the promenade for a French Brothers cruise, a 40-minute round trip if you are short on time or a longer two-hour one if not, for the Castle and Eton from the water. Then lunch on the river at Cote's terrace or The Boatman by Eton Bridge.
View French Brothers Thames Boat Trips - 314:30·2 hours
The Long Walk and Windsor Great Park
Spend the afternoon on foot in the Great Park. Walk out along the Long Walk through the Deer Park, or drive round to Savill Garden for the ornamental gardens if the season suits. This is the part of Windsor most day-trippers miss, and the best of it.
View Windsor Great Park & the Deer Park - 417:00·1 hour
Cross the bridge to Eton
Late afternoon, walk over Windsor Bridge to Eton for its unspoilt High Street of antique shops and old inns, and the best postcard view back to the Castle from the Eton side. If it is a Sunday afternoon, the college museums are free.
View Eton College & Eton High Street - 519:30·2 hours
Dinner at the area's best table
Finish with dinner out at The Loch & The Tyne in Old Windsor, chef Adam Handling's countryside gastropub and the best cooking in the area, a short drive or taxi from the town. Book ahead. For something in town, GOGOS Waterfront's South African menu at the marina is a distinctive alternative.
View The Loch & The Tyne
Ready to plan your visit?
Check the weather forecast before you head out.