Inside the Churchill War Rooms

Written by Matt, founder of Fun London Tours and an accredited City of London and City of Westminster Tour Guide Lecturer. He guides these walks himself.

Most visitors spend about 90 minutes to two hours in the Churchill War Rooms. The visit follows a one-way route through the original wartime rooms, kept much as they were in 1945, with the Churchill Museum part way round.

The rooms are small and the ceilings low, so it helps to know what you’re looking for. Our guides take private groups inside, and this is what we’d tell you before you go: how long to allow, the rooms not to miss, and the details most people walk straight past.

How long does the Churchill War Rooms take?

Allow 90 minutes to two hours. Our guided visits spend between an hour and 90 minutes inside, while visitors on their own with the audio guide often take closer to two hours, as the Churchill Museum alone has a great deal to read.

If you only have 45 minutes, spend them in the original Cabinet War Rooms, a perfectly preserved time capsule from the Second World War. That’s enough time for the highlights: the Map Room, the Cabinet Room, Churchill’s bedroom and the Transatlantic Telephone Room (known as Room 63). The kitchen is another remarkably well-preserved room, with original pots and pans donated by the former chef’s granddaughter. If you have time left, head into the Churchill Museum and look for a couple of his personal belongings, including his crushed velvet siren suit and signature Homburg hat, and before you leave, don’t miss the original front door of No 10 Downing Street, which is over 250 years old.

Which rooms should you not miss?

• The Cabinet Room. Where Churchill met his War Cabinet 115 times, set out as it was during the war, with his chair at the head of the table.
• The Map Room. Staffed day and night throughout the war, and left as it was when the lights were turned off in August 1945, with the original maps still on the walls.
• Churchill’s office and bedroom. Where he worked and made some of his wartime radio broadcasts, although he rarely slept here.
• The Transatlantic Telephone Room. Disguised as a private lavatory so that staff wouldn’t ask questions, this is where Churchill could speak securely to President Roosevelt in Washington.
• The Churchill Museum. A large exhibition on his whole life, from his childhood to his funeral, with original objects and interactive displays.

What do most visitors walk straight past?

These are the details our guides point out that most visitors miss.

• The convoy map in the Map Room. Look closely and you’ll see thousands of pinholes, left by the pins used to follow convoys and ships across the oceans.
• The Remington ‘noiseless’ typewriters. Churchill couldn’t bear noise, so he insisted on these to keep the clatter underground to a minimum.
• The weather indicator. Staff working long hours underground relied on it to know the weather outside. During air raids it was sometimes set to ‘Windy’, a piece of dark humour.
• The original front door of No 10 Downing Street. Churchill first walked through it as Prime Minister on 10 May 1940, and it stayed in use until 1991, when a blast-proof door replaced it.
• The siren suit. Churchill took the ordinary boiler suit and made it his own, with more style and deeper pockets for his cigars.

Is the Churchill War Rooms worth it?

For most visitors, yes. It’s one of the few places in London where you can stand in the rooms used to run the Second World War, kept much as they were, and it is a few minutes’ walk from Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. It suits very young children less well, as the rooms are narrow, busy and serious in tone.

Even if you have only a passing interest in the war, it won’t disappoint. For us, it’s the most incredible museum in London: not a collection of objects from faraway wars, but a time capsule from London’s darkest hour.

Can you take photos inside?

Yes, for personal use. You’re welcome to take photos and video, but not with flash or a tripod, and look out for signs in the few places where photography isn’t allowed.

Is it suitable for children?

Children are welcome, and under-fives go free. Children aged 10 and over get the most out of it, especially if they’ve studied the war at school. Younger children can still enjoy it with an engaging guide, but the rooms are small and the subject is serious.

Guide, audio guide or on your own: which is best?

On your own, you follow the route with the museum’s audio guide, which is included in the ticket. It covers the main rooms well and lets you go at your own pace. A guide adds what an audio guide can’t: the stories behind the rooms, the details most people miss, and answers to your own questions as you go.

Because the museum allows each guide a maximum of six people, guided visits inside are private. Our private War Rooms museum tour spends 90 minutes inside with your guide. If you’d also like to see wartime Westminster, the private Westminster, WW2 and War Rooms tour adds a 90-minute walk first, and our small group walk with War Rooms entry covers the walk with a guide and then leaves you to explore inside with the audio guide.