51.07° N · 1.79° W
A Gothic cathedral with the tallest spire in England and an original Magna Carta, an hour and a half from Waterloo, and Stonehenge half an hour away by bus.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Visit · 1 h 30 · £12.50 online · under-12s free · England's tallest spire and an original Magna Carta
Tour bus · half a day · leaves from the station · includes entry to Stonehenge and the cathedral
Guided tour · 1 h 30 to 1 h 45 · £25 · 332 steps to the base of the spire · ages 7 and over
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
From April to June and in September and October. In summer Stonehenge is packed and it is best to go first thing; in winter the days are short, but the cathedral and the bus run just the same, on a winter timetable.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
Salisbury has no airport with flights from Spain: you fly to London, with direct flights from almost every Spanish airport, and carry on by direct train from Waterloo, in an hour and a half. Southampton and Bristol, an hour away by car, have some routes to Spain depending on the season. Once there, you can explore the city on foot, and Stonehenge has a bus.
Salisbury is the best base for seeing Stonehenge without a car: the direct train from Waterloo takes an hour and a half, and at the same station you catch the tour bus that takes you to the stones and Old Sarum, with tickets included. The cathedral is 15 minutes on foot from the station.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Salisbury and Stonehenge make a perfect pair with children: the bus to the stones leaves from the station, Old Sarum is a hill with ditches to run around, and at the cathedral under-12s go free. Salisbury Museum explains who raised Stonehenge.
For teenagers, Salisbury has real challenges: climbing the cathedral tower by spiral staircases to the base of the spire, seeing an original 1215 Magna Carta and getting to Stonehenge by bus on their own, with their parents trailing behind.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A former 13th-century coaching inn in the centre, with 60 rooms, a restaurant, a bar, afternoon tea and its own car park.
Why we like it: Simple rooms, nearly all with a bathroom, in a college in the cathedral close, with a cooked breakfast included and the gates closed to the public at night.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a pint in the bar downstairs and, if you eat, some game in the dining room upstairs.
What to order: Sunday lunch or something light on the terrace by the water, after the walk across the meadows.
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
51.38° N · 2.36° W
By planeCar-free
51.75° N · 1.26° W
By planeCar-free
51.88° N · 1.76° W
By carCar-freeLuxuryBy campervan
51.48° N · 0.61° W
By planeCar-free
Tips
Go on the first bus, before the coaches from London.
It is £2 cheaper and is valid for a year.
Places sell out and there is no guarantee at the ticket office.
The tower and the Stonehenge bus ticket already include admission to the cathedral.
The Stonehenge bus runs fewer departures out of season.
Coach tours from London that do Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor in a day: you spend seven hours on the road. Salisbury by train and bus gives you more time at the stones and adds a cathedral.
Salisbury is a market town on the Wiltshire plain with two reasons to go from London. The first is its cathedral: Gothic, built almost in one go in the 13th century, with the tallest spire in England, 123 metres, and one of the four original copies of the 1215 Magna Carta. The second is that it is the most practical base for Stonehenge, about 15 kilometres away: the tourist bus leaves from the same station the London train arrives at. Both fit into one day.
By train, South Western Railway leaves London Waterloo with direct trains taking an hour and a half or a little less. The station is west of the centre, 15 minutes' walk from the cathedral.
By car, via the M3 and the A303, about two hours from central London. The A303 passes right by Stonehenge, so you can see the stones on the way. In the centre, park at Lush House or Old George Mall, five minutes from the cathedral close.
If you are already in Bath, Stonehenge can also be done from there, on a small-group day trip; from London, Salisbury is the shortest route.
In the morning, Stonehenge. Take The Stonehenge Tour bus at the station: in half an hour you are at the visitor centre, and a shuttle takes you closer to the stones. On the way back, get off at Old Sarum, the fortified hill where the first Salisbury stood, with the ruins of the Norman castle and the plan of the old cathedral. The all-inclusive ticket includes admission to Stonehenge and to Salisbury Cathedral.
In the afternoon, the cathedral. Enter through the close, the largest in England, with its lawn and Georgian houses. Inside, the oldest working mechanical clock in the world, from 1386, and the Chapter House with the Magna Carta. If you have the legs for it and have booked, the tower tour takes you up 332 steps to the base of the spire. Opposite the façade, the Salisbury Museum shows what has been found around Stonehenge.
At the end of the day, cross the Harnham water meadows along the Town Path, with the view of the cathedral that Constable painted, to the Old Mill, a 15th-century mill on the river, for dinner or a drink.
If you want Stonehenge and the cathedral without rushing, yes. Sleeping in the cathedral close, at Sarum College, is peaceful: at night the medieval gates close to the public. The Red Lion, in the centre, is an inn with seven centuries of history and its own car park.
Spring and early autumn are the best times. In summer, Stonehenge is packed: go on the first bus. On 21 June, the summer solstice, the whole service changes. In winter it gets dark around half past four, the bus runs a winter timetable and the cathedral closes the Magna Carta earlier; even so, the day has room for everything.
The cathedral, with the Magna Carta, costs £12.50 if bought in advance and is valid for a year; under-12s do not pay. The tower, £25, admission included. The Salisbury Museum, £10.90. The Stonehenge bus with tickets has a combined-ticket price: check the operator's website. Eating in a pub costs £15–30.
Questions
On The Stonehenge Tour bus, which leaves from the station and the centre and takes half an hour.
Yes: an hour and a half by train from Waterloo, Stonehenge in the morning and the cathedral in the afternoon.
In the cathedral's Chapter House; you see it with general admission.
To its base, on the guided climb of 332 steps, from age 7 and with a reservation.
Yes; the Chapter House with the Magna Carta, from 13:00 to 16:00.
The fortified hill where the first Salisbury stood, with the ruins of the castle and of the first cathedral.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/england/salisbury
