Windsor Castle

My favorite place for our family’s first trip to London. I was worried about using an entire day just traveling but it was much closer than I expected. We purchased rail tickets from Paddington at the station. Took maybe 30 minutes. Easy. Arrived at 930 and stayed until maybe noon and was back in central London before 1.
The grounds are amazing and the statehouses are incredible. The kids even loved it. The crowds were tolerable early in the morning. Didn’t seem to be as many field trips or queues as the Tower of London or any museums.
So much history here. Go there. You won’t be disappointed

Awesome Castle and tour. Way better than Dover, Leeds, the Tower of London, and other Castles I have visited.
Amazing history, great displays and the Queen actually lives there.

Big tip, get here early and midweek to avoid the crowds. Believe me, it makes a visit so much more enjoyable without being jostled by crowds and no queues.
Security is tight, no problems this end, especially as Her Maj was in residence. The Royal Standard was flying above the tower. Paying our entrance fee we went through scanning. Scanning that should be used at airports. Picked up our audio guide (included in the price) and off we went. So nice wandering around on our own. The changing of the guard was a bonus in the main square as HM Elizabeth II was home. Walking through the State Apartments, again almost empty, gave us the opportunity of chatting to many of the Custodians and learning so much history. Those guys knew their facts and were, obviously, proud of their job. Thank you.
A story from one of the guys was about two footmen who had reached retirement age and asked permission to retire. This, naturally, went for approval to the Queen who replied that as she was working to almost 90 therefore she was refusing. Don’t know if it was true, but a nice touch to our visit.
Again, thank you to everyone involved. Lovely mornings visit.

It is hard to put into words how amazing Windsor Castle is. The history, the architecture, the landscape… Soaking in all of it will take your breath away!
Highly recommend!

Windsor Castle is a must for all tourists! So much history and still a functioning Castle. I pre booked my ticket online so skipped the queue. I was lucky it was not a busy day so went straight though security and after collecting my audio guide (included in ticket) was wandering the castle grounds. I was excited to learnt that Her Majesty was in residence as signed by her flag flying.
Audio guide was easy to use and informative, felt like I had my own personal tour guide.
There was some construction being done around the grounds but this did not disrupt or impact the experience.
Was disappointed that they don’t sell stamps at the many gift shops even though here are numerous post boxes around.
Love the tradition and history of the building. Remember to get to ticket stamped for free re entry for a year.

If you’re coming here, there’s a few important things I learned from my experience that will help you maximize your visit. Simply put: don’t go on a Sunday if you want the full experience.
Being a weekend day, Sunday is obviously one of the busier days; however, Windsor itself operates something of a «limited service» on Sunday. There’s no changing of the guard ceremony, and access to St. George’s chapel – the final resting place of many kings and queens – is limited to those attending the church service. So, two major elements of the attraction are otherwise unavailable.
One of the more frustrating elements of the self-​guided tour is the dollhouse exhibit. The dollhouse itself is quite impressive, if you can see it. They’ve placed this major element of a Windsor Castle visit in what I can only assume is one of the smallest rooms in the castle. Additionally, it’s prohibitively dark. I fully understand the use of dim lighting to preserve the exhibit itself; however, it’s so damn dark and crowded you can’t help but run into people. Add to that the mind-​numbing cell phone effect the audio guide has on your fellow patrons (I loathe audio guides), and you have a recipe for a very frustrating little room. It’s worth seeing, but prepare yourself for the inevitable annoyance.
As for the State Apartments, they’re nice and rich with history. The bit about Charles II’s bedroom wakeup ceremony every morning was absolutely ridiculous. The Waterloo Room is certainly impressive. The semi-​state apartments, which are only open a limited amount of time per year (because they’re otherwise in use, which adds to the cool factor), are gorgeous, but they’re technically new because the original section burned down in 1992. The green drawing room is one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever seen. It’s incredible.
All in all, it’s a nice day out. I would say, though, if you have a choice between this and visiting the state rooms at Buckingham Palace, choose Buckingham Palace.

