Opening Hours
The Churchill War Rooms open every day of the year except the three days over Christmas. Entry is by timed ticket, so the "hours" really mean the window your slot can fall in — the last one goes an hour before closing.
| Days | Every day (Mon–Sun) |
|---|---|
| Hours | 9:30am – 6:00pm |
| Last entry | 5:00pm |
| Closed | 24, 25 & 26 December |
Hours occasionally shift for late-summer evenings or private events, so the time you pick at checkout is the one that counts. If a slot shows as available when you book, it's running.
Once you're through the door there's no time limit — the "last entry" only governs when you go in, not when you're kicked out. Turn up at 5pm and you can still take your time.
War Rooms Entry Prices
Standalone adult entry to the War Rooms with the audio guide starts at £29.75, covering the underground rooms and the Churchill Museum next door. On our guided WWII walking tour (from £30 per person) you can add War Rooms entry as an option at checkout, so the walk and the bunker are booked together.
| Walking tour, from | £30 per person (guided WWII walk) |
|---|---|
| War Rooms entry | From £29.75 — optional add-on |
| Children | Discounted rates; under-5s usually free |
| Entry includes | War Rooms + Churchill Museum + audio guide |
| Ticket type | Mobile ticket · free cancellation up to 24h |
Booking the walk with entry added means one mobile ticket for the whole half-day, with live prices confirmed on the booking page.
The Quietest Times to Go
This place gets busy, and the rooms are narrow — a coach party ahead of you can turn the Map Room corridor into a shuffle. Two windows are noticeably calmer:
- The first slot at 9:30am, before the tour groups arrive.
- After about 3pm, when the morning crowd has cleared out.
Midweek beats the weekend, and term time beats the school holidays by a mile. If you only get a weekend, take the earliest slot you can and you'll still get a good run at it.
How Long You'll Need
Most people spend 90 minutes to two hours. The Cabinet War Rooms themselves take about 45 minutes to an hour at a steady pace with the audio guide; the Churchill Museum is where the time goes if you like a read — some breeze through it, others lose an hour. Budget two hours and you won't feel rushed.
Timed slots sell out on weekends and through the summer. Same-day tickets at the door aren't guaranteed and you'll queue for whatever's left — booking online locks your time and skips that line with a ticket on your phone.