Royal London in three days: Westminster to Windsor Castle

This itinerary follows the crown through London and out to Windsor, and it keeps a hard line between what costs nothing and what needs a ticket. The Changing of the Guard in the street is free. Going inside Westminster Abbey or Windsor Castle is not. Mixing those up is the single most common mistake in royal-themed planning, so each day below says plainly which is which.

Overview

• Day 1: Westminster on foot — Buckingham Palace guard change (free), Westminster Abbey (paid), the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben from outside.
• Day 2: Royal London beyond Westminster — Tower of London and the Crown Jewels, plus a Thames-side walk.
• Day 3: Half-day return trip to Windsor Castle, the largest inhabited castle in the world.

Base yourself anywhere with easy access to the Westminster area and Paddington station, since day three starts from there. This is a mid-range budget itinerary: expect £40-£70 per person per day once you count one paid attraction, lunch and transport, more if you add a guided tour. For a wider view of when this schedule works best in the year, see our guide to the best time to visit London.

Day 1 — Westminster: free guard change, paid abbey

Start early. The Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace is free to watch from the railings and forecourt, but it does not run daily year-round — it is typically most days from late spring through summer and roughly every other day in autumn and winter. Check the official schedule the week before, since it is cancelled without notice for bad weather or state events. Arrive by 10:15am for a clear view; the ceremony itself runs about 45 minutes. If you want a sense of what the crowd and timing actually look like before you commit to an early start, read what a Buckingham Palace guard change morning is really like.

From the palace, it is a 15-minute walk down The Mall and through St James’s Park to Westminster. This is where the free-versus-paid line matters most: you can see the outside of the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey’s exterior for nothing, but going inside the Abbey requires a ticket, currently in the region of £30 for an adult and best booked ahead online rather than queued for.

A westminster-abbey-entrance-ticket gets you self-paced access to the Abbey’s medieval interior, royal tombs and Poets’ Corner — book timed entry to Westminster Abbey rather than risk a sold-out day. If you’d rather have someone explain what you’re looking at, a guided option covering the Abbey alongside other royal sights is worth the extra cost: a private guided tour of Westminster Abbey.

Lunch options cluster around Victoria Street and Strutton Ground market. In the afternoon, walk the South Bank side of the Thames for the view back across at Parliament — it costs nothing and is the best photo of the day. The Houses of Parliament themselves can only be entered on specific tour days or via a UK resident’s MP, so most visitors see them from outside only; do not plan on walking in.

If you want a single guided morning that ties the whole royal core together instead of doing it piecemeal, a royal-london-morning-tour covers Buckingham Palace, Westminster and the Abbey exterior in one go — a royal London morning walking tour is a reasonable trade if you’re short on planning time, though it moves at a fixed pace.

Day 2 — the Tower and the Thames

Take the Tube or Overground to Tower Hill for the Tower of London, home to the Crown Jewels. This is a paid attraction — expect around £35-£40 for an adult ticket bought on the day, less if booked in advance — and it is genuinely worth the queue for the Jewel House, which is the only place in London to see the working coronation regalia rather than replicas. If you’re weighing whether the ticket price is justified, see our honest take on whether the Tower of London is worth it. Budget two to three hours minimum; the site is dense and the Yeoman Warder tours (included in the ticket, running roughly every 30 minutes) are worth timing your visit around.

Tower Bridge is a two-minute walk from the Tower and free to look at from the street; the glass walkway inside is a separate paid ticket and, honestly, skippable unless you specifically want the floor-glass photo.

For a fuller royal sweep across a single day rather than splitting attractions, the royal-london-grand-tour bundles several of these sites with transport between them — a full-day Royal London Grand Tour suits visitors who’d rather not work out Tube connections between Westminster and the Tower themselves.

Spend the afternoon walking west along the South Bank from Tower Bridge toward London Bridge and Borough Market — free, and one of the better late-afternoon river views in the city. If the crown theme has you curious about filming locations used for royal-adjacent screen productions around the city, a themed walk is available too: a London film locations walking tour, though this is a lighter add-on, not core to the itinerary.