I visited with my classmates. We were students studying documentary in London so the majority of us had cameras. We were not allowed to use cameras inside. There’s a a big doll house that I was too lazy to go into but I heard it was nice. Overall, it was nice but nothing too exciting.

If you’re an American castle novice, like myself, and in the London area for any reason, this castle better be on your to-​do list! This fully-​functioning castle is still occupied by her royal highness on holidays and weekends. So, am I supposed to bow or something?
It was a lovely day in March, and we were on our way back to Heathrow Airport from Bristol. We decided to take a detour off the motorway to Windsor for a quick romp through the royal home. The castle is on the northeast side of the village, looking out over acres of lush, green landscape and the River Thames. We paid to park in a nearby car park (yes, my husband has trained me to say «car park»), and walked over to the castle. £20.00 ($ 28.59) for adults, but we had our student IDs, which bumped it down to £18.20 ($ 26.02). Make sure you come with minimal baggage. There are security checks at the entrance. Also, the gift shop is at the beginning. If you want some HRM memorabilia, now is the time.
Like other tourist destinations, free audio guides are provided to enhance the experience. Numbers are posted throughout the grounds and at the doorways. Just input the number into the audio guide for info about that spot. Only a portion of the castle is open to visitors. The other part is thee actual living quarters of the royal family. Beyond a fence, you can see the gorgeous courtyard that separates you from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. Rob was a bit starstruck at the thought of seeing the Queen somewhere on the grounds. Alas, no signs of shiny hats on our trip.
Ancient staterooms, lush furnishings, royal arms and intricate china settings covered the rooms of the castle. A beautiful garden replaces a more that surrounds the inner tower. Because the tower is on such a steep hill, the fortress was neigh impenetrable. Sadly, you can only look at the garden from the wall that looks over it. And for gosh sakes, don’t step on Her Majesty’s grass!
As we came out of the castle, we headed towards St. George’s Cathedral. This royal chapel holds infamous monarchs such as King Henry IIIV, Jane Seymour and Charles I. The amazing Gothic-​style cathedral is a classic homage to the most historic moments in English history. As a Brit lit and history nerd, I was geeking out hardcore! A once-​in-​a-​lifetime opportunity to visit this gorgeously preserved symbol of the British Empire’s greatness and power over the last 1,000 years.

In late November I decided to do a day trip to Windsor to see the castle. It was relatively empty, which was nice, and all the Christmas decorations were up inside the castle. End of year is definitely a good time to visit.
After purchasing a ticket, there’s a security check including bag x-​rays and metal detectors. As you exit the security screening area, pick up a free audio guide! There’s some really interesting tidbits on the audio tour and you can walk it at your own pace as each area/​room has its own audio track that can be played individually.
Definitely try to go at a time when the state rooms are open to the public as they’re wonderfully interesting and pompously beautiful. Staff inside the castle is very friendly and knowledgeable, they’ll answer all your questions as best they can.
You’re not allowed to take photos inside the castle, but you can snap pictures outside as much as you like.
The chapel is also a beautiful place to see, with amazing history and gorgeous sculpture.
The souvenir shops dotted around the area pretty much all carry the same items. As usual, pricing is quite steep.
All in all, it’s definitely worth a trip.

