8 best day trips from London

Day trips compared

The day trips

35 km · About 1 hour by train

1.Windsor Castle

Often described as the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, Windsor has been a royal home for more than 900 years. Visitors see the State Apartments, Queen Mary's Dolls' House and St George's Chapel, where many monarchs are buried; Windsor town and Eton across the river fill the afternoon.

Getting there

Train from Waterloo, or from Paddington changing at Slough

Best for

First-timers, Families, Culture

20 km · About 35 minutes by train

2.Hampton Court Palace

Henry VIII's Tudor palace on the Thames combines his vast kitchens and Great Hall with the baroque wing Christopher Wren built for William III and Mary II. The gardens include a hedge maze planted around 1700 and the Great Vine.

Getting there

Train from Waterloo to Hampton Court

Best for

Families, Culture, Couples

90 km · About 1 hour by train

3.Oxford

The university city's honey-coloured colleges, the Bodleian Library and the Radcliffe Camera are a compact walk apart. Christ Church, whose staircase appears in the Harry Potter films, and the free Ashmolean Museum are the highlights; punting on the Cherwell is a summer classic.

Getting there

Train from Paddington or Marylebone

Best for

First-timers, Culture, Couples

95 km · About 50 minutes by train

4.Cambridge

King's College Chapel with its fan-vaulted ceiling, the riverside college lawns known as the Backs and the free Fitzwilliam Museum are the highlights. Punting on the River Cam past the colleges is the classic way to see the city.

Getting there

Train from King's Cross or Liverpool Street

Best for

Culture, Couples, Quiet stays

85 km · About 1 hour by train

5.Brighton

The seaside city's attractions are the onion-domed Royal Pavilion, the Victorian Palace Pier with its funfair rides, a long pebble beach and The Lanes, a warren of narrow alleys full of independent shops and cafés.

Getting there

Train from Victoria or London Bridge

Best for

Families, Couples, Nightlife

185 km · About 1 hour 20 minutes by train

6.Bath

Bath's Roman Baths, still fed by a natural hot spring, the Georgian sweep of the Royal Crescent and Bath Abbey make it one of England's most elegant cities. Thermae Bath Spa lets visitors bathe in the spring water in a rooftop pool.

Getting there

Train from Paddington to Bath Spa

Best for

Couples, Culture

140 km · About 2 hours by train and bus

7.Stonehenge and Salisbury

The prehistoric stone circle on Salisbury Plain was built in stages from around 3000 BC, and the visitor centre includes reconstructed Neolithic houses. Salisbury, whose cathedral holds one of the original 1215 copies of Magna Carta, combines well on the same day.

Getting there

Train from Waterloo to Salisbury, then the Stonehenge tour bus

Best for

Culture, First-timers

30 km · About 1 hour by train and shuttle

8.Warner Bros. Studio Tour London

The Making of Harry Potter tour at Leavesden shows the real sets, props and costumes from the films, including the Great Hall, Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express. Tickets are sold only in advance for timed entry, so book well ahead in school holidays.

Getting there

Train from Euston to Watford Junction, then the studio shuttle bus

Best for

Families

Day-trip tips

• Leave early: most trips are more relaxed with a morning departure and a return before dinner.
• The Elizabeth line crosses the centre from Paddington to Canary Wharf with direct trains to Heathrow, while the Overground, DLR and National Rail reach Greenwich, Kew and the suburbs.
• Routes 11 and 15 pass many central landmarks and make a low-cost sightseeing tour from the top deck.
• For trips over about 150 km, an overnight stay or an organised tour saves a lot of travelling.

Questions travellers ask