We are spending 3 weekdays (a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) in London proper this summer before heading out the surrounding area. Family of 4 with active teenagers. We have never been to London before. Seems to be some very London knowledgable people on this site. Would anyone like to take a stab at putting together a three day itinerary?<BR><BR>All input appreciated.

I just had a look at the Fodor's &quot;Best in 3 Days Itinerary&quot; for London. I am by no means one of the &quot;very London knowledgable people&quot;, but Fodor's itinerary seems to provide a pretty good overview in a short period of time. It might be a good place to start and then you could just tweak it to your own family's tastes and preferences.<BR><BR>The 3 day itinerary is available under &quot;Features&quot; at:<BR><BR>http://www.fodors.com/miniguides/mgr...tion=london@91

Three days will barely let you scratch the surface of all that exciting city has to offer so I second the suggestion of PLJ to take at look at Fodor's 3 day itinerary and then tailor it to your and your childrens' interests. Since this is your first visit to London and you have such limited time you will probably enjoy just hitting the major tourist attractions. Many teenagers aren't interested in museums but you should at least spend an hour or two in the British Museum if for no other reason than to see the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles. There is no entrance fee to the British Museum. They simply ask for a 2 pound donation. Another don't miss is the Tower of London. Try to get there when it first opens. You'll probably need at least a couple of hours for the Tower. Many, many people pooh-pooh Madame Tussauds but your teenagers will probably love it. Get advance tickets from your hotel concierge and then by-pass the long line waiting to purchase tickets and sail right in. This is another &quot;get there early&quot; site. I recently took my mother for her first visit to London and Madame Tussauds was her favorite, seconded by the London Eye (and she's afraid of heights!). We went on the London Eye toward the end of our visit and I was glad we waited. That way we had a much better feel for where we had been and could pick out from the air many of the sites we had visited.

Hi<BR>I have a long file on London; if you'd like to see it, email me at<BR>[email protected]<BR><BR>I'd also suggest the Fodor's itinerary and a good guidebook as a place to start. Run the ideas past your family and have each person pick at least one thing they absolutely must do. Others have to go along with it, unless on occasion you split up into subgroups for a few hours.<BR>That way no one will be terribly disappointed.<BR><BR>The usual sights for a first visit--choose what interests you<BR><BR>The Tower (take the tour)<BR>Mme Tussaud<BR>Br Museum<BR>Br Library (great a/v displays, including music)<BR>National Gallery<BR>National Portrait Gallery<BR>St Paul's Cathedral<BR>Churchill's Cabinet War Rooms (don't know if it's on everyone's recommended itinerary, but it is always on mine)<BR>Westminster Abbey (take the tour)<BR>Parliament (if you want a tour if you have to queue up near the St Stephen's entrance)<BR><BR>And I'll bet your kids would like having a ( relatively expensive) burger at the Hard Rock Cafe<BR>Bring cash for the gift shop

wife and i visited london for the first time last spring. 7 days going 10 hours a day and we didn't make a dent. we loved it so much, we're taking our teens in june. use the search tool to sample london itineraries posted on this site. here's one of many helpful links: http://www.londonvisions.com/index.htm; top of our list for teens: open top tour bus on first day for city orientation(you can hop on and off all day for one price; they take credit cards at their posted stops); tower of london (plan 4-5 hours; get tickets in at the tower tube stop to avoid long lines); many &quot;london walks&quot; (their brochures are everywhere; you show up at the appointed time and place, hand the guide 4# per person and go); british museum (lots of guided tours); victoria and albert museum (our favorite). hope this helps a little. have a wonderful time.

on your first day - do one of the Hop-on-hop-off tours - spending extra time at the Tower of London. Then you can decide from there where to go back to on the next day.<BR><BR>(Do the beefeater tour at the Tower - the teenagers should love the deception , deceit, and bloody history of the Tower....)

If your arrival day is a travel day--and you are feeling jetlagged--my advice is shake off the cobwebs and put outdoor activities on your adgenda. (Assuming the weather cooperates, that is). Take a boat tour, go on the London Eye ferris wheel, ride to top of a double decker bus, and walk. Trying to stay awake while touring a quiet museum or a darkened cathedral just doesn't cut it.<BR><BR>An orientation tour is a good way to at least get a glimpse of many important sights in London. Like others have said, you'll only scatch the surface in 3 days, but the hop-on/hop-off bus tour does allow you to cover a lot of ground. Another great orientation is a river tour--your kids may enjoy the amphibious &quot;Frog Tours&quot; that traverse city streets and the Thames in one unique vehicle.<BR><BR>Here's my top London ten list for families with active teens:<BR><BR>1. Tower of London--arrive early to avoid the longest lines and plan to spend several hours. (you could also write away for tickets to the nightly Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower).<BR><BR>2. Cabinet War Rooms--Probably the best World War II related sight in London. Many kids enjoy exploring this underground bunker, Churchill's wartime headquarters.<BR><BR>3. London Eye--the best view of London from on high. Going at sunset is really cool.<BR><BR>4. Science Museum--depending on ages and interests of your teens, this may be the single best museum stop in London.<BR><BR>5. Westminster Abbey--OK, this may not be at the top of the list for teens, but it is a very historic spot and something the family as a whole should see.<BR><BR>6. Changing of the guard--every tourist sees it, but you might want to bypass the Buckingham Palace ceremony in favor of the mounted horseguards at Whitehall. Much easier to see, less crowded, and a bit more impressive IMHO.<BR><BR>7. Walking tour--spend at least some time walking through London's great parks: Hyde Park, Kensington Garden, Regents Park, and/or St. James's Park. <BR><BR>8. Shopping--Harrod's is big, overrun with tourists, and heck, it is just a department store. I suspect teens would rather look at the specialty shops in and around someplace like Covent Garden or in the Chelsea neighborhood.<BR><BR>9. British Museum--if you are museum-goers, and want to tackle one of the best (and largest) then, and only then, head for the British Museum. It is amazing, but almost overwhelming.<BR><BR>10. Theater--how about &quot;The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged&quot;? It is a riot. Fans of the legendary rock group Queen may opt for the musical &quot;We Will Rock You&quot;. London has the largest English-language theater district in the world...your family will find something to enjoy.<BR><BR>Hope this helps<BR><BR>David White<BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com <BR> <BR><BR>

