We will be in LOndon for the first time on April 4th & 5th (as a long layover), before flying out on the 6th. We fly into Stansted, will be staying in the Bayswater area, and fly out of Heathrow. Any 2 day, must see, traveling with a 12 year old, suggestions or itineraries?

I'd definitely recommend seeing:
--Westminster Abbey
--Buckingham Palace
--London Dungeon (if your kid's into that)
--the British Museum
--Science Museum
--London Bridge

London Dungeon is a cheesy tourist trap. London Bridge is unremarkable.

The Tower (and Bridge)
The Eye
Transport Museum
Imperial War Museum
Cabinet War Rooms

HMS Belfast

If she's a 12-year-old girl, skip the Belfast and make sure she sees the shiny stuff at The Tower of London (The Crown Jewels).

I know that when I was 12, I would have appreciated seeing:

the British Museum (lots of Egyptian, Roman, Greek and other antiquities, including Elgin marbles from the Parthenon);

the Museum of London (a very plasma TV display showing London as it appeared in past times, great displays on prehistoric London, Roman London, etc.);

the Imperial War Museum (great Blitz display);

the Eye;

the Maritime Museum and Royal Observatory in Greenwich;

Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Tate Britain, the list goes on and on. I'm sure there's a lot more that I missed when I have been there.

London Bridge?
I think that you probably mean Tower Bridge.
I would give the London Dungeon a miss!

Hi april04,

There are plenty of London "must see's" but way more than you can get to in 2 days. Especially if one of those days includes arriving from the US. You'll be dealing with the airport, transport into London, checking into the hotel and jetlag.

I'd suggest buying tickets for the Big Bus Tour on your first day. It goes by all the major stops, you can get on & off as frequently as you'd like and includes an informative narrative. It's a great way for first time visitors to get an overview of London. I think the tickets are good for 48 hours.

If I had to pick only one sight to explore fully, I'd probably choose The Tower of London. The Yeoman Warder tour is fantastic. My daughter was about the age of your's when she went and she still talks about how great it was. The place has so much history and intrigue. Those jewels aren't bad either.

But more importantly, what are YOU interested in? Give us some insight and people can give you more focused suggestions. You'll be surprised how quickly the two days will fly by.

Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
British Museum
Thames cruise
West End theatre

Keith

Thanks everyone!!

obxgirl,
we will actually be in London after wrapping up a whirlwind 5 day Italy trip. We fly from Pisa to London Stansted) and arrive around 9:00 am on 4/4. Then we will have to figure out how to get to center of town, and probably drop off luggage at the hotel in Bayswater area. So where should we start and how do we get there? Then we have the whole day on 4/5, because we leave from Heathrow on 4/6. I know it is only 2 days, and that is why I have so many questions, regarding transportation, hours of the museums, etc. I mean an itinerary ALWAYS goes as planned, right?

You can get to London by train or bus. You can get across town by Tube, taxi, or bus. Go to stanstedairport.com to begin your quest. It might help to know what hotel you've booked to offer suggestions on what mode offers the least hassle/expense.

Get 12 year old a guidebook from the libray and have them chose what is appealing to them.

I would suggest the Tower of London, a museum (or British Library), a church and lots of walking around.

April04, Good to hear jetlag won't be one of your issues!

From Stansted, the Stansted Express is probably the most expeditious and convenient trip into Central London. The trip is 40-50 minutes to Liverpool Street. Liverpool St station is not in the vicinity of your hotel but it is on the tube's Central Line going from Liverpool St. to Bayswater.

My original point was that the arriving, xporting and checking in will eat away at your first day of touring. Just keep that in mind when you plot your agenda since you're already well aware that itineraries rarely go as planned!

Again I would suggest the Big Bus tour (and there is another equally worthy company that does this) as it will give you a great overview of the city's big sights. Google Big Bus Tour London to get the website for details.

Museum hours are generally 10 to 5 or 6 though many will have a late night one weekday. If you could post your interests, people could be more specific about suggesting things to see.

Have a great trip!

History lesson (painless!):

http://www.theoriginaltour.com/kids_club

Why not just take it easy and see one place well. I suggest Covent garden. lunch in the Crusting Pipe restaurant, live opera sung outside. Get a map of the area and you can walk to Trafalgar Square, Soho, Picadilly Circus as well as all around theatre land, china town and Covent Garden itself.

We loved the Covent Garden area, and it would be nice to explore that during the day and attend the theatre (same area) one day. For the other day, I'd say the Tower is a must (Yeoman Warder tour and crown jewels a minimum) and one museum (there are so many great ones, almost all free. Pick one depending on your child's interests). Then do the London Eye around sunset (You can book the tickets ahead and cut out the queue).

Tower of London
British Museum
London Eye
Thames Cruise

I checked the website for "the Orignal Tour" bus tour. It looks like the way to go. Especially since you can hop-on and hop-off. Has anyone ever purchased the tickets on line beforehand? There is a small discount for doing it that way.

12 year old boy or girl? And any broad indications of what they're interested in?

april04 - I haven't bought tickets for the Original City Tour but I did just recently buy tickets online for the Big Bus Tour. (Normally £20, online for £18.)It was very simple and they had these little tickets with a barcode on them for me to print out.