Old War Office Building

The neo-Baroque building served as Churchill's Old War Office during World War II.

Nearby Attractions

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Downing Street
The home of some of the most important members of the British Government, including the Prime Minister himself.
Horse Guards Parade at St James's Park
An old tournament ground that now serves as an area for royal and military ceremonies.
Whitehall Place
Recognised as the centre of Her Majesty's Government and the seat of power for the United Kingdom.
Benjamin Franklin House
Here in his last residence, Benjamin Franklin was infiltrated by British agents in the 1790's and had his secrets from his time in France was passed to the British secret services.
The 40 Elephants Bar
The hotel's cocktail bar is inspired by the Victorian 40 elephants all-female gang, which operated in the area for over 75 years.
Great Scotland Yard Hotel
Tracing back to 997 AD, with 5 centuries occupancy by Scottish royalty (think Margaret, Queen of Scots) and later serving as HQ for the Met police - the GSY hotel is home to over a millennia of stories waiting to be told.

Related Tours

City of Spies: Espionage in London & Churchill War Rooms Private Tour

This exciting City of Spies private tour has been created exclusively to take you on a fascinating journey through London's espionage history during the Cold War, the origins of MI5 and MI6, and to learn about Churchill's role in bringing down the Nazi regime.

On your private city of spies tour of London, you will:

  • Learn London's rich history of espionage at St Ermin's Hotel, where Winston Churchill's meeting known as 'Setting Europe Ablaze’ occurred in 1940, and walk past the Caxton bar located inside this famous spy hotel used by intelligence service officials to meet up;
  • Discover the stories of double agents known as the Cambridge Five: Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, John Cairncross, and Sir Anthony Blunt;
  • Hear the plots to overthrow the government at some of the most powerful institutions in Westminster, including Downing Street, Whitehall, and Westminster Palace;
  • Learn about the extraordinary life of Sir Mansfield Cumming, the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) first director, known as MI6
  • Explore the Churchill War Rooms with your private guide and get up close to the Cabinet Room;
  • See the Map Room, the beating heart of the war rooms;
  • And discover the Telephone Room that allowed direct communication between the US and the UK government.


Your tour guide will take you on a journey through the streets of London to uncover the main characters and buildings that shaped the history of the world while telling you stories that seem more like Le Carré novels than real life.

After your walking tour, you will visit the Churchill War Rooms, located below the streets of Westminster. An underground network of bunkers that functioned as British wartime offices, planning, and map rooms.

It was here that much of Allied intelligence and strategy was discussed and planned in WWII, as well as serving as a place of refuge and shelter for the government during the blitz. Your guide will give a detailed and fascinating tour of this place that has been left exactly as it was since 1944. 

Churchill War Rooms: Westminster Underground Bunkers Private Tour

Step into the world of Wartime London in the late 1930s and 1940s, where you will hear the stories of larger-than-life Winston Churchill, explore the underground bunkers that British wartime officers used during that time known as the Churchill War Rooms and learn about the resilience of Londoners during that time.

On your private Churchill War Rooms tour, you will:

  • Enjoy the personalised attention of a knowledgeable private guide throughout your tour;
  • See the Winston Churchill memorial and the partially bombed buildings from the blitz;
  • Stop at some of the most iconic buildings in London: Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Downing Street, The Cenotaph, the Old War Office, MI6 headquarters and the Gurkha Soldier memorial;
  • Visit the Churchill War Rooms and travel back in time to the times of the Second World War while your tour guide gives you a private tour of these underground bunkers;
  • Explore the Cabinet Room, hidden under the streets of Westminster and hear the stories about those who worked and lived here;
  • Discover the Transatlantic Telephone Room, which connected Churchill directly to the US president and find out how they disguised this tiny room;
  • See the BBC Broadcast Room, where all speeches were televised from;
  • Visit the Map Room, used around the clock to collate information for King George VI, Churchill, and the armed forces;
  • Walk the Churchill War Rooms' top-secret winding corridors and get a glimpse of what life would have been from 1939 to 1945.


Begin exploring the heart of London’s parliamentary district. This was the brain and nerve centre for British and Allied forces in Europe and abroad. See the Winston Churchill memorial, and learn about his adolescence, personal life and fascinating rise to government.

Your guide will take you to see the partially destroyed buildings from the blitz and visit The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and the Prime Minister's residence. Next visit The iconic Cenotaph war memorial, special service headquarters and Ghurka memorial.

After your walking tour, dive into the Churchill War Rooms, an underground network of bunkers that functioned as British wartime offices, planning and map rooms. It was here that much of Allied intelligence and strategy was discussed and planned in WWII, as well as serving as a place of refuge and shelter for the government during the blitz.

As you explore the massive layer of concrete known as “The Slab”, you discover that the Churchill War Rooms actually consists of two separate museums.

The Cabinet War Rooms, whose centrepiece is the fascinating Map Room, detail the strategic and tactical exploits of the war room as a whole. This is where Churchill held no less than 115 cabinet meetings, hammering out the details of Allied offensives across Europe.

The Churchill Museum unpicks the life and works of the great man himself, from his early childhood to his state funeral. Particularly interesting is the large collection of passionately devoted letters he wrote to his wife Clementine, exposing the softer side of this famously tough statesman.

Your tour finishes in the War Rooms, and you are free to continue exploring at your own leisure or ask your guide for recommendations for food, including Churchill’s local pub.

City of Spies: Discover London's Espionage History Private Tour

Immerse yourself in one of the world’s largest centres of international trade, finance, geopolitics, and espionage history. Journey through London's role in the Cold War, the origins of MI5, MI6 and Churchill's role in WWII bringing down the Nazi regime.

On your private City of Spies tour, you will:

  • Experience the worlds of fiction and reality, uncovering hidden places, bunkers, and luxury hotels.
  • Hear stories of double agents and plots to overthrow the government at some of the most powerful institutions in Westminster, including Downing Street, Whitehall, and Westminster Palace.
  • Follow in the footsteps of the key double agents in the Cold War, such as Kim Philby, Donald Maclean, and Guy Burgess - and ask if there was an unidentified "Fifth Man".
  • Learn about the extraordinary life of Sir Mansfield Cumming, the first director of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), known as MI6.
  • Finish your tour with a drink included at the Caxton Bar where, during WWII, MI5, SIS and Naval Intelligence Division officers such as 007 author Ian Fleming himself met their agents.


In this unique experience, you will walk by and learn about many of the protagonist buildings and sites where these world-changing events have taken place.

Your guide will mesmerise you with stories that seem more like Le Carré novels than real life. Of course, these stories are not confined to the Second World War and Cold War History, as foreign operatives in London continue to make splashes across global headlines.

Venture out onto the streets of Westminster and discover the area's colourful history of espionage, dirty politics and death. The toppling of regimes, battle against ideology and revolution have all been orchestrated and exercised along these streets. Revisit the setting of infamous covert operations, traitorous meetings involving double agents and murder plots.

Along your walking tour, you will retrace the steps of Britain's most famous spies, enjoy the remarkable tales that later inspired Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels, and hear of the extraordinary success of the Cambridge Spy ring.

Come and enjoy this unique experience, but please be discreet, the information given on this tour is classified...

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