Churchill War Rooms

What to expect

What was once London's best kept secret is now open to all. Government went underground during London's darkest hours in World War Two when devastating bombing raids laid waste to much of the capital. The Churchill War Rooms, a hidden reinforced basement steps away from the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street, allow you to see exactly where Winston Churchill made his famous wartime broadcasts - and the rooms where plans for the war were hatched. Combined with a Westminster walking tour, this is an unmissable opportunity to understand wartime London.

London has many underground secrets - and you can visit the most famous of them. The Churchill War Rooms allow you to see how Britain was governed during the Second World War as bombs fell overhead. Named after Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led London through its darkest hours, this is the place politicians, admirals and generals could meet in relative safety.

Now open to the public as one of the five branches of the Imperial War Museum, the Churchill War Rooms are preserved today exactly as they were during World War Two. You'll see where Churchill made his most important wartime broadcasts to the British people - and to the rest of the world. Construction work began a year before the war in a civil service basement in Westminster, the heart of the British government and within easy walking distance of 10 Downing Street, the home and office of the Prime Minister to this day. Churchill and his ministers were determined to remain in the capital, whatever the devastating damage being done to London in frequent air raids. Today the Churchill War Rooms are an essential part of your London visit, best combined with a walk around Westminster above ground to see war memorials - and Downing Street as it is today.