5 day London Itinerary - Any Comments?
Jul 31st, 2006 | 07:38 AM
#21
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 11
Likes: 0
We took our kids, a girl and boy, to London when they were 15. We put them in charge of learning to read the underground map to get to the places we wanted to see and it helped to engage them in the travel process. They liked Hampton Court. We took a picnic with us (from our shopping day at Harrod's) and after the tour ate in the gardens. They had fun in the garden maze. They really liked the Tower of London, the London Eye, Westminster Abbey and the Cabinet War Rooms. We also went on the tour of the Globe Theater becasue they had recently studied some Shakespeare and they enjoyed that. They got a big kick out of the drivers in the London cabs, getting lost while walking in Chelsea, and remembering to look in the other direction for traffic. A big highlight for us all was the diversity of restaurants for dinner and going to the theater in the evening. Have fun.
Jul 31st, 2006 | 02:37 PM
#23
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,099
Likes: 0
I second the recommendations to see the Cabinet War Rooms. And spring for the extra $$ for the audio tour. We saw it on our second trip to London last year and both DH and I loved it.
While I'd visit St. Pauls (they have an 8 a.m. service on Sunday), I'd skip that dome for going on the London Eye.
http://www.londoneye.com/
Happy travels,
Jules
While I'd visit St. Pauls (they have an 8 a.m. service on Sunday), I'd skip that dome for going on the London Eye.
http://www.londoneye.com/
Happy travels,
Jules
Aug 1st, 2006 | 06:50 AM
#24
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 112
Likes: 0
I agree with PatrickLondon.
I would bump almost anything on your itinerary to go to the Imperial War Museum.
It's an amazing place. I think even families who have a member or two who aren't particularly enthusiastic about the idea of going to a history museum would find looking at all the "stuff" is more interesting than they thought. I can see it totally turning some kids into history nuts. And definitely engaging for adults as well.
But London is a city of living history, it doesn't just exist in museums. You can point out the section of Roman wall outside the Tower Hill tube stop -- don't just walk past it! The V&A deliberately left shell damage to its outside walls unrepaired, and you can point it out. Walk down a block in some neighborhoods -- if there's a 1960s building in an old block, it's likely that's where an old one was bombed (in fact, some important archaeological work was done on bomb sites, as it was the first time they had been uncovered!). The Monument tube stop is named for a monument to the Fire of London. (There's also a monument to the children killed in the Blitz somewhere. Sad.) People have been throwing things into the Thames for thousands of years.
If they're into this stuff, they may even be pointing it out to YOU!
I can't say enough about walking. You stumble upon so much. Getting an "A to Z" (that's Ay to Zed) which shows, AND INDEXES, every tiny little street, alley, mews and close is essential. They make them in sizes from tabletop to back-pocket.
Have a wonderful trip!
I would bump almost anything on your itinerary to go to the Imperial War Museum.
It's an amazing place. I think even families who have a member or two who aren't particularly enthusiastic about the idea of going to a history museum would find looking at all the "stuff" is more interesting than they thought. I can see it totally turning some kids into history nuts. And definitely engaging for adults as well.
But London is a city of living history, it doesn't just exist in museums. You can point out the section of Roman wall outside the Tower Hill tube stop -- don't just walk past it! The V&A deliberately left shell damage to its outside walls unrepaired, and you can point it out. Walk down a block in some neighborhoods -- if there's a 1960s building in an old block, it's likely that's where an old one was bombed (in fact, some important archaeological work was done on bomb sites, as it was the first time they had been uncovered!). The Monument tube stop is named for a monument to the Fire of London. (There's also a monument to the children killed in the Blitz somewhere. Sad.) People have been throwing things into the Thames for thousands of years.
If they're into this stuff, they may even be pointing it out to YOU!
I can't say enough about walking. You stumble upon so much. Getting an "A to Z" (that's Ay to Zed) which shows, AND INDEXES, every tiny little street, alley, mews and close is essential. They make them in sizes from tabletop to back-pocket.
Have a wonderful trip!
