Steph

I found the info on this forum very helpful in planning my first trip to London on very short notice. We had a great time and I would be happy to share info. re. hotels, sites, restaurants, day trips, transportation, etc. w/ anyone interested.

mary

I'm going next week with 3 teens-- what were the "best" sites etc according to the teens? Any restaurant advice? Are there Tube passes or museum passes we should know about? Thanks!

Penny

I too would be interested in some information. I leave in a week and a half with my teenage daughter. <BR> <BR>

Joan

Hi! We're leaving in 2 months with a 14 year old daughter and a 20 year old son. I'd love to hear any recommendations. Thanks!

Joe

Steph, <BR> <BR>Thanks for the offer. We will be spending 10 days in London during August with our 12 yr old (soon to be 16) daughter. We already have a hotel reserved and we are planning 3-4 day trips. We have tickets to Lion King and Phanton already, but would welcome any information you might have available.

judy

We are going to London the first week of July. We will be taking our 13 year old and 18 year old. We need suggestions for places to stay, sites to see, day trips, etc. I'll take all the info you can give me!

David White

Greetings, London family travelers..you've picked a great place to take the kids. <BR> <BR>Feel free to take a look at my website: <BR> <BR> www.KidsToLondon.com <BR> <BR>for information about family travel to London. <BR> <BR>Enjoy your trip! <BR> <BR>David White <BR>www.KidsToLondon.com <BR> <BR>

Deborah

I took my 15 year old niece to London in 1996 and found the following worked well: <BR> <BR>She really liked the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace as well as the British Museum and the Science Museum. <BR> <BR>She was disappointed in the Natural History Museum - exhibits were too small. <BR> <BR>For food, try the Hard Rock Cafe near Marble Arch and Planet Hollywood in Picadilly Circus. The first day we were there we took the city tour that terminated in Picadilly so we ate at Planet Hollywood. Worked great. <BR> <BR>Also, if you are there on a Sunday afternoon, try Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park. <BR> <BR>Transportation - get Visitor Tube passes before you leave the US. You can get them for 3, 4, and 7 days and have them validated when you arrive. You won't need a photo id if you get them before you leave. Get them from travel agents or the British Tourist Authority. They will get you on the tubes and street buses, which are convenient and will take you anywhere. <BR> <BR>I was given the advice not to drive in London. I agree. When I've rented a car, I've always returned to Heathrow and then left the London area. <BR> <BR>Hotels: I've stayed at the Russell Hotel near Russell Square and the Charles Dickens in Bayswater. The Russell is nicer, but the Charles Dickens is fine.

Nigel Doran

All the suggestions are good, but I would argue, after having read what others have said on this site, that it is better to get the travel passes here. A week long Zone 1 and 2 pass(sufficient for nearly all the tourist sites, in fact, Zone 1 might be sufficient) should be O K, costing £18 for a week for all buses, tubes and trains and trams/light rail within the given zones. I believe it would cost a lot more than that if you bought it where you live. All you need is a passport photo for each pass. <BR>Try and steer away from the kind of places you get back home. Why not go to an Indian restaurant, or search out a good fish and chip shop (this site or Time Out could help.)

julie

Joe, how did you go about getting your tickets to Lion King and Phantom? We are taking our preteen and teenaged daughters in late July. Thanks in advance.

Jim

We took our teen sons to London last summer. Highlights were: attending the musical "Saturday Night Fever" at the Palladium; watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace;touring Westminister Abbey;fish and chips for dinner at one of London's oldest pubs, "The Grenadier"; lunch at the Hardrock Cafe; and walking in the footsteps of The Beatles crossing Abbey Road.

Joe

Julie, <BR> <BR>The Lion King tickets were part of a package we got through Virgin Atlantic,the airline we are taking over. After seeing some recommendations from others on this forum, we decided to see another show and surprisingly our daughter said she wanted to see Phantom. We called our travel agent and she got the tickets for us without too much difficulty. I have seen some ticket brokers online and while I haven't used them, I believe that others have bought tickets directly through them. Maybe others could offer advice. Good Luck p.s. I would love to hear back from you after your return with thoughts and suggestions about your trip with your daughters.

julie

Thanks, Joe. We are taking Virgin Atlantic as well (by the way, how were the flights?), so I'll ask my travel agent. I'll definitely be back in August to give an update!

