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Voykit pocket guide · United Kingdom
Windsor and Eton
Day trip from London if you only want the castle; sleep one night to add Eton, the Long Walk and a slow morning before the coaches arrive.
Windsor and Eton are twin towns on opposite banks of the Thames, 30–50 minutes by train from London. Windsor Castle is the anchor: the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, still a working royal residence. Eton is a 15-minute walk across Windsor Bridge and is dominated by its college. Almost everything worth seeing sits inside a 2 km walk, so the real choice is timing, not transport.
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Best months
- Apr–Jun, Sep–Oct; check event dates
- Avoid
- Busiest periods check (summer weekends, race days, school holidays)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- GBP
- Money
- Currency is the pound sterling (GBP, £). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere; some places are card-only.
- Daily spend
- Budget £55–85 excl. bed · Mid £90–150 excl. bed · High £160+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- EE, Vodafone (merged with Three in 2025) and O2 run the networks; prepaid SIMs sell in supermarkets, phone shops and airport vending machines, no registration needed.
- Emergency
- Emergency 999 · Emergency (any phone) 112 · NHS non-urgent 111 · Police non-urgent 101
- Plugs
- Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Three-pin Type G only; European, US and Australian plugs need an adapter. Bathrooms have two-pin shaver sockets only.
- Tipping
- Restaurant with table service: 10–12.5% if no service charge is on the bill; check before adding more.; Pub or bar: Not expected; 'and one for yourself' offers the bartender a drink.; Taxi: Round up or 10%.; Hotel porter: £1–2 per bag.; Tour guide: £5–10 per person for a day tour; free walking tours expect £10–15.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Free refills are common; restaurants will bring tap water if you ask.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are scarce and some charge 50p–£1 or are card-only. Stations, museums, department stores and pubs (if you buy a drink) are the fallback.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | £3–4.50 |
| Pub main course | £12–18 |
| Cream tea or cake and tea | £6–9 |
| Windsor Castle adult ticket | £26.50 |
| Eton College tour | £10 |
| Return train from London | £13.20 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | £6–12 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- LHR · Heathrow
- About 8 mi by road via the M4; First bus 77 or 71 from Terminal 5 takes roughly 35–55 min.
- LGW · Gatwick
- About 1 h by road; no direct train or bus — go via London.
- STN · Stansted
- About 1 h 30 min by road; no direct train or bus — go via London.
Typical fares
- London Paddington → Windsor & Eton Central
- £9.40 single, about 30 min via Slough (2026 estimate)
- London Waterloo → Windsor & Eton Riverside
- £9.50 single, about 50 min (2026 estimate)
- Return from London
- about £13.20 (2026 estimate)
- Heathrow T5 → Windsor, First bus 77
- about 40 min (check)
Get around
Walk. Windsor Bridge and Peascod Street are pedestrianised, and Eton College Chapel to Windsor Castle is under 15 minutes on foot. Two stations: Windsor & Eton Central (from Paddington via Slough) and Windsor & Eton Riverside (from Waterloo). Local buses are thin in the evening and on Sundays. Driving between Windsor and Eton means a long loop out to the bypass — walking is faster.
See and do
Known for
- Windsor Castle
- St George's Chapel
- Eton College
- The Long Walk and Windsor Great Park
- Changing of the Guard
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| London | Train from Windsor & Eton Riverside to Waterloo, or Central via Slough to Paddington | 50–60 min |
| Runnymede | First bus 41 toward Old Windsor, alight at the Bells of Ouzely | About 30 min |
| Legoland Windsor | Shuttle bus from central Windsor | About 20 min |
| Reading | Train to Slough, change for Reading | About 45–60 min (check) |
| Ascot | Train via Slough or a short drive | About 30–40 min |
Sleep
- Central Windsor (Thames Street / High Street)
- Walk to the castle gate in under 10 min and to both stations; priciest and noisiest on summer evenings.
- Eton High Street
- Quieter, 10–15 min walk over Windsor Bridge; a handful of pubs and small hotels.
- Windsor riverside
- Riverside walks and some cheaper rooms; walk time to the centre check.
- Slough (budget fallback)
- Chain hotels near the station, then a 6-min shuttle train to Windsor & Eton Central.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Excuse me / Sorry | Excuse me / Sorrysame as English |
| Thank you | Thank yousame as English |
| One adult ticket, please | One adult ticket, pleasesame as English |
| How much is it? | How much is it?same as English |
| Can I pay by card? | Can I pay by card?same as English |
| Where is the toilet? | Where is the toilet?same as English |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake at first meeting; 'hi' and first names quickly; avoid: Cheek kisses with strangers
- Conversation: Weather is a safe opener; understatement and self-deprecating humour; avoid: Asking about salary or class
- Queues: Join at the back; avoid: Pushing onto buses or trains before others get off
- Apologies: 'Sorry' is said constantly, even when not at fault; avoid: Taking it as an admission of blame
- Pubs: Buy rounds in a group; wait at the bar without waving money; avoid: Clicking fingers at staff
- Nations: Call Scots Scottish and Welsh Welsh; avoid: Calling the whole UK 'England'
Scams and watch-outs
- Windsor Castle closes some days and the State Apartments can shut at short notice; check the official site before you travel.
- No photography or video in the State Apartments or St George's Chapel.
- Buy castle tickets online a day ahead, or arrive after noon to dodge the worst queue.
- Summer weekend mornings and evenings clog up with Legoland and racecourse traffic.
- Eton College is a working school: tours run Friday afternoons May–Sep only, and term dates change access.
Local safety conditions check. The practical risks are uneven riverside paths after rain and traffic on the A308 and M4 approaches.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Windsor and Eton yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Windsor Castle
- St George's Chapel
- Eton College
- The Long Walk and Windsor Great Park
- Changing of the Guard
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Royal Windsor Information Centre: www.windsor.gov.uk
- Windsor Castle — Royal Collection Trust: www.royalcollection.org.uk/visit/windsorcastle
- Eton College — visits: www.etoncollege.com/
- Windsor Great Park: www.windsorgreatpark.co.uk/
- National Rail: www.nationalrail.co.uk/
- First Berkshire buses: www.firstbus.co.uk/berkshire-thames-valley
- National Trust — Runnymede: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/runnymede/
- Wikivoyage: Windsor and Eton, revision 5314512 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5314512
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Windsor and Eton
To this address, please
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Windsor; most are in London. US Embassy: Nine Elms, London (check).
English is the only language you need here.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/windsor-and-eton). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.