Windsor Castle is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. William the Conqueror chose the site shortly after 1066 — a chalk bluff above the Thames at a strategic point west of London — and the castle has been a royal residence ever since. Every monarch from Henry I onwards has used it; the present King still spends weekends here.
The visitor route takes in the State Apartments, where the royal collection is shown in rooms still used for state occasions; the splendid Semi-State Rooms restored after the 1992 fire; Queen Mary's Dolls' House, a perfect miniature mansion designed by Edwin Lutyens; and St George's Chapel, the spiritual home of the Order of the Garter and the burial place of ten monarchs. The Changing of the Guard takes place outside the castle most days in summer. Allow at least three hours; book ahead in summer.