Time needed in Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms?

It always depends on your level of interest. At the CWR you're dealing with a two-part experience. You start in the war rooms. Quarters are tight there, and there's an audio guide, so people tend to move at a relatively consistent, measured pace. I don't recall lengthy posted explanations that would take a long time to read. I didn't pay attention to h o w long I spent in the war rooms, but I think it was no more than an hour. You're in an area where historic events occurred, but you're mostly looking at things like desks, cots and twriters.

Then you move into the information-rich Churchill Museum section. There's a lot of information to absorb, and there are video clips to watch on small monitors. You can spend hours there.

I was at the site for over half a day and could have stayed longer in the Churchill Museum section. However, I spend much more time than average at museums related to 20th-century history. Unless you're as interested as I am in that period, others' time estimates are likely to to be more useful to you.

I think if you schedule 1/2 a day at most major London attractions you won’t be far off. If you find you have extra time, then have a list of “if there is time” places in mind.

Everyone’s interest levels are different. I will say that I find the verger’s tour at Westminster Abbey well worth the investment in time and money.

Carol’s advice is once again spot on and acraven gave you a wonderfully complete description of what the CWR is like.

Are you including the Diamond Jubilee Galleries while at the Abbey? I highly recommend seeing them if you’re able. We arrived at the Abbey for a 9:30 entry and saw the Abbey
(only using audio headset tour) and the Diamond Jubilee galleries afterward. We finished our time there about 11:30 and headed to the cafe for lunch because we knew we wanted to eat before heading to the War Rooms for 1:00 tickets. In retrospect I think I would have pushed the War Room entry back to 2 to give us a bit more time to walk around the outside of the Abbey and/or parts that were crowded.

The War Rooms could take 3 hours easily- with the two “parts” there is so much to see if both are of interest to you. They are both such impressive places of British history. Enjoy!

Good info. We were in Westminster twenty years ago, I believe there was no entrance fee at that time. My wife thinks we spent the better part of a day in there, it is a fantastic place to visit.

Our plans for next year have changed, looks like two weeks in London as part of the trip. CWR is part of the plan. Re the war rooms, do you move at your own pace or are you kind of pushed along gently?

Thanks for all of the great advice.
Regarding the Verger's tour at Westminster Abbey, do you purchase that at The Abbey or can you buy it when you purchase your entry ticket?

If I schedule the entry tickets for 9:30, how much earlier than that do I need to get there? I assume there are many people that have signed up for that entry time and there will be a line.

We got there about 9:10 and there was a line, but they’ve got the entries down to a science and we went through very quickly. They have a coffee/snacks cart outside that offers refreshments. I forgot to mention our time allotment for the Tower. We also had 10:00 tickets (the earliest one as we went on a Sunday). Got there at 9:30. Very large line with lots of tour groups. The line went fast, again. We spent about two hours - walked the wall, saw the Crown Jewels and took our time, but we didn’t partake in a Yeoman’s tour. We could have stayed longer I’m sure, but we had tickets for the Sky Garden and wanted to go to The Southbank area. I would say plan at least 2.5 hours for it, more if you have time. It’s fascinating!

You purchase the verger’s tour just after you enter the Abbey. Worth every penny!

Carol Now Retired, Thanks for that info.

Mustlovedogs,
Thanks so much for your info. We too want to see the Sky Garden after the Tower of London. Just trying to schedule everything.