Is Windsor Castle worth it??
 

I will be going to London from 7/18 until 7/20. I know that it is not enough time, but that is all I got. I wanted to visit Windsor Castle but the State Apartments are closed. In you honest opinion is it worth it.
Thanks for the input

I'm glad I went, but it wasn't until my third or fourth trip to London. If you only have two or three days, my taste would lean toward staying in the city. There is so much to see and do in London; my list of places I've yet to visit gets longer each time I go there.

yes

I agree with tuscanlifeedit. I think it's definitely worth the short (25 minute) train ride, but it will take several hours to see it so should be saved for a longer visit to London.

"Worth it" depends on your interests and tastes.

But on such a short trip I wouldn't. If it were the one thing I was really really desperate to see, the State Apartments would be an important part of the trip. If it's not that important, there are plenty of other things to see and do in central London on such a short trip - but what they might be depends on your tastes and interests. Which is where we came in.

While I love WIndsor castle and the town itself, on such a short trip and with te state apartments closed, I'd skip it. We are making our 40th or so trip to London this fall and my list keeps growing every day!

Thank you for all your input; it is definitely helpful

Are you absolutely sure the State Apartments are closed on July 18 - 20 (you are referring to 2011 I assume)? I could be wrong but I'm only aware of the castle being closed on June 27th as per the Windsor castle website? I'm wondering if you are confused about the "Semi-State" Apartments which are typically only open during certain times of the year and are closed this summer.
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Open or not, I'd save WC for a longer trip. You could spend at least an entire day at WC with an overnight thrown in while trying to do it 'right'.

There's so much to see in London proper; two days will give you the most sweeping of views but you can make the most of your time in the city if you plan well.

Sorry, meant to say too: If it's castles you're after why not visit Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, or the granddaddy of all of them, The Tower of London.

My first introduction to London was a short 3 day visit but I was able to see just enough to whet my curiosity and book another longer trip at a later date!

NorCal, I must have misunderstood the website when I saw that the semi state room were closed I guess I was assuming the state apartments were closed too.

Bowsprit, I was planning to visit those too, Tower of London, Westminister Abbey on my first day, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace on the second day and whatever else I can fit it. I guess I could post my itinerary and see what you guys think of it. I might sound ambitious but I want to take advantage of the time that I have there.

Thank you so much

I certainly wouldn't categorize Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace or the Tower of London as a "castle" to substitute for Windsor! However, I will agree with Bowsprit that it is hard to justify a visit to Windsor given your short trip UNLESS you just really want to see Windsor Castle. If so, go for it. I live near Windsor and go often with visiting relatives and while I might not prioritize it over London for a first visit, I'm also not really into touring castles or the like. With that said, I do think it is very interesting and quite fascinating to know it is the oldest occupied/working castle in the world. Last time we were there on a Sunday we were surprised to come down towards the Chapel and see the Queen (she goes to Windsor quite often). On the downside, you do need to pay attention to the website as there can be sudden closures due to Royals or other events and keep in mind that St. Georges Chapel is not open for viewing on Sundays unless you want to attend services.
Here's a little logistical/practical information on Windsor to perhaps give you more information to make your decision and decide whether you want to prioritize it over other attractions.

1) Getting to Windsor - generally speaking, you can get to the city of Windsor in about 1 hour from pretty much anywhere in central London. If you are closer to the north end, you might get the tube to Paddington and take the train to Slough (6 minutes from Slough to Windsor) or you can take a direct train from Waterloo to Windsor if you are by Westminster Abbey for example. There are many ways to get there and you can look on nationalrail.co.uk to see the routing options. BTW, if you are not familiar with London, I suggest you go onto nationalrail.co.uk or a similar site and use the journey planner to help you plan efficiently between attractions in London that might be too far to walk given a packed schedule (although I love to walk in London to see as much as possible).

2) Once in Windsor - If you only want to see the castle, I would recommend taking a train from London in order to get there by 9am or earlier to walk up from the train station and get in line for a ticket before it opens at 9:45am (ticket line could be short or long depending on the day). Once you buy a ticket, here's how it works. You can get an optional audio guide and then you walk up towards the castle (you are inside the castle grounds). You get a nice view into the inner courtyard gardens (you are walking on what used to be the moat wall) and after a few minutes of walking (or more depending on how many pictures you take) you will be able to keep going towards the State Apartments/Doll House or turn and visit St. George's Chapel. You will get a nice view over the towns of Windsor/Eton and the Thames River (you will see why they built the castle on this spot from a defensive position!) on your way and will follow the signs to actually enter the castle. Queen Mary's doll house is pretty much at the same entrance as the State Apartments. It is quite amazing but only takes 5-10 minutes unless you want to really scrutinize every detail. Then you start the self guided tour of the State Apartments which include a walk through the China rooms with masses of chinaware given to the Royals over the centuries, walk through lots of rooms with armour and other gifts to the Royals, etc and then through the State Apartments which include huge banqueting halls, various chambers, and lots of beautiful furnishings, paintings, etc. First time I went, I was through the Dolls House/State Apartments in about 1 hour but my father-in-law took 2 so depends on your style.
Then, once you leave the State Apartments, you can walk back down the hill past a gift shop towards St. George's Chapel and view it. This is also the area where they do the changing of the guard (often around 11am but check the website). You then leave the castle grounds down by the Chapel.

