Ideas on what to do for Granddaughter's 12th Birthday in London
 

Next June we will be taking our "family" (2 adult sons, their wives and our granddaughter) on a cruise to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. Our cruise ends in Southampton (the ship docks at 6AM so we have a full day and that evening) on our Granddaughter's 12th birthday and we thought we would do something very special to celebrate the event. Cost is not an issue and we would probably hire a driver/guide to provide any necessary transportation. At this point we are open to suggestions on "things to do"

Our Granddaughter is a big Harry Potter fan so one idea we had would be to drive up to Harry Potter World for the day and afterwards check into our hotel in London then have a nice dinner. A friend, who use to live in London, suggested SushiSamba which we understand is atop a 39 story building and offers spectacular panoramic views of the city (our granddaughter likes sushi).

Does this sound like a workable plan?

Do any of you have other suggestions for something a 12YO girl might enjoy or special places we can go for dinner?

A ride on the London Eye?

Depends very much on the girl and her interests. The first time we took out tween/teen DDs to London and Paris they esp loved the ballet, seeing a play at the Globe (with seats) and wandering Covent Garden (a dream teen shopping area with tons of small boutiques).

Sushi Samba is great: beautiful restaurant with great views. A bit of a party/cocktail place late at night, but for an early dinner it's fine with kids. Book well in advance.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Granddaughter is well traveled - has had a passport since she was 6 months old and traveled internationally every year since but this would be her first trip to London. She's been on numerous cruises, made multiple visits to several islands in the Caribbean and as well as many places in the USA. She loves going to the theater and museums but is equally at home doing outdoor activities like camping, hiking & zip lining.

You may not be able to top the Harry Potter studio tour, but a really posh afternoon tea at the Ritz or Claridges followed by a play or musical. If you book a 5-ish seating, it will be a late lunch/early dinner and you can jump in a cab to the theatre.

Just what janisj said: high tea at a lovely hotel.

Good on you for this wonderful trip for your family, and thinking of your granddaughter. Wonderful!

Afternoon tea and an evening musical sounds good, too. Thanks for the idea.

I'm hoping we can disembark from the ship fairly early so we can get to the Harry Potter Studio by mid-morning. I'm guessing we'd spend about 3 hours there and that would get us back to London in time for Afternoon Tea then take in the musical. It would make for a long event filled day but one our Granddaughter will remember for a long time.

Thanks.

If I were in London and a Harry Potter fan, I'd love the studio tour! It is so well done, and I was speechless with delight at the end!

We have been in London for my daughter's 9th and 10th birthdays. I highly recommend the Harry Potter Walking Tour in London. Great way to see the quaint backstreets of London along with Diagon Alley. The guide was fantastic. Our entire family loved it. Afternoon tea at the Orangerie is lovely which is right at Kensington Palace. The London Eye, while quite touristy, was also a hit with our kids. If you go to Windsor Castle, make sure you get your tickets online. Tea at Bel & Dragon is good in Windsor.