hilaryc

I want to take my 17 year old son to Europe in April and cannot decide what would be a great experience for us. London? Italy? Maybe even Turkey? It would be a mother/son trip for 5 days.

zeppole

Have you asked him what he's like to do? Can you share with us the answer -- or anything about his interests? Music, sports, art, science? There is no one place that is a great experience for everybody.

AlessandraZoe

To add onto zeppole's question: Do you two SHARE any interests?

jubilada

My suggestion is to put him in charge of researching the trip initially so he can search out what appeals.

otherchelebi

Maybe you can tell him about the different possibilities:

- London : Theatre (lady in black strongly recommended), museums like the Smithsonian and Madame tussauds and the Tower of london. Good possibilities of different cuisines, thai, vietnam, indian, chinese, italian, french, etc.
weather will be rather miserable, rainy and cold. People not very friendly

- Rome : interesting ruins. good pizza (but not as rich in toppings as in America) and pasta. Nice cafees. nice walking streets. people watching, museums, religious sites.
Possible side trips by train to both sea side and medieval towns. Sightseeing by scooter in smaller seaside towns.
Weather can be rainy but warm enough.

- Istanbul : interesting ruins and architecture. museums, palaces, bazaars, lots of restaurants and bars where you can take a 17 year old, with no questions about ID. cruises and scenic views, being able to move between two continents.
A different cuisine which young Americans usually like very much, in addition to all other world cuisines. easier to meet people his age and friendly people.

Mimar

otherchelebi must mean the British Museum in London, not the Smithsonian. But there are a lot of museums in London for all interests. And I've found the people very friendly. Look at all the options at London Walks: www.walks.com

In addition to medieval towns, you can do a side trip to Pompeii from Rome. (Long day, though.) Or settle for Ostia Antica, the ruins of Rome's ancient port, which some people like better.

I don't think I'd recommend a foreign teenager driving a scooter in Italy. A car with an experienced driver is bad enough.

Looking at www.weatherbase.com, Rome seems slightly warmer than Istanbul, but also rainier.

Fashionista

Turkey is interesting as a cross roads between the East and the West. Its history and culture reflect this and Istanbul in particular is a stunning city to visit. Its a place to have fun as well as to make you think.

suec1

I'm wondering how your son does with "different" - IMO London is a LITTLE different than the US, Italy sort of a happy medium and the food should be easy there as most 17yr olds would like pasta and pizza, and then there is Istanbul which is quite a bit different than the US. Each destination has plenty of interesting sights for 5 days, no matter what his interests - art, architecture, history etc. (tho only London would be a good theatre destination)So I would take into consideration how much you want him to stretch as far as a different culture - some kids enjoy "different" more than others.

awayfromitall

Is it 5 days + 2 days travel time?

Fashionista

otherchelebi Just noticed your comment: <<People not very friendly>> regarding London.

Think this is a misunderstanding between our cultures. The English are incredibly friendly but in our own way. Its not up front big smiles to strangers. An American living in London commented that you only know if you have truly made friends when you find out if they turn up to your funeral. Its different rather than unfriendly.

griz_fan

I just got back from a father/daughter (she's 15) trip to Ireland, London, and Paris. So, a bit of insight into the cross-generational trip. While all 3 were amazing experiences, London definitely stands out as our favorite, and I would highly recommend London for someone traveling with a teen. There is just so many options. Sure, there's the museums and historical sites, but there's the West End theaters, shopping (Camden Lock market is an event in itself for a teen), the list goes on. Plus, we found London to be very clean, safe and easy to get around. Regarding the comment from otherchelebi that the people are not very friendly - I have to strongly disagree. We experienced quite the opposite during our six days in London. Coming from a small-town Western US background, I realize that people have different expectations for friendly depending on where you are at. So, coming from that background, I would still rate the people of London as very friendly, just in a polite and somewhat reserved way. On more than one occasion, we got ourselves lost while exploring and had people offer to help us find our way.

