Churchill War Rooms

A branch of the Imperial War Museum on Clive Steps, the Churchill War Rooms is the underground wartime command centre of Winston Churchill's government, now also a museum about his life.

The site is a wartime bunker in which Churchill and his government worked during the Second World War. Visitors walk through its corridors and rooms, including the Cabinet War Room and the Map Room, which have been preserved as they were when the doors were closed in 1945. The rooms show where Allied strategy was planned and where major decisions of the war were taken.

A separate museum, the Churchill Museum, traces his life across nine decades and his leadership. Personal belongings, including some of his paintings, help tell the story. A permanent display gathers the experiences of the men and women who worked underground, presented through letters, photographs and everyday objects.

The visit suits anyone interested in the Second World War and in how wartime government was run. It combines a tour of the bunker network with the museum galleries, so the historic rooms and the biographical displays can be seen in one visit.