Day 3 — Windsor Castle, half day

Windsor is a genuinely separate town from London, about 25 miles west, reached by train from Paddington (via Slough, roughly 40-55 minutes total) or direct services from Waterloo (about an hour). This is not a walk-in destination — plan the whole morning around the trip.

Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and remains a working royal residence, which is exactly why it matters to check the calendar first: the State Apartments close without much public notice on days used for state occasions, and the whole castle sometimes closes for short periods. Check the official Royal Collection Trust website for the week you’re travelling before you book anything, since a paid ticket bought for a closed day is not always refundable at short notice.

Entry to Windsor Castle currently runs in the region of £30 for an adult, covering the State Apartments, St George’s Chapel (when open to visitors) and the grounds. A guard change also happens at Windsor on certain days, on a different schedule from London’s — free to watch, same free-versus-paid logic as day one.

A half-day organised trip from central London bundles the return train and skip-the-line entry, which removes the scheduling risk of buying tickets separately: a half-day trip to Windsor Castle from London. For a smaller group with more flexibility on timing and a guide who can adapt if part of the castle is closed that day, consider a private guided tour of Windsor Castle instead.

Eton, the college, sits directly across the Thames from the castle and is a five-minute walk over the bridge — worth the detour for the view alone, though the college itself is visit-by-guided-tour only and often restricted during term time. For more on pairing the two and what each visit actually involves, see our guide to Windsor Castle and Eton.

Return trains to London run frequently through the evening; there’s no need to rush back for a specific departure.

Practical notes for this itinerary

Day	Core stop	Free	Paid	Approx. paid cost
1	Buckingham Palace guard change	Yes	—	£0
1	Westminster Abbey interior	—	Yes	~£30
2	Tower of London and Crown Jewels	—	Yes	~£35-£40
2	Tower Bridge exterior / South Bank walk	Yes	—	£0
3	Windsor Castle State Apartments	—	Yes	~£30
3	Windsor guard change (when scheduled)	Yes	—	£0

Use an Oyster or contactless card for all Tube, bus and Overground journeys in London on days one and two — fares cap automatically per day, so there’s no need to plan the cheapest route yourself. The Windsor train on day three is a separate National Rail ticket, not covered by Oyster capping. If you’re unsure which to use, our comparison of Oyster card versus contactless payment covers the practical differences.

If you’re travelling from outside the UK, confirm your ETA status on gov.uk/eta before the trip — this is unrelated to Oyster or train tickets and is arranged before you fly, not on arrival. See our guide to UK ETA and entry rules for London for who needs one and how far ahead to apply.

FAQ: royal London and Windsor Castle in three days

Is the Changing of the Guard really free?

Yes, watching from the forecourt railings or The Mall costs nothing. It does not run every day — check the official schedule for the week of your visit, since frequency drops outside summer.

Do I need to book Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London in advance?

Booking ahead is strongly recommended for both, especially the Tower of London’s Crown Jewels queue and Westminster Abbey’s timed entry slots, which sell out on weekends and school holidays.

What if Windsor Castle is closed on the day I planned to visit?

The State Apartments close periodically for state occasions with limited public notice. Check the official Royal Collection Trust site before booking transport or tickets, and avoid non-refundable add-ons if your dates aren’t flexible.

How do I get from London to Windsor, and how long does it take?

Trains run from London Paddington (via Slough, about 40-55 minutes total) or London Waterloo (around an hour direct to Windsor & Eton Riverside). Both are ordinary National Rail journeys, not covered by Oyster capping.

Is three days enough to see Westminster, the Tower and Windsor properly?

It’s enough to see each without rushing, but each day is full — expect to be walking or queueing for most of it. Add a fourth day if you also want Kensington Palace or Hampton Court, both of which sit outside this three-day route.

Can I visit Eton College while I’m at Windsor Castle?

You can walk across to Eton and see it from outside, but entry to the college itself is by guided tour only and is often restricted during school term.

Is a guided tour worth it for this itinerary, or should I go independently?

Independent visits work fine for Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London, since both have good on-site information. A guide adds most value at Windsor, where opening restrictions and timing can change with little notice.