So - one more vote for London.

awayfromitall

I think an important question also is where you're flying from. You have a short time so seeing if your airport has a direct flight to any of these places may help you narrow it down. For us, that was London. We visited London with an 11-year-old and a 13-year-old and we all loved the city and thought the people were very happy and friendly. It'd be a place I could easily live. If you get bored with the city, there are also lots of day trips you can take.

lovethecape

We took a five day trip to London with teens over Thanksgiving break. The flight time was only 5 or 6 hours from Boston with a direct flight which was very manageable. My sons did nap for several hours on arrival before we could coax them out of the hotel. They loved the city. Highlights include the Tower of London, the Churchill Museum, "Oliver", a bike site-seeing tour through the London parks (Fat Bikes?), and a Christmas Carnival at Hyde Park. However, we all had museum overload by the time we visited the British Museum on our last full day.

We are now planning a longer trip to Rome and the Amalfi Coast area for next summer since we'll have more time to make the flight time and dollars more worthwhile.

Still, as stated previously, your son may have a preference for one country over another.

otherchelebi

Sorry about the terminology. I probably should have used another word. i did not want to say "unfriendly" when i wrote "not very friendly". please do not be offended.

I meant, aloof, distant, keeping a private space, not interested in chatting with you and getting to know you.

However, all this would apply more to Canada and possibly Manhattanwhere people have huge bubbles of personal spaces around them.

and it was really in comparison to Italy and Turkey where there is very little or no private space, people who do not speak any English will try to communicate with you, and get to know you, and also tell you about themselves.

I must have visited London maybe a hundred times and cannot think of one occasion where a shopkeeper, a salesman, a doorman or a waiter has deigned to recognize me although i frequented his establishment in the City frequently.

In chicago, which i have visited fewer times, i even met taxi drivers who remembered me, and in Turkey, the waiters and the housekeeping staff at Lila Motel which we visited after twelve months remembered the names of our children who were not with us, and my wife remembered how many children each had and which part of the country they came from.

This is what i meant by "friendly", not "responding when you ask directions" which is a move of respect and ethics.

On the other hand, some of the friendly people you meet in places like Turkey may not be very respectful or ethical. but you cannot have everything.

Should i remove the wedding photograph that i use on my profile? Is it disrespectful? Am i being unnecessarily friendly with the Posters on Fodor's? After all nobody else does it.

Michel_Paris

Here's what I might do. Go to bookstore and buy the Fodor's Guide to London, Paris, Rome, Turkey/Istanbul.

Tell him that he can go to any one. All he needs to do is research and tell you why and what he wants to see.

In doing this, he gets what he wants...and you may find he has the year after's trip planned too

Fashionista

otherchelebi I'm not offended! but wanted to put perceived unfriendliness into context.

Don't take the photo off your profile - I think its lovely.

I agree we may be aloof, but if you look beyond first impressions we are nice. Honestly! May be borrow a dog next time you visit. Everyone will talk to you then!

nytraveler

You make him sound like a piece of luggage. Let him do some research and decide what he would like to see- then the wto of you can pick a place both like.

If he won;t do the research leave him home - he'd be a drag anyway.

otherchelebi

Fashionista, words are cruel, crueler than April, ".....breeding lilacs out of the dead land." TSE.

Hilary, i think it's great that you will be sharing this trip with your son. Now that our daughters are 25 and 30, it is so much harder to be with them to witness that gleam of delight in their eyes when they are happy with something that you have helped them to experience.

In your place, i would not miss this for the world.
- If he is very artistic, take him to Rome
- If he likes the theatre and also will feel much more comfortable being at a place where people speak something similar to his native language take him to london.
- If he likes adventure, nature, water and current political affairs, take him to istanbul.

If you have not told him about the three choices, it may even be better. Let it be a surprise so that there are no blames and regrets afterwards.

also, it may always be easier for him to make it to london or Rome later, but not as probable that he will get to Istanbul.

If you pick istanbul and start another thread with your and his likes and dislikes, your budget and the month of your travel, i will try to assist in finding suitable lodging and draw up a flexible itinerary for you, including fun things to share with each other.

Fashionista

otherchelebi

The Waste land is, if I remember correctly, partly about the moral decay of Europe - I hope you have not misinterpreted my words - in my country everyone loves dogs and if you walk with one we all stop and talk and pet. Sometimes I think we care more for animals than we do for people.

For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds; Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.

zeppole

People are animals.