I leave for London next week and my schedule will probably allow a visit to Hampton Court or Windsor Castle but not both. Which one should I visit being a first timer to London.

Hi
They're just different.
Hampton Court has the strongest influences from Tudor (Henry VIII) times and from William and Mary. To me the history, architecture and the grounds are the main thing, and the wonderful outdoor maze which is a great giggle for all ages.

Windsor, very much renovated after the disastrous fire of a few years ago, is imo more about beautiful paintings and lavish furnishings. You get to walk through a limited number of ornate rooms. The Queen still uses it as a residence, so you can't see a good deal of it. There is a Changing of the Guard every day, and wonderful extras like St George's Chapel (see the tombs of royalty, and the architecture) and Queen Mary's Doll House. The town offers plenty of shops and cafes.

Transportation to both is easy.

I can't speak for Windsor Castle but we really enjoyed our visit to Hampton Court. It is only a short train ride from London. It is a great history lesson and a beauty to see. The gardens are lovely also, but I don't know what you will see this time of year. There is a neat maze that you can walk through but don't get lost,we did. I really enjoyed seeing the Tudor kitchen and how things were cooked. I think you can still see Henry the VIII's roaming the halls!

Personally of the two, I would pick Hampton Court. Access at Windsor is very limited.

Likewise, I would choose Hampton Court. As mentioned, Windsor Castle is still occupied by the Queen. And when she's in residence you won't even get to go inside the castle.

I've been to both Hampton Court and Windsor Castle, and I would be hard pressed to choose one over the other, they are both gorgeous and wonderful historical sites in different ways, but if this is your first time to England perhaps Windsor would be best to start with if you can't squeeze in both. It's more what people think of as a "typical" English castle, and the town and surrounding area are also interesting to visit after you're done at the castle. However like others have mentioned when the Queen's at home you can't go inside - though when we went there last Good Friday (she always spends Easter at Windsor) even though the buildings and shops were closed, we were allowed into the grounds (at no charge) and also St. Georges Chapel was open and they had 20 minutes services going all day, so we could say we'd attended church at the same place as the Queen. So even though it was "closed" we still got part of the experience (and for free to boot). You should be able to find where the Queen is "in residence" when you're there and plan accordingly. But which ever one you choose, be sure and plan on the other one for your next trip, they're both must-sees. I'm returning to Hampton Court on my trip to England in April (been to Windsor 3 times & Hampton only once before) because last time I managed to miss the Royal School of Needlework which is housed in HC.

If I had to chose it would be Windsor Castle- asuming the Queen is not there and you can get in. Even though there have been huge renovations inside large parts of the fabric of the castle are still left from the ealy Plantaganet times - to me much more impressive than Henry's palace.

Are you sure you don;t have time to do both - they can easily be combined in one day.

I agree, one could do both...a busy day, to be granted, but surely one to remember.

Personally I prefer Hampton Court as it seems to me to be more accessible.

I would do Windsor first, as it's the farthest journey, then head back to Hampton Court. I would also take the train to Windsor/Hampton then take a boat back to London from Hampton Court.

While in Richmond I would also stop at the Prince of Wales pub for a reasonably cold pint of lager and the fabulous "great cod almighty" fish'n'chips.

DiAblo said," I would also take the train to Windsor/Hampton then take a boat back to London from Hampton Court."
I don't believe the boats from Hampton Court to London start running until mid-April.

Done both. Prefer Hampton Court. We went down by boat and came back via train. Be sure and go into the maze. People get lost and have to press a button, the the staff tells you how to get out. We went round and round and finally asked for help. But it was fun.

We went in early April and the boat was running.

The tour co. we used wasn't so good because I'm sure they knew the Queen was "in residence" but had everyone pay for the tour anyway but when we got to Windsor Castle then they told us we wouldn't be allowed inside!

hi all,

I am a little confused here. My best friend penny and I went in October. We went to Windsor for a day. The day we went, the queens standards were flying which usually means she is in residence and we were allowed to tour the state apartments and the queens mothers dollhouse.

Is this not normal?

As far which one to do first....well if you are going in the deep spring I would hazard to say Hampton Court because the gardens and maze will be absolutely wonderful. I have yet to see it in full bloom. I actually am not as impressed with the Palace itself because, for me, it is like so many other places in Europe, a very beautiful preserved but empty building. No life to it without furniture and stuff.

Windsor castle, on the other hand, is a working residence. You only get to tour the state apartments and various special rooms that may be open, but it is fully operational and used for special occasions so it is not an empty shell. I loved it. the weaponry and collections alone made the trip worthwhile. St. Georges chapel is wonderful! as are the grounds. The tour of the castle took about 3 hours which left the rest of the afternoon to shop and site see around the town of Windsor, which in my opinion is another big plus over hampton court. The town of Windsor is a wonderful shopping mecca. Also within distance by bus are several other small towns.

I would love to take 2-3 days and stay in Windsor as a base and just travel around that area.

So if I had my choice...in full bloom spring summer, probably hampton court...all other times Windsor Castle.

Ps...I am probably one of the few that would never try to do both of these in one day unless you have your own car rental and start extremely early.

Besides working out the transportation to each which would not be direct from one place to the other...you just can't tour them in an hour or two and really appreciate it. with the palace and the gardens and the maze, we spent almost 4 hours at hampton court...tack on that about 45 minutes one way to get there...that was a 5 1/2 day. if you start out at 8 in the morning and break for lunch, we are talking about heading to windsor at around 1:30 or 2:00. not much time to finish a good tour of windsor.

You are right Pat,
"Westminster Passenger Services are the only boat company operating a scheduled service upriver from Westminster Pier. We have daily sailings to Kew and Hampton Court from April until the end of October."
http://www.wpsa.co.uk/

You are correct - the castle is usually open to visitors even if the queen is there. To clarify some of the other posts - Windsor is always closed on Good friday. Some parts of the castle may be closed off - St Georges Chapel for instance if they are preparing for a special service or event.

And the whole castle will be closed to visitors during a Royal or State visit with dignitaries since the State rooms would be in use.

I have visited the castle many times when the Queen was in residence - the main thing is the rose garde is closed off when she is there but the state rooms are usually open.

My fault for not being specific: the Queen was entertaining a dignitary when she was at Windsor.

Thanks for all the comments. I will try to do both if possible.