London to Windsor Castle

The Comparison at a Glance

Every option the facts support sits in one table. The two trains differ in speed and in if you change. The tours bundle transport with a guide, and with the Windsor Castle half day only, with castle admission.

Rail fares move with demand and booking time, so none is printed. Castle admission is fixed at £32 adult in advance for 2026.

Paying on the Paddington Route

Contactless pay as you go reaches Slough. TfL's beyond-Zone-9 cap list names Slough with a daily cap from Zones 1-6 of £31.20 at peak times and £22.40 off-peak. GWR's own contactless list names both Slough and Windsor and Eton Central, but South Western Railway's station page says contactless cards cannot be validated at Windsor Central, so the safe move is to treat Slough as the boundary TfL names and not promise a tap at the Windsor end.

Oyster cards are not valid to Slough at all, so use a contactless card or a paper ticket. Contactless on this route covers non-discounted adult fares only, so Railcard holders need a paper ticket or a Touch Smartcard.

• Contactless to Slough: £31.20 peak cap, £22.40 off-peak cap from Zones 1-6, per TfL
• Oyster: not valid to Slough or Windsor and Eton Central
• Railcard holders: paper ticket or Touch Smartcard, contactless gives no discount

Paying on the Waterloo Route

South Western Railway validates contactless cards at Windsor and Eton Riverside, and its contactless scheme covers 12 stations including Riverside in Standard class only, with no Railcard or child discounts applied. Oyster cards cannot be used past Feltham on this line. Riverside sits outside TfL's list of daily caps, so no cap figure is known for the full journey.

The fare itself is dynamic and changes with demand.

Route 1: Paddington Via Slough

There is no direct train from London to Windsor on this route. GWR says passengers change at Slough and go to platform 1 for the 6-minute ride to Windsor and Eton Central. Paddington to Slough takes as little as 13 minutes, and the whole journey runs about 35 minutes, with 22 minutes on the fastest service.

Trains depart from Paddington almost every 20 minutes on average, so check the live timetable for your connection. The Elizabeth line also connects to Windsor and Eton Central via Slough, which helps if you are coming from east London.

• Board a GWR or Elizabeth line service from London Paddington towards Slough
• Get off at Slough, about 13 minutes out on the fastest trains
• Change to platform 1 for the 6-minute branch line to Windsor and Eton Central
• Allow about 35 minutes from Paddington to Windsor and Eton Central

Route 2: Waterloo Direct

South Western Railway runs direct trains from London Waterloo to Windsor and Eton Riverside in about 55 minutes. No change, one ticket, one train. Off-Peak tickets from Waterloo are valid on trains departing at 09:00 or later and on return trains arriving into Waterloo at 10:00 or later, and Off-Peak tickets can be used at any time at weekends and on bank holidays.

Contactless is validated at Riverside, though child and Railcard discounts do not apply to it, so a family with a Railcard should buy paper tickets.

• Board a direct South Western Railway train from London Waterloo
• Ride about 55 minutes to Windsor and Eton Riverside
• Walk about 5 minutes to the castle, level at first and then uphill

Which Ticket to Buy

Rail fares are dynamic, so no fare is quoted here. An Off-Peak return suits most day trippers. Off-Peak tickets are valid from 09:30 on weekdays in cities and large towns, all day at weekends and bank holidays, and a return stays valid for one month from the date shown.

Children aged 5 to 15 pay 50% of the adult Off-Peak fare and under 5s travel free with an adult. A Railcard cuts a third off most fares. Most Railcards cost £35 for 1 year or £80 for 3 years, and the Network Railcard covers London and the South East from 10:00 on weekdays and all day at weekends, with a £13 minimum fare on Mondays to Fridays.

Advance tickets are usually cheaper still but bind you to one train, and changing one costs £10 plus any fare difference. On the Paddington route, contactless works to Slough under the caps named above.

• Off-Peak return: valid from 09:30 on weekdays in large towns, all day weekends, valid one month
• Railcard: £35 for 1 year or £80 for 3 years, a third off most fares
• Advance ticket: cheapest but tied to one train, changes cost £10 plus the difference
• Contactless to Slough: £31.20 peak or £22.40 off-peak daily cap, adults only

The Last Mile

Windsor and Eton Central is a 2-minute walk from Windsor Castle, right in the town centre. Windsor and Eton Riverside is a 5-minute walk, level at first and then uphill. The two stations are 8 minutes' walk apart, so it is easy to arrive at one and leave from the other.

If you arrive by coach or car, the bus stop on Thames Street opposite the Theatre Royal is a short distance from both stations, and there is a taxi rank on Thames Street next to Central station. Luggage Storage Windsor on Goswell Hill charges £5 per bag from 9am to 8pm with no overnight storage, and Mail Boxes Etc. on St Leonards Road stores bags for a daily charge, a 10-15 minute walk from the castle.