Entry to Windsor castle is not from st Albans st (that’s for the coaches) but from the top of the hill.
Gates open at 9.45am and you queue to buy your tickets (get there at least 15 minutes early or get stuck in a massive queue). Adult tickets cost £20 and for an additional £5 you can get a tour of the state kitchen. The £20 gets you a tour of the state apartments, dolls’ house, chapel, and guards room. It is an audio guided tour.
It took me and my friends over an hour to complete the state apartments tour with d audio guide (I even skipped a few audios).
I was mesmerized by the lifelike paintings (the artists have captured human expressions like disgust, arrogance with great attention to detail), the delicate China cutlery, the numerous swords and guns in the glass display cabinets and adorning the walls, the shining armour, the gorgeous artwork on the ceilings, and the sterling silver (or gilt-​silver as they call it) tableware. It is astounding to learn that Windsor castle is still used for entertaining. Knights are still adorned here in the garter ceremony. And queen Elizabeth is the longest reigning British monarch. It was interesting to learn more about the history of the batrle of Waterloo and to see some of Napoleon’s personal effects.
Definitely one of the best royal castles I’ve been to to date and I’ve been to the summer and winter palaces in Vienna, the palace in Budapest and the ones in krakow and Prague.
The tour of the state kitchen is certainly worth it. You get to see the state kitchen with old copper pots and pans hanging off hooks (not used anymore as copper is poisonous), large bakers ovens, deep fryers, and other modern industrial kitchen gadgets. Previously meals were 40 to 50 courses and now have been reduced to 4 courses. Queen Victoria liked to eat late at around 9pm with the windows open and ate quite quickly. So guests were lucky if they got served and managed to finish their meal before their plates were cleared for the next meal.
Christmas meals were still served at Windsor castle until the 1980s. The queen currently has 33 kitchen staff (20 chefs, 10 porters and 3 pastry chefs). There is no refrigeration in the kitchen and as such all meat and veggies (all local produce and mainly from the state gardens) is brought in and consumed on the day of the banquet. The banquet requires six months of planning and feeds over 300 people. The menu is decided upon by the queen itself.

Visited April 2015: «A part of the London Pass»
When we got there, we had to go through security. We had to go through metal detectors, and our bags went through an x-​ray scan. We were then informed that we would not be able to see the State Rooms, and the guards were not changing duty at their normal time today because of the holiday. This was not stated on their website. Later on, I learned that the Queen was in residency because she went to church there on Easter Sunday. One of the guides told us that 5 of the previous monarchs were buried in the chapel, so we were able to see the St George’s chapel, but we would have to do it quickly because a service was starting soon. My friend and I got caught and attend it for the entire. I upset me how many tourist would come in during the service, walk around, take a seat, and then get up an leave. I found it to be rude and uncultured. Other than that, the service was an eye opener to how the Church of England worships. ***Note: no photos of the Chapel were allowed***

Home of Queen Elizabeth II.
We did a day trip here when we were visiting London in June. I would suggest arriving early to avoid long long line up. Even when arriving early (when the castle first opens) there’s a long line up (it moves fast). Going through security takes some time as well.
It was well worth the trip. This place was full of history. There was a long line up to check out queen Mary’s dollhouse. You’re not allowed to take pics of the dollhouse. It’s fully functional miniature dollhouse.

Despite our dismay of touring with a herd of tourists rather than private car, this was the easiest way to see three sights while visiting London. We did a triple tour which included the town of Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle.
The hustle & bustle of London gave way to fields of lesser developed greenery. The Round Tower is what caught my eye first. I was excited to see my first moat, but unfortunately it was dry and replaced by gardens. The grounds are beautifully manicured with picturesque courtyards, charming stone architecture, and tons of tourists. There are so many tour groups, you can pretty much sneak up to any group and listen in for useful info lol.
Our time here was limited, and the place is huge, but we managed to breeze through the State Apartments which is beautifully appointed with priceless art, décor, and medieval pieces. We spent the majority of our time in the Lower Ward taking in the scenery, snapping pics of guards, and even partook in some Windsor Double Chocolate Ice Cream! Royally delicious!

What a site to see!!! The home of queen Elizabeth II… And the place she is named after. It was a great experience to see this magnificent castle but it kind of a drive to get there. The little town is filled with cute shops and cafes so we could have stayed lol day in this little town.
The castle also has a lot of gift shops and places to get snacks.
Overall a well planned trip!

Windsor castle is an interesting place to visit. I wouldn’t recommend it has a place to visit on your first visit to London. It is dead easy to get there via train from Paddington. The ticket is cheap and Windsor is a nice little town. The castle is interesting and has loads of artifacts. I really enjoyed the doll house. It is a pitty that you are not allowed to take pictures. The gardens are pretty but were lost on me as the weather wasn’t good.