All in all, I would guess an average of 3 hours inside the castle (less for me and more for others). So, assuming you get to the castle right at opening time of 9:45am, you might be out around 12:45 and back to London around 2:30ish plus/minus and that is if you just visit the castle and head straight back. If you are an early bird and want to catch a very early am train out of London, you could get to Windsor earlier and cross the bridge over the Thames to take a look at Eton's high street or otherwise walk around Windsor town or along the river(keeping in mind that stores don't open early in the UK). Depending on the weather, a day in Windsor can be lovely as you can walk around, go into Windsor Great Park (start at the "Long Walk" at the gates of the castles),visit Eton, take a boat ride on the Thames, etc. However, as other poster's said, it is merely a matter of priority/interests and to each their own!!

Hope that helped.

Oh, I think Windsor Castle is certainly singular in its appeal! So much so that I think it deserves a more than perfunctory tour. The other sites I offered are alternatives, not equivalents. :)

This 2 day trip is not long enough to consider getting out of the city if the goal is to attempt a sweeping view of London, in my opinion. Why would anyone want to spend all their touring time waiting in line for trains, tours and tickets?

However, 2 days is long enough to visit WC as long as the visitor doesn't plan on seeing much else. And it's as good a destination as anything you'd see in London proper and the photos would be fabulous.

Have a wonderful first visit to London, RosieSantos! London is one of my favorite cities; you'll enjoy whatever you decide to do.

Great information, thanks!

I just went to the website and see that tickets can be purchased online. Does anybody know if I buy the tickets this way, would I avoid the line once I get there?

NorCal_Jo Wow. Thank you for the detailed account of Windsor. I will definitely be printing this out and using it as my guide.
Thank you again for your help. I am planning to be very ambitious with my trip. The first day I should be in Central London by 12:30 - 1:00 pm after checking in to the hotel. I was planning on going to Kensington Palace and Victoria Albert Museum, London Eye and walk around parks,Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. On my second day we were planning on Buckingham Palace, Changing of the guard (boyfriend's demand), Westminster Abbey, Big Ben (just from the outside, Tower of London and if there is time go to Greenwich to stand on the Meridian (again boyfriend's demand). On the third day wake up super early and take the train to Windsor (my demand). I am in the easy hotel near Victoria, so I have to figure out which station will be better for us to take to Windsor. See Windsor like you said and return around 2:30 to relax around for two hours and catch the train or bus to Heathrow Airport.
Sounds Possible?????

By the way, thank you to everyone that has posted. This information will definitely be helpful

Enjoy your trip! Let us know of your great experience in Windsor.

to everyone recommending Windsor (and yes, it is wonderful, no question about that) -- would you still recommend it IF the plan is to travel from near Victoria out to Windsor, then back to Victoria, and then out to LHR -- all in a little over 1/2 a day -- AND when the State Rooms are closed to the public???

Probably not . . .

Hi janisj: I didn't recommend Windsor at all for this two day trip. I completely agree with you.

I did wish the traveler well when it was clear she was determined to visit WC and I am interested in knowing how this Windsor visit ultimately works out.

The state apartments are opened; I missed read the information. The semi state rooms are closed.

Since it is the third day, I will see what I have time to accomplish.

Anybody has experince with buying tickets online for the Castle?thanks for any info.

Buying tix on-line is OK -- but really doesn't save one much if any time since everyone still has to go through the security queue.

Rosiesantos: Now that we know the State rooms are open -- PLEASE follow alanRow's (I <i>think</i> that is who posted it) suggestion on your other thread.

Don't faff about going all the way to Windsor -- all the way back into central London -- and THEN all the way back almost to Windsor (LHR). That is just crazy.

Check out of your hotel, travel to LHR, drop your bags at Left Luggage, and then take the bus 7 miles to Windsor. This will save you nearly 2 hours of extra travel time.

Hi Rosiesantos - you are welcome and I'm sure you are getting excited for your visit!

Based on your other posting, you are going to be very busy so I echo the suggestion to write down all the opening times and really prioritize your sightseeing on each of the days so you don't miss out on your "must sees".

Since it sounds like Windsor is on your "must see" list and on your last day, I agree with the advice to consider dropping bags at Heathrow (LHR) on way out to Windsor as it is a bit more efficient despite the hassle of dropping bags.

So, your original plan would be approx 1 hour to Windsor (easiest would be overground from Victoria to Clapham Junction and then direct train to Windsor), then 1 hour back, and then 1 hour to Heathrow so three hours in actual transit assuming you take trains/tube. If you drop bags at Heathrow, you will be just under 1 hour to Heathrow by train/tube and if you take a car(see below), you can get to Windsor in 20-25 minutes or if you take the 71 or 77 bus lines, it is 35-45 minutes. Don't take the train from LHR to Windsor as it will be an hour and not save you any time. So, going via the airport should save you at most an hour of train travel but more inportantly, it might give you that extra hour or so in the afternoon to spend in Windsor assuming you're willing to get up at the crack of dawn to get your stuff to LHR and then get to Windsor early. BTW, on a weekday morning, I doubt the line will be much at the castle if you get there around opening.

If you go by car service, pre-book as a regular metered taxi will be a rip off. I use "Ascot Cars" to get from my house (Sunningdale) to Heathrow and it costs £25 one way(compare that to £85 a black cab charged me when I first moved here and didn't know any better). Windsor is closer to LHR than my house so it should be less than £25 and there are Windsor based car companies such as "5 Star" and others I'm sure you'll see if you research.

Hope you have a great time and we'll be interested to hear how your whirlwind visit goes!

Thank you so much for the information, nor cal. I am actually leaving later today for Paris and then I fly to london on the 18th. I am very excited. I have written all the opening and closing and basically the times that it should take to get to the attractions. Thank you for the advice about Windsor Castle. I have written down all the information that you have mentioned especially the car service.
Thanks. I will be informing when I return on the 27th from Lisbon.