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Churchill War Rooms

If we purchase tickets online ahead of time to visit the Churchill War Rooms, will we save time? We are trying to avoid time spent standing in lines, and I couldn’t tell from their website if this would help. Also what would you estimate the time it would take for a couple moderately interested in WWII and Churchill to view this museum? Thank you!

Posted by
40 posts

We were there in 2012. It was a wonderful place. Spent about 2hours. Be prepared to walk down stairs at the entrance.

Posted by
338 posts

I agree with the other posts. I visited in July last year and bought tickets at the door with no line to speak of (4 people in front of me). Two hours is about right for a decent visit. I spent a little longer because my kids, two girls aged 5 and 7 at the time, got totally hooked on the Churchill museum portion and the kids audioguide that goes with it.

Posted by
32521 posts

When we went a few years ago we loved the place. We walked straight in, no queues, probably late June. I think we were there about 2 hours.

Posted by
2599 posts

The War Rooms were amongst my favourite sites visited in London; I was there in August at mid-afternoon after Westminster Abbey and it was not crowded, probably 5 people ahead of me in line. 2 hours seems to be the norm for a good visit.

Posted by
222 posts

I was there last August and there was a bit of a line - took maybe 10 min. to get in - but it was so worth it - I'm not a big fan of museums but this one was a real exception for me - I can't wait to go again

Posted by
702 posts

Same thing for us in May - about a 5 minute wait to get in, we spend about an hour and a half there. It was very interesting & definitely worth a visit.

Posted by
5678 posts

On a Saturday in July I had no wait. It was in the morning, but not bright and early. :)

And, it's definitely a great museum to visit.

Pam

Posted by
3387 posts

Similar story from me...went in early August, waited for about 10 minutes, and we were in!
We spent about 90 minutes seeing everything. The war rooms themselves have an audio tour that explains everything you are looking at and uses original recordings of Churchill and others who worked there, to bring it to life. Well worth spending the time listening to. The other part of the exhibit is an extremely thorough look at the life of Winston Churchill. Depending on your level of interest you could spend 30 minutes or 4 hours in this part of the War Rooms!

Posted by
1221 posts

Note that they're on the list for the London Pass, so if you're doing a few other sites in the area like Westminster Abbey, it might be worth it to buy the pass instead of single admissions.

Posted by
99 posts

Let me join the chorus: My wife and I were there barely a month ago and all but strolled right in with no lines. One point to add, however. When you make the transition from the War Rooms to the Churchill Museum make sure you head to far back of the room in order to access all the fascinating information on Churchill in chronological order. The layout of the room leaves something to be desired and it doesn't take much to find yourself in the middle of the 1930s without having seen any of the earlier exhibits.