Windsor is a bit away from central London, so it might not be the obvious place to visit while touring the city. It requires a day trip or at least a half-​day trip, but the visit can be extended to adjacent Eton, hosting a well known college.
The sightseeing of to the castle itself is a curated tourist attraction. Needless to say we get to visit a working castle so sometimes it is easy to forget that The Queen may be having her afternoon tea party just around a corner. The visit itself may get a bit interrupted because of this official status, as some events may be hosted in the State Apartments, though I guess it happens rarely.
Upon entering we have a selection of two lines — the one leading through the doll house is really worth the waiting and the line is moving fast so even if you do not have much time you should be able to get there. But you can skip the longer wait and head straight to the State Apartments. In the main exhibition the most impressive room is the one commemorated to The Battle of Waterloo, with a grand dining table in the center and lots of paintings of the heros and villians of that age. You get to see the room twice, once upon entering and the other time when leaving.
All in all I would definitely recommend the experience if you are staying longer in London. You get the chance to visit some of the outskirts, so it is especially beautiful in the spring and summer months.

Honestly, I expected more. probably my fault. I couldn’t see much because of the several works going on over there. I’m hoping to visit another day some time later this year. Thanks to the annual pass conversion. You can get your ticket converted by getting your name and signature stamped while you visit the place.
I spent only 3 hours at the place. I think it deserves more time to see the entire castle, more of town really.
Lots of restaurants near by so you’ll never stay hungry.
Though the sad part was that if you were hungry during your visit to the castle, you’d have to get a wrist band and go out to have food then later return to see more.
I wish there was a decent café inside. They do have several shops though.
If you are a keen photographer, photography isn’t allowed inside the state apartments or the doll house. So it might be a disappointment. But I’m sure you’ll enjoy taking pictures of the outside of the chapel, apartments etc.
It is beautiful indeed.

My second visit to Windsor castle and this time I had the luxury of a whole day to check it out. My previous visit had been a 2hr coach tour back in Aug-​13 and I knew then that I wanted to come back for a longer, more through visit.
Based on the long lines I had seen last time, I made sure had pre-​booked tickets, which made for so much faster entry. I also checked their webpage for the Changing of the Guard and discovered it takes place at 11pm on even days (2,4,6, etc.), so choose the right day to visit :)
There’s a separate line for pre-​booked and London pass ticket holders so I breezed past security, got my headphones and audio guide and then when chatting to one of the Guards, found out her Majesty was in the castle and even though I didn’t see her anything, knowing she was in residence was a thrill of its own.
I got in right around 10:30ish to make it in good time to check out the Changing of the Guard. This is a long event — at least 30 mins and because there are lulls and gaps where nothing seems to happen, a lot of people left. But stick with it till the former company of soldiers marches away, and that’s how you know it’s over.
My first building stop was St. George’s chapel, which I totally didn’t have time to see at all last visit. This was beautiful and gave me a thrill seeng so many graves of former British Kings that I had previously only read about. My top faves was checking out the final resting places of Jane Seymour and Henry VIII. No photography permitted inside but the Audio guide is great and really helps you understand how special this chapel is.
Next stop was the dolls house, which I had also missed seeing last time because of a massive line. This time there was no line and I just walked in, and to be honest, this exhibition was somewhat disappointing. I would have liked to have had the room just been a little bit more brightly lit, or at least more photos of the individual doll rooms placed on the walls, so you could see it in greater detail. Liked the actual dolls exhibition more, esp seeing the beautiful Worth gowns — these dolls have a wardrobe of designer clothes from the 1920s that would be the envy of any fashionista!
Took a break for lunch and then retuned back for the final two exhibition. Since this year is the 200^th commemoration of the battle of Waterloo, Windsor castle has a special exhibition which is quite marvelous and the highlight has to be a letter displayed showing Napoleon’s actual signature!!!
Straight after this exhibition, walked thru to the State Apartments and discovered this time there were a series of drawing rooms, used by the current Royal family, that I could view, which had been closed to the public at my last visit! So def was a great experience and I saw pretty much everything I wanted to. My final action was to convert my one day ticket to a one year ticket and then I headed into the town of Windsor after a perfect day at the Castle.

