Looks like we'll have time for one museum on our last day in London. We're doing Eating Europe London East End tour which ends about 2:30. I Just emailed Eating Europe for info where the tour ends. Friend has 3 maybe 4 hours before needing to head to LHR for a 9pm flight; she's flying home to Dublin. We'll need to stop at our hotel next to Victoria Station to pick up her luggage. (I leave the next morning for Paris.) She expressed an interest in seeing either Imperial War Museum or Churchill War Room. With the tight time frame, which do you prefer?
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8371 posts
Churchill War Rooms would be my first choice. It is closer to your hotel, has timed entry, and more convenient tube access. Although it is not hard to get to the Imperial War Museum by bus. I've been to both, and while I enjoyed the Imperial War Museum, the Churchill War Rooms would be my first choice in terms of visitor experience. I found that I can only take so much of the Imperial War Museum at a time. There is so much death and destruction depicted that I find I emotionally max out and just can't see any more there. The Churchill War Museum is a more compact site and things are very well presented.
Posted by
Sammamish WA
20 posts
I agree about the Churchill War Rooms. They are exactly as they were on VJ in 1945. They literally turned the lights out and left, not to be reopened until the 1970s dusty but undisturbed. The dust was removed. Nearby is Westminster Abbey dating back to 11th Century where Kings and Queens are crowned and buried.
Posted by
OP
Phoenix🌵
2731 posts
Thanks Carol! That’s exactly the info I am looking for. We’re going to the Churchill War Rooms.
Posted by
Twin Cities, Minnesota
1823 posts
Been to both. Like Imperial War Museum. Loved the Churchill War Rooms and have been at least 3 times. Their exhibit on Churchill is fabulous and you may not have time to see a lot of that, but the tour through the actual rooms doesn't take too long.