Cabinet War Rooms

Description:

• Visitors today can see the Cabinet War Rooms, the bombproof bunker suite of rooms, just as they were when abandoned by Winston Churchill and the British government at the end of World War II. You can see the Map Room with its huge wall maps; the Atlantic map is a mass of pinholes (each hole represents at least 1 convoy). Next door is Churchill's bedroom-cum-office, which has a bed and a desk with two BBC microphones on it -- he used these to broadcast the now-famous speeches that stirred the nation. Other rooms on the tour include the Chiefs of Staff map room, Churchill's kitchen and dining room, Sir Winston's private detectives' room, and Mrs. Churchill's bedroom. There's everything here from a pencil cartoon of Hitler to a mousetrap in the kitchen, to the original chamber pots under the beds (they had no flush toilets). The Transatlantic Telephone Room is little more than a broom closet, but it housed the Bell Telephone Company's special scrambler phone, called Sigsaly, and it was where Churchill conferred with Roosevelt. Visitors are provided with a step-by-step personal sound guide, providing a detailed account of each room's function and history.

  Also in the war rooms is the Churchill Museum, the world's first major museum dedicated to the life of Sir Winston Churchill. It explores in various exhibits and photographs the saga of Britain's wartime prime minister. The opening marked the 40th anniversary of the prime minister's death. The museum, through its memorabilia, introduces visitors to the private man but also traces his development as a world leader.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010