I’m far from a Royal’s fan, but loved Windsor Castle. Lots of great history, a nice audio tour, beautiful grounds, and great architecture, for me that is a great day out. We went on a Friday morning and already bought and printed our tickets, to my surprise we walked through security without seeing another tourist, and based on the set up of the ticket and security area with its many long roped off switchbacks, this place must get nuts at times with long queues. I think I listened to every audio tract, plus all the supplemental tracks and we were here for 2.5 hours I believe. One of the surprise highlights was the doll house… amazing.
One small tip, always carry head phones in your day bag when traveling, holding audio guides to your ear for 2.5 hours just isn’t practical for both your arm and neck. They do offer head phones, but we saw a lot of people without them struggling, not sure if they were created out by sharing head phones, or they ran out.
Anyways, well worth the high ticket price. Get your ticket stamped on the way out for year long use, just in case your back and want to do it again.

Encore un incontournable de notre belle Angleterre!
Lors de notre voyage à Londres, en avril dernier. J’avais informé mon conjoint, qu’étant donné que nous avions pas mal investi pour notre séjour, je préférai visiter le château plus tard dans un prochain voyage. Au début nous étions d’accord. Mais au fil des jours je voyais que ça le démangeait de plus en plus. Ce qui visiblement devenait contagieux. Alors, à la fin de la semaine, nous avions fini par craquer. Et hop! Un petit tour à la billetterie! Et cinq minutes plus tard, montre en main, nous nous retrouvions dans le bus en direction de Windsor! Youpiiii!
Une fois arrivé sur place, déjà, bonne surprise! Comme nous avions acheter les billets à Londres, pas besoin de faire la queue! Nous sommes donc passé devant tout le monde! Et en avant la visite!
En plus ce jour là, nous avions pu visiter une grande partie de la bâtisse. Car il faut savoir que selon les périodes de l’année, et selon si la famille royale est dans le coin où pas, vous né pouvez pas visiter toutes les parties du château.
Bref, malgré la présence de la reine, le mois d’avril était l’une des meilleures périodes pour notre petite excursion!
J’ai beaucoup aimé la Chapelle St-​Georges. L’intérieur, autant que l’extérieur malgré la pluie sont très lumineux. L’architecture ainsi que les décors (vitraux, mosaïques, enluminures…) sont très accueillants et chaleureux. J’ai pu constaté que la famille royale, depuis des générations prenait vraiment soins de ses amis comme si c’était ses proches. Leurs quelques caveaux situés ça et là dans la chapelle sont décorés de dorures très finement travaillées. Et sont accompagnés de gravures démontrant les sentiments de la famille royale à leur égard.
Pour parler de l’intérieur du château, plusieurs pièces m’ont beaucoup marqué.
Dans la salle où est entreposée la grande maison de poupée de Mary. Nous avons pu observer les moindres détails de celle-​ci à travers les vitrines. Tout ce qui fait parti du quotidien de la famille royale était ici en miniature: Les voitures, les meubles, la vaisselle… Et il y avait même l’électricité! Trop classe!
Même pour les personnes qui né sont pas maison de poupée, je peux vous certifier que vous allez être impressionné!
L’armurerie est également un des petits bijoux du château. Avec une quantité astronomique de dagues et d’épées d’origines britanniques ainsi que d’autres, rapportées d’anciennes conquêtes. Beaucoup de ces armes ressemblent plus à des bijoux qu’à des instruments de combat. La plupart sont même ornées de diamants et de pierres précieuses. C’est vraiment magnifique!
Et la dernière salle qui m’a vraiment marqué. C’est celle où se réunissent les dirigeants de ce monde ainsi que de grands philosophes célèbres. D’immense toiles peintes réparties de chaque coté d’une table incroyablement longue, représentent ces personnages connus qui ont traversé l’histoire jusqu’à nos jours. J’ai trouvé aussi cela vraiment très impressionnant!
Donc pour résumé, ces 3h de visites ont vraiment été très passionnantes. Le château est incroyable. Il né manquait plus qu’à croiser la Reine, et là nous aurions été aux anges!
Un conseil: Foncez!

