Permanent

Churchill War Rooms

Free event with general admission

Hidden beneath the streets of Westminster

Photo of tunnel drilled through concrete

Few places in the world transport you back to the Second World War quite so effectively as Churchill War Rooms, where every corner and corridor has a story to tell.

Walk in the footsteps of Churchill and glimpse what life would have been like during the tense days and nights of the Second World War. 

Tour these rooms and find yourself completely immersed in the past of this crucial site in world history.

Highlights

  • Image showing view of long corridor at Churchill War Rooms
    © IWM SITE CWR 188

    Corridors

    Navigate the winding corridors that transport you back in time. Be immersed in the stories of those who lived, worked and slept in the Cabinet War Rooms around the clock.

  • Transatlantic Telephone Room

    Transatlantic Telephone Room

    Discover a tiny cupboard room disguised as a private toilet. Here Churchill used to speak in secret to the President of the United States, using the cutting-edge technology of the day.

  • BBC Broadcast Room

    BBC Broadcast Room

    In order to broadcast the speeches made in the War Rooms, the BBC had their own equipment room, connected directly to the Broadcasting House and Maida Vale studios.

Churchill's historic underground bunker

Room 60 in the Cabinet War Rooms. © IWM MH 531.
© IWM MH 531

On 31 May 1938, a group of basement offices in Whitehall formed a top-secret complex, known as the Cabinet War Rooms. Occupied by leading government ministers, military strategists and Prime Minister Winston Churchill, these rooms became the heart of Britain’s war machine.

Explore this historic site, which has remained exactly as it was left on the day the lights were switched off in 1945.

More at Churchill War Rooms

View of the Map Room at Churchill War Rooms
IWM SITE CWR 567
Permanent Display

Cabinet War Rooms: Map Room

Churchill War Rooms
Permanent

Image showing the inside of Churchill's bedroom in Churchill War Rooms
© IWM SITE CWR 207
Permanent Display

Cabinet War Rooms: Churchill’s Bedroom

Churchill War Rooms
Permanent

The Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, inspects a 'Tommy gun' while visiting coastal defence positions near Hartlepool. 31 July 1940.
© IWM H 2646A
Permanent Display

Churchill Museum

Churchill War Rooms