Arriving in London 4/15 with 2 sixteen yr olds. Whats the Thistle Victoria like ( be honest pls) and what are some fun spots for this age girls. Good spot for vintage clothing and moderate priced restaurant suggestions? Suggestions for theatre?<BR>All your ideas welcome!

To buy theatre tickets, go to the Half-Price Booth in Leicester Square, which is in the heart of the theatre district. Don't be fooled by all the &quot;half-price theatre ticket&quot; shops NEAR Leicester Square - wait till you are in the middle of the square, which has the real ticket building in the middle. We saw the D'Oyly Carte's Mikado last summer with front row seats at half price. If you're not sure which play to see, you can always trust the National Theatre, the top repertory theatre in London. It has several theatres in one big building on the south bank of the Thames. There's a cafe inside as well as a fine bookshop and a good restaurant upstairs. If you want to look sophisticated, do as the Londoners do and book a drink in advance at the bar for the intermission. Buy the 16-year-olds an ice cream!

I always like to recommend the record shops for the teens (which I enjoy as well.) My favorite is the HMV shop on Oxford Street near the Bond St. tube stop. There's another down the street, and a Virgin Records at the Tottenham Court Rd. tube stop. You might pick up a copy of &quot;Time Out&quot; and tune in the local radio stations while you're there. The kids would love that. Don't miss the Hard Rock Cafe! (Hyde Park Corner tube stop.)

Collect or buy guide book showing London bus and underground connections for specific destinations. Buy travel passes. You may need passport size photos. National Gallery has machines you carry. Recordings describe paintings. Tate has tours. Shop Harrod's. Find a &quot;fish &amp; chips&quot; for dinner or lunch. If the weather permits eat outside. Opera or Ballet, sometimes, reduced view seats are available. There was a clothing shop near Victoria Station with vintage clothing. Get up early, visit the museums, maybe an afternoon nap and then the evening. Try the Mandarin Restaurant in China Town.

I think Oxford Street has to be a must for 16 year-old girls with clothes shops like Topshop, New Look, Benetton and River Island. Also the cafes in the department stores like Debenhams, Selfridges, etc, will provide a moderately priced lunch venue without having to resort to the fast-food chains.

Definitely purchase that week's &quot;Time Out&quot; when you arrive (buy it in the airport to look at on the way into London) In fact, buy two, one for each girl.<BR><BR>Time Out lists (and reviews) EVERYTHING that's going on in London that week: sports, theatre, pop music, classical music, museums, even television and radio broadcasts. It is a must and may help open up some possibilities you wouldn't otherwise consider. Also it's a great way to let the girls have some real input into the design of the trip.<BR><BR>One thing that is lots of fun is walking tours (listed in Time Out) through different neighborhoods or based on certain themes. There are even some evening tours (Jack the Ripper, and others) that can be a fun way to spend an evening if you tire of the theater.<BR><BR>Central London, while certainly a city with the regular dangers etc, is not as dangerous as, say, downtown NY. It is not absurd to get the girls go out on their own for a bit. If you feel antsy, it's often easy to rent a cell phone for a day or two, so you can call them if you're uneasy.<BR><BR>In terms of shopping, going to Covent Garden Market (open every day I believe) can be fun. It's certainly somewhat touristy but not entirely. If you want something more gritty, (and perhaps more vintage and lower-priced trendy clothes) take the tube up to Camden Town.<BR><BR>Best advice for people going to London: Be really careful when you're crossing the street --- both in London and then when you get home again.<BR><BR>This may sound silly, but we are all taught to look to our right then to our left when crossing and we are taught it very young and very adamantly. It can feel as difficult to turn your head the other way as it feels to hold your breath too long. Your brain just fights you. Then, when you get home, your by-now-mixed-up brain may look the wrong way for a couple of days.<BR><BR>

Second Camden Market for 16 year olds, but be very careful of purses and bags - its crowded and a favourite place to target tourists. Selfridges and Harvey Nichols are much trendier places to shop than tourist trap Harrods - yes food hall looks great there, but the other two shops are much more fashionable, but do not expect Selfridges to be cheap for lunch - Debenhams, yes, not Selfridges. Yes, you too can go to a world wide chain restaurant like Hard Rock Cafe and queue up outside for an over priced burger - never worked that one out.

As other posters have mentioned, Camden Market in Camden Town is a popular destination for both &quot;new&quot; moderate clothes and some vintage.<BR><BR>They might like to see the Royal wedding gowns on display at Kensington Palace.<BR><BR>For theater, people have liked the production of &quot;My Fair Lady&quot;. Mama Mia is also very popular for teens and adults.<BR><BR>For moderate priced eats, there are several very good Italian/pizza chains. ASK is one that I thought was good. The Chinese food in London is generally very good (as is the Indian).<BR><BR>There's an old thread called &quot;teens in London&quot; that will provide more suggestions.