Great visitor attraction, especially on a lovely day!
First time at the castle, despite a few visits to Windsor itself. The Doll’s House is worth a visit as are the State Apartments. I know the audio tour comes highly recommended but I came here with small people so that wasn’t an option.
Kids were wowed by the weapons and the sheer scale of some of the rooms so it does appeal to kids too. Staff were brilliant with the kids, chatting and getting them involved in the experience which was lovely to see! There was a short wait to get into the Dolls’ House but not huge and it was the last weekend of the English school holidays so it wasn’t too bad. A nice touch is although as an attraction, it does seem pretty expensive to visit — over £18 per adult and £16+ as a student, get your ticket stamped and you can visit multiple times over the next year. I thought this was excellent and other castles (Edinburgh) could take note of this to provide a value for money visitor experience.
I haven’t seen it all so I’m hoping to return in the next 12 months. Plus Windsor as a town is lovely with lots of nice eating/​drinking places and shops so it is worth a day trip out here if you want to do something other than the castle.

Ein altes, teilweise renovierungsbedürftiges Schloß der Queen, welches sich durch überteuerte Eintrittsgelder selbst finanziell zu tragen versucht.
Ich selbst fand es hier eher zu teuer, sodaß sich Preis-​Leistung nach meiner Meinung hier nicht in einer gesunden Waage halten. Und soooo viel gibt’s hier nun auch nicht zu sehen. Dann würde ich lieber direkt nach London…

kein wunder das die queen sich hier am liebsten aufhält denn in diesem atemberaubenden, spaktakulären und wunderschönen schloss würd ich auch jede freie minute verbringen. toll!!!

Sollte man gesehen haben. Absolut
beeindruckendes Castle besonders von innen. Nicht weit weg von London.
Das sollte man sich nicht entgehen lassen auch nicht trotz Eintritt von 17EUR p. P.

Après avoir visité Londres plusieurs fois, je me suis dit qu’il était temps de sortir des sentiers battus, et voir ce qui se cache dans l’arrière pays.
Et bien c’est un vrai trésor que j’ai trouvé en le château de Windsor.
Il s’agit de la résidence principale des rois à l’époque des Tudors (si vous né connaissez pas la série je vous la conseille vivement!!!). Aujourd’hui la reine s’y rend quand elle peut les week end.
Ce château a une histoire passionante, et a vraiment bien été conservé.
Toutes les salles du château sont différentes et toutes plus belles les unes que les autres.
Vous pouvez également admirer la maison de poupée de la reine Mary, avec des vrais mignatures des bijoux de la reine dans un petit coffre fort, des cuverts mignatures en argent sur la table mignature du salon… Tout est trop mignon!
En ce moment il y a une exposition très intéressante sur toutes les représentations de la reine qui ont été faites, dont les tabelaux du très célèbre andy warhol!
Bref, 3h de visite, 3h de découverte et de surprise pendant lesquelles on né s’ennuit pas!

Das ist schon riesig, und man sollte genügend Zeit mitbringen.
Parken möglichst ausserhalb da Windsor Castle ein Stadtschloss ist.
Der Eintritt von 16 £ ist recht hoch aber es wird auch was geboten.
Auch hier ist es nicht auf Frühaufsteher eingerichtet, geöffnet wir teilweise erst um 10:30.
Aber der Ort lohnt sich auch sehr nette Einkaufspassage rund um den Bahnhof.

Am 29.06.1994 haben wir mit der Schule Windsor Castle besucht — war echt interessant und absolut sehenswert.
Die Wache hat sich tatsächlich nicht bewegt — auch nicht als wir davor standen und alle möglichen Dinge gemacht haben :-)