London Travel Forum

My wife and I are going to visit London for the first time.
We are staying for 8 days.

1)Is it possible to visit the Windsor Castle and the Hampton Court Palace on the same day?
2)What’s the best way to make the trip: London (near the parliament) - Windsor – Hamptom Palace – London?
3)What’s the cost? Is the transport included in the London Pass?

We are planning to buy a “3 day London Pass”.
If this trip is not included, maybe we’ll buy the London Pass without travel card.

Many thanks ( I didn't thank in my previous post)

You would find it difficult to visit both the Castle and the Palace on one day, and there would be little point (uless you do not intend to go inside).

Windosr is some way outside London, so I do not think your travelcard will work. You can go by train (quickest) from either London Paddington (for Windosr & Eton Central) or Waterloo (for Windsor & Eton Riverside). Journey time varies according to the train you take, from around 33 minutes to 1 hour+, and you will almost certainly have to change trains (at Slough, if you are travelling from Paddington; the fastest trains go from here). Return fare 10.20GBP (you can get a cheaper ticket, but the trains you can use with this are very limited).

www.nationalrail.co.uk will give you times/details and fares.

Windsor Central and Windsor Riverside are equally near the castle, but from Riverside you have to walk up the hill. Central is the more usual station, its precinct being full of cafes/specialist shops etc.

There are buss to Windsor, which will be cheaper but take longer. I do not think your travelcard will work on these either.

http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/default.asp?action=article&ID=34

for information on visiting Windsor Castle.

Hampton Court is also outside London central.

http://www.hrp.org.uk/hamptoncourtpalace/ will give you information.

There are a number of ways to get there, including by boat:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/HamptonCourtPalace/planyourvisit/gettingthere.aspx

The train journey takes about 35 minutes, or you can go by bus. I am not sure whether your travelcard will cover these journeys.

Yes, trips to Windsor and Hampton Court are included in London Pass with travel. I had just return from my London holidays and we had maked both, but not the same day.

That's a good deal then, and both are worth visiting. Give yourselves two days to do so! :-)

Both of these are worthy of a day trip each. They have 2 entirely different types of architecture - Hampton Court is a Palace and Windor is a Castle. OK I'm stating the obvious! If you finish Hampton Court early there is the river which is nearby and is pleasant and Bushey Park also within walking distance. Sometimes there are boat trips into nearby Kingston upon Thames - not a lot to do there apart from shop!

Around Windsor there is the town, which is worth seeing as well as the Royalty & Empire exhibition - Victoriana attraction can't comment on it. Also Eton College - not sure if you're allowed in, followed by Runnymede where King John signed the Magna Carta which is on the river - a short drive outside Windsor.

Thank you very much for your help!
I’m afraid that this time we don’t have 2 full days to spend.

We’ve checked the train schedule, and this is what we are going to do:

We will try to arrive to Windsor Castle at the opening time (9:45).

If we finish visiting the castle in time, we’ll catch the 13:23 train to Hampton Court Palace. Otherwise we’ll visit Windsor the rest of the day.

If we choose to go to both, we’ll have 3,5 hours to visit each site.

I now that this is very subjective but, do you think that’s enough?
Thank you

Entirely subjectively: no. I'd rather see one place properly, and (if Windsor)spend time exploring the town, riverside, Eton etc.

But it is your choice, of course.