I hope there are still a few people following this thread - this is fantastic! We're planning a trip to England, Ireland and France in about 18 months. Our kids will be 11 and 13, and I've been thinking about planning some kind of scavenger hunt with them as well . . . but I was thinking of trying to create more of a mystery for them to solve.

I'm not terribly creative, so I may check a few London-Paris-Dublin-based mysteries out of the library to source some clever ideas, but I was thinking that I could design some kind of mystery where they pick up clues at each of our stops. I was even hoping I could send clues packets to our hotels ahead of time and have the front desk clerks give them to the kids when we arrive, as a surprise.

Has anyone ever tackled anything like that? I'll take any ideas . . . or any good mystery titles, at that. Thanks!

A suggestion for Venice – get hold of the book “Secret Venice” by Jonglez. It has all sorts of out of the way things to see and experience, and that book has drawn me all over Venice. Similar volumes have been written for London and Paris, I think.

Or the quiz that I wrote years ago:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-teenagers.cfm

You could go a lot of different ways with London.

There are the childhood classics like Paddington Bear, which yours are too old for now, but if they read it when they were younger, it's a kick to read it just before going. Harry Potter has obvious connections, especially the fifth movie where they fly through the city.

But your kids are old enough that they could enjoy more advanced history too. Henry V, Shakespeare and Dickens are all themes you could have some fun with.

I would read up on the obvious destinations for Henry V (Tower of London and Hampton Court) to see if you could find some things to "hunt." If you go on one of the official yeomen warder tours of the Tower of London, you might be able to use one factoid about the official chapel, St. Peter ad Vincola. As I recall, when they dug up the chapel floor, far more people were buried there than they had any idea. It was quite a surprise.

Consider doing something related to the scenes in <i>Oliver Twist,</i> <i> A Christmas Carol</i> or since you're going to both cities, <i>A Tale of Two Cities.</i>