Keith

Hi, <BR>We're going to London and Paris in May and are taking our newly graduated 21 year old and our 11 year daughters. The oldest is looking to opening a resturant in the US and the 11 year old is just excited about being there. Any suggestions on resturants to go to and fun things to see/do for the 11 year old. Thanks.

Mavis

I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. Why go all the way to wonderful England and eat at the Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood and go see The Lion King and Saturday Night Fever? Are American teenagers so shallow that they can't be exposed to something completely different?

Jennifer

Mavis, I very much agree! I've eaten at Planet Hollywood at the Mall of America. Sure, it was nice once, but I'm not going overseas to do something I can do here! <BR> <BR>I'm taking my 10-year-old daughter to London and Paris in July. We already have tickets to see Ralph Fiennes in Shakespeare's Richard II and Coriolanus. I just found some young adult versions of both plays. She's seen Romeo and Juliet here and is very excited to see more of Shakespeare! <BR> <BR>Even if we are starving, I can guarantee i will not step into a McDonald's! Part of the thrill of traveling is doing something new, not just rehashing home away from home. <BR> <BR>One of my favorite attractions was the Cabinet War Rooms (from a previous trip with my husband). I think my daughter would like it, too, so we're going to the library and checking out more history on England during WW II. <BR> <BR>I really think London (and other places) will have a lot more meaning to kids if they know some history behind it. And, it's almost good for them to know that not everyone lives, eats, and sleeps like we do! <BR> <BR>Having said that, there is just one thing upon which I insist -- I want my own "little girls'" facilities in my hotel room. I just need that extra little privacy.

Joe

Mavis, How fortunate you must be to be able to see Lion King in the states and not have to see it overseas. Unfortunately, we do not have that luxury. With 10 full days in London I think it would be a wonderful experience for my 12 yr old daughter to take a few hours of that time to see a Broadway play or two in a London setting I believe we still will have lots of time to explore with her the many historical and wonderful places London has to offer. Now, for the fast food, I might agree. However, when traveling with a child an occasional (not frequent) fast food stop will save time for more important stops. I really don't believe that will jade her nor do I think it is worth making an issue over.

Jackie

Step---even going to fast food places in London can be a different experience---you cannot get a Lamb McSpicy in the U.S. (at least where we live). <BR> <BR>We took our teenagers last year and they enjoyed the theatre---there seemed to be limited things to do in the evening. We also went on the London Walks Jack the Ripper tour, which is an evening thing, as is the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower. My kids really liked walking around and "shopping." My son hates to shop at home, but got a kick out of it in London. We also took a boat ride to Greenwich--lots of interesting things there. They liked Westminster Abbey and the Cabinet War Rooms. Stay away from the London Dungeon. We all enjoyed Shakespeare's Globe---even if they grown about it you should go, because they are going to study Shakespeare in high school and it will be a neat thing to recall seeing a play performed as they originally were. <BR> <BR>We liked having lunch in pubs---fish and chips, and the meat or chicken pies. The jellied eel isn't something we will try again, though. There is a very nice French restaurant by St. James Palace---L'Orangerie. You can spend much of an evening having dinner. <BR> <BR>

Howell

I'm planning a trip to England, Scotland and Ireland (over 2 weeks) and would appreciate any suggestions from your recent visit

Larry Lain

Not really trying to hawk books here, but I got started in travel writing exactly *because* of family experiences in London. My oldest son and I wrote "London for Families," which will answer many of the common questions in this forum. There's a Paris version coming out next month. <BR> <BR>See the page at <BR>http://www.interlinkbooks.com/londonforfamilies.html <BR> <BR>I'll also be glad to help, if I can, if you e-mail me specific questions at <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>Larry Lain <BR>