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Guildford Cathedral
Attractions in Guildford

Start with Guildford Cathedral: the sights of Guildford

Guildford and its surroundings hold 9 museums, 6 attractions and 2 art galleries. Mapped inside Guildford’s built-up area are 12 places to visit, and within 5 km of its edge another 14. Here, 5 places are kept up by the National Trust. 2 of the places on the list are within 1 km of the middle of town. Go 26 km out for Windsor Castle.

Photo: Guildford Cathedral, Hassocks5489 (CC0)
In Guildford
12
inside the built-up area
Within 5 km
14
of the town’s edge
Museums & galleries
11
in or near town
Castles & historic places
6
in or near town
Cared for
5
National Trust, English Heritage, Cadw and others
Best known

The best known in Guildford

Next to Guildford Cathedral, the best known are 2 museums, 2 art galleries and a castle.

CathedralGuildford Cathedralin townCastleGuildford Castlein townMuseum · National TrustDapdune Wharfin townMuseumGuildford Museumin townArt galleryGuildford House Galleryin townArt galleryLewis Elton Galleryin town

Each has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.

The map

How they lie

Shere Museum, 8.3 km away, is the farthest on the map.

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The dashed line is Guildford’s built-up area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · ONS built-up area 2022

By kind

By kind

Museums or galleries lead the count with 11; 6 are castles or historic places.

Museums & galleries 9 museums · 2 art galleries6 in town · 5 nearby
Castles & historic places 2 historic houses · 1 cathedral · 1 castle · 1 fort · 1 abbey or priory2 in town · 4 nearby
Gardens & estates 1 garden · 1 park or estate0 in town · 2 nearby
Zoos, theme parks & days out 1 water park1 in town
Other attractions 6 attractions3 in town · 3 nearby

Green: inside Guildford. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.

5 places are cared for by the National Trust (Dapdune Wharf, Clandon Park, Hatchlands and Shalford Mill, and 1 more).

Every place

Place by place

The town has 12; within 5 km of its edge, the list finds 14 more.

Hatchlands

Historic house · 3.5 km outside town, to the east

Grade I listed historic house museum in East Clandon, Surrey, United Kingdom (National Trust property).

Run by National Trust
About Hatchlands →

The 12 inside Guildford come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches and listed buildings are on the History page, not here.

283 listed buildings and 5 scheduled monuments are on Guildford’s History page → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Guildford →

Big names nearby

Further afield

Allow a day for Windsor Castle, 26 km away, the pick of 11.

CastleWindsor Castle26 km northHistoric house · Historic Royal PalacesHampton Court Palace24 km northeastBig drawMuseumVictoria and Albert Museum39 km northeast · 858K visitors a year (2021)Big drawMuseumNatural History Museum39 km northeast · 1.6M visitors a year (2021)Historic houseKensington Palace39 km northeast · 383K visitors a year (2015)GardenKew Gardens32 km northeastBig drawMuseumScience Museum39 km northeast · 3M visitors a year (2012)MuseumCrystal Palace High Level Station Entry40 km northeastTheme parkBig drawTheme parkThorpe Park18 km north · 1.6M visitors a year (2024)GardenKensington Gardens40 km northeastGarden · National TrustRunnymede22 km north

Places well known beyond Guildford (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a National Trust, English Heritage or Cadw property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.

Quick answers on Guildford

What are the main attractions in Guildford?

The best known inside Guildford’s built-up area are Guildford Cathedral, Guildford Castle, Dapdune Wharf and Guildford Museum. In all, 12 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 14 more within 5 km.

Does Guildford have a museum?

11 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Guildford: Dapdune Wharf, Guildford Museum, Guildford House Gallery and Lewis Elton Gallery.

Is there a National Trust or English Heritage property near Guildford?

Yes. In or within 5 km of Guildford, 5 places are cared for by the National Trust (Dapdune Wharf, Clandon Park, Hatchlands and Shalford Mill).

What are the best-known days out near Guildford?

Within 40 km: Windsor Castle (26 km), Hampton Court Palace (24 km), Victoria and Albert Museum (39 km), Natural History Museum (39 km).

Where are Guildford’s historic buildings listed?

Guildford has 283 listed buildings, 11 of them Grade I. They are on its History page, from Historic England’s list, not repeated here.

How is this list made?

From OpenStreetMap (museums, galleries, zoos, theme parks and attractions, castles, forts and abbeys, and historic houses and gardens that are open to visitors) and Wikidata (what each place is, who runs it, its website and visitor counts). A place counts for Guildford when it is inside the ONS 2022 built-up area, and as nearby within 5 km of its edge. Opening times and prices are not shown: check the official site.

Places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database Licence) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in the ONS 2022 built-up area (Open Government Licence v3.0). Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.

Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).

Photo credits (22)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.