The children may have different interests. Since you have only 3 days, consider separating for 1 day, 1 parent to a child. That way, you will spend 2 days seeing things that everyone likes. The 3rd day could be for shopping, military museums, art museums, etc. Some of these places are boring for some. Of course, you don't have to split up if everyone wants to see the same thing.

My kids were 14, 11, and 9 when we went. I think their favorite attraction was actually the Tube (certainly cheap entertainment). In the five years since we went they have impressed several teachers with the fact that they actually touched the Rosetta Stone (OK, I know you're not supposed to touch it, but they don't have a case around it or a rope or anything). One of my kids got a no homework pass for knowing the story of some guy who got beheaded at the Tower and then they had to sew his head back on because they forgot to paint his portrait before they whacked him. Well, it was hysterically funny when the yeoman warder told the story. Definitely don't miss the Tower, and definitely take a Yeoman Warder tour. They really enjoyed the buskers in Covent Garden too. Your kids will love London. Beware, they will pester you to take them back there for years after your trip.

I expect you're already doing this, but why not get the youngsters doing some research and planning for you? They could start with the guide books and websites like www.londontouristboard.co.uk and www.timeout.co.uk, and follow up all the useful hints already given - there are websites for most of them.<BR><BR>They don't have to take over all the decisions but they could save you some time, keyboarding and hair-tearing.

You have gotten some great advice, so I know you will have a blast.<BR><BR>Just an update from Annam's comment about the Rosetta Stone. I was there last month, and it is most certainly under a big, bulletproof glass case, and you cannot touch it. So, don't get your kids' hopes up about that.<BR><BR>Have fun!

Our grandchildren (11 &amp; 14) loved the street entertainment at Covent Garden. The Transport Museum gift shop there has a good selection of uniquely London souvenirs - tube map on tee shirts, street signs, posters, etc

Thanx for all the useful info. Sounds like we are in for a great time!<BR><BR>

Just want to put in my recommendation for record shops. I prefer the HMV store on Oxford Street, the one near Bond St. tube stop. With the exchange rate, don't bother looking for titles you can get at home. But you may find some British compilations or other CD's produced in Europe that you can't get in the States. I know your teens would enjoy that.

It's been a few years since I was last in London, but I seem to remember that you got access to more of Westminster Abbey on Wednesdays - maybe you couldn't go all the way back to the Lady Chapel on other days? Anybody know what I'm thinking of?<BR><BR>Avoid the Tower Bridge. The view was great, but I thought it rather disappointing and touristy.<BR><BR>The Tower of London is fantastic. Too bad you won't be there on a Sunday (maybe next time, right?). You can actually get into the place for free (the White Tower may be extra, can't remember) if you go to church services in the Tower church on Sunday mornings. Which is a lot cooler than you think, since this is the parish for the Beefeaters and their families. Since you'll probably go on a weekday, be prepared - it can get kind of expensive, but it's so worth it.<BR><BR>I second the rec on the British Museum. The teenagers should get a kick out of the mummy room, too.<BR><BR>Buy a day pass, rather than individual tickets, if you plan on riding the tube a lot. This is, by far, the best way to get around town once you've oriented yourself with an open-decked bus tour.

I am SO disappointed to hear that the Rosetta Stone isn't just sitting there in the middle of the room all unencumbered anymore. i guess it's the world we live in. Even so, take your kids to see it, just so they can impress folks in World History when they come home. They will thank you. The London Transport Museum also has a cool simulator where you can pretend to drive a Tube train. My boys enjoyed that. Also, there is an information office there where they can answer any question your kids might want to ask about the Tube. I'll save you the trouble and tell you the longest escalator in the system (at least as of 6/98) is at the Angel station. Check it out. More cheap entertainment. Our most memorable and favorite souveneir of London was a little refrigerator magnet that says &quot;Mind the Gap&quot; on it. You'll se whey when you ride the Tube. Have fun and start saving now for your next trip to London. 3 days is not enough. Oh, and Wednesday was the only day you are allowed to take pictures in Westminster Abbey. In the early eveniing, I think.

Yikes! It's getting late. I meant to say You'll see why when you ride the Tube.

Just a note: the Wednesday evening opening of Westminster Abbey was discontinued about 2 years ago.

I just looked on the Abbey's website and it looks like the Wed evening opening has been reinstated from 6 to 7PM (it was stopped sometime in the summer of 2001 and had not resumed by last fall.)