• Windsor and Eton Central to the castle: 2 minutes on foot
• Windsor and Eton Riverside to the castle: 5 minutes, then uphill
• Luggage: from £5 per bag at Goswell Hill, 9am-8pm

What to Check Before You Leave

Three things can ruin the day if you skip them. First, the castle closes every Tuesday and Wednesday and can close at short notice because it is a working royal palace. Second, rail fares and timetables move, so check the operator's journey planner and National Rail's engineering works page on the day, since bus replacements do happen on Sundays.

Third, book castle tickets ahead, because tickets bought on the day cost £36 for adults against £32 booked in advance, and the 18-24 price is £21 with ages 5-17 at £16 and under 5s free. For railcards, ticket types and general planning, see the guide on how to plan a day trip from London.

The Two Stations Compared

Central wins on speed and on the walk to the gate. Riverside wins on simplicity, because the train is direct and contactless is validated there by South Western Railway's own scheme. Both are within a few minutes' walk of Windsor Castle, so the choice usually comes down to which London terminus is easier for you to reach.

Contactless at Each Station

The rules differ by station and by operator. Contactless to Slough carries TfL's capped fares of £31.20 peak and £22.40 off-peak from Zones 1-6. GWR lists contactless at Windsor and Eton Central too, but South Western Railway's station page says cards cannot be validated there, so do not rely on a tap-out at Central.

At Riverside, South Western Railway confirms contactless cards can be validated, in Standard class only, with no Railcard or child discounts. Oyster cards stop short on both routes: past Feltham on the Waterloo line, and not valid to Slough at all.

Castle Tickets and Times

Windsor Castle adult tickets cost £32 in advance for 2026, and on-the-day tickets cost £36 for adults and £18 for under 18s, with children under 5 free. In advance, ages 18-24 pay £21 and ages 5-17 pay £16. The castle opens Monday and Thursday to Sunday, 10:00 to 17:15 from March to October and 10:00 to 16:15 from November to February, with last admission 75 minutes before closing, which Visit Windsor gives as 16:00 and 15:00 respectively.

It closes every Tuesday and Wednesday and can close without notice. A typical visit lasts 2 to 3 hours. £1 tickets are available during certain months for those on Universal Credit and other named benefits.

St George's Chapel

St George's Chapel sits inside the castle admission and is closed to general visitors on Sundays, though worshippers are welcome at Sunday services at 8.30am, 10.45am, 12 noon and 5.15pm. On other days it opens to visitors through the Windsor Castle admission centre, and its own site lists the current visiting hours. Access can be limited after 2.30pm when visitor numbers are high.

Attending a regular daily service is free and needs no ticket, which is one of the few free ways inside the precinct. Plan for the chapel early in your visit rather than late.

The Guard March

The Windsor Guard March is free to watch. The new guard leaves Victoria Barracks on Sheet Street at about 10:45 and returns at about 11:25, and the Changing the Guard ceremony itself starts at 11:00 in the Lower Ward inside the castle, where it takes about 30 minutes and needs castle admission. The march takes about 10 minutes to pass and is best watched free along Windsor High Street or under the Corn Exchange at the Guildhall.

The days are set by the British Army and change from month to month, so check the Household Division schedule before you build your day around it.

Free Sights in Windsor

A closed-castle day is not wasted. The Long Walk in Windsor Great Park is free and is reached from Park Street, a long straight avenue under open sky. The two bridges loop along the Thames towpath between Windsor Bridge and Queen Elizabeth Bridge takes about one hour and is also free.

Both suit a half day on their own, and Windsor is one of several options in the wider list of day trips from London by train.

• The Long Walk: free, from Park Street
• Thames towpath loop between the two bridges: about one hour, free
• Guard March from the High Street: free, about 10 minutes to pass

Windsor-Only and Combined Days

The Windsor Castle Half-Day Trip from London with Castle Tickets costs $118 and includes admission to Windsor Castle and a coach from Earl's Court, with 2.5 hours at the castle. Food and tips are not included. For a longer day, the Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Bath Day Trip from London is $106.26 at its base price, but Stonehenge, Windsor Castle and Roman Baths entries are each paid options on that listing, so the real cost rises with what you pick.

The Stonehenge Inner Circle Access Day Trip from London with Windsor is $254.21, with a private inner-circle viewing included and Windsor Castle entry again only in the options that name it. The listing's 2026 dates ended on 21 September, so check the calendar for the next season. Full day tours from London covering every destination are compared on the homepage.

• $118: half-day Windsor coach with castle admission included, no food
• $106.26 plus options: Stonehenge, Windsor and Bath, entries cost extra
• $254.21 plus options: inner-circle Stonehenge with Windsor, entry optional