Churchill's Britain at War Experience...opinions?
 

What is your opinion of Churchill's Britain at War Experience Museum on Tooley Street near London Bridge? With only a week in London, would this be on your list of places to visit?

I would think a visit to the real Cabinet War Rooms would be a better bet than the war experience place.

Definitely think the Cabinet War Rooms are better - I have been to both. The one on Tooley St was cheesy and not great. The War Rooms by Westminster were fantastic.

Thanks for the input. I've definitely got the War Rooms on my list. Just wondered if the other was worth a visit as well. I'm not into cheesy theatrics, if that's what it is.

Flagmom,

I definitely agree that the War Rooms are a must. If you are interested in reading about Churchill and the “special friendship” which he treasured with America, you might read FRANKLIN AND WINSTON: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship by Jon Meacham.


I listened to it on a CD that I got from the local library. It provides an excellent overview of Britain’s “finest hour.”

Enjoy London…

It's a commercial venture squeezed into former offices beside a railway line. The War Rooms are the real thing. The Imperial War Museum is the public museum - complete and free (though it has a sort of cheesy theatrics, in that you can walk into a replica of a WW2 air-raid shelter and feel a jolt or two to recorded sound-effects).

The Imperial War Museum is fantastic. The War rooms are also great. If you're interested in this history, I'd go to both since, as Patrick points out, the War Museum is free and in a lovely old building.

Where are the bunkers?

wrenwood: Do you mean the Cabinet War Rooms? They are in Horse Guards Rd very near your route from the Abbey to the Palace.

As I mentioned on your place thread... have a look using Google Maps Streetview.... http://goo.gl/maps/WNkR

As Janis says... you can walk there on your way to the palace...

...another vote for the Cabinet War Rooms...a fascinating place unlike any "museum"...real history.

SS

Loved both the Churchill War Rooms and the Imperial War Museum. Allow more time for touring the Imperial War Museum - it's huge! Interesting fact: the I. W. Museum is housed in the former insane asylum known as Bedlam!

On the walk back to the tube station from the War Museum, saw a round, blue historical plaque on a home that said, "William Bligh, Commander of the 'Bounty' lived here". It's actually across the street from the museum entrance area.

The Imperial War Museum has 2 "experiences": a WWII bomb shelter during the blitz and a WWI trench during a bombardment. Some may call these cheesy, but I think getting some idea of what it felt like in the middle of a war is a really worthwhile and memorable experience.

And another vote for the War Rooms, the real thing.