I do think Stonehenge is fantastic primarily because noone really knows how the stones got there. I do NOT find it overwhelming, or really even particularly awe-inspiring, just sort of incredible.

ok I think Stonehenge is out. I get the feeling, the kids will be bored if they are not impressed. How did I forget Buckingham Palace, LOL! I want to see that!

1. Go on the frog, it's an amphibious vehicle that cruises along the Thames and on the road. It is small, fun and lively. Gives you a good overview of sights along the river, then you can decide what you would like to see.
2. Start at the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, walk down to Downing Street, see the monument. Keep going straight you arrive at Trafalgar Square (Nelson). Loads of art galleries, people and pigeons. Then go to Leicester Square/Piccadilly eat in China Town. Catch a Show in the evenig. Covent Garden is also nearby, lively, with lots of street performers and lovely boutiques.
3. Southbank, nice riverside walk. Restaurants, the Tate modern, and Shakespeare's globe a must see.
4. London Bridge (not the pretty one) a great lively market (can't remember what its called, closed on a monday though. And the London Dungeons (re-enactment of London in Victorian times - bloody, lovely for kids this age). And they have fairground rides.
5. Tower of London
6. Buckingham Palace
7. Madame Tousauds (hate it myself, but the kids love it) picture yourself with the queen
8. Brick Lane/Shoreditch - if they like galleries it's excellent. If they like a trendy happening place this is the place to go. Lots of food, amazing Indian restaurants. Street theatre, markets. Great bagels. Just a melee of London's trendy young arty people. Go on a Sunday.
9. Hampton Court or Windsor Palace. Hampton Court is beautiful and cultural. Windsor is too, but I think has the edge, it's more outdoors with reenactments going on, so I think they'd like this better. But if you only want one historical day, stick with the Tower of London.
10. Harrods. Harvey Nichols (Kensington) walk up through the army barracks to Green park, which becomes Hyde Park (I think). Lovely park with live music and band stands. Row a boat on the Serpentine. Keep walking to the other, through Hyde Park, lots of roller skaters, horse riders. And come out at the top end of Oxford Street. Worth a walk down for Selfridges. Hold onto your hand bag though. Then go down South Moulton Street and Bond Street for designer shops and cafes. If you still have enough energy here go to Carnaby Street, the Street where all the 60s fashions emerged from.
11. Natural History Museum/Science Museum (yawn I know) but it is in South Kensington, where you have the Albert Hall and all the posh universities in London: Imperial College, Royal Academy of Art, etc.

I am a Londoner and am saddened that you all advised to go straight to Paris. Paris is beautiful, but needs more than a day. Just as London is packed with things to do. Sometimes it's great to just walk and see what happens. There are all sorts of tours trawling through Jack the Ripper lanes. I could go on; and I have so I'll stop now. If you want any more info, just ask....

We've just returned from a family trip to Europe & spent 10 days in London. The things that the kids ( 15yo boy & 13yo girl) enjoyed the most were
The Tower with a beefeater guide- they're very entertaining.
The Globe Theatre- again our tour guide was very interesting & humorous.
The Eye (of course)
The theatre- their choice was to see the Mousetrap & they enjoyed it but there are loads of shows on
Windsor Castle- again we hooked onto a guide who was much more interesting than the audio guide
Primark in Oxford St- I went with my daughter & she bought HEAPS of cheap clothes. Next day the whole family went back & my son bought as much as we could carry. It reminded me of the Boxing Day sales but this shop is obviously like this all day every day
The Churchill Museum & Cabinet War Rooms. My daughter loved this because EVERYTHING worked in the museum.
WE also enjoyed just walking through the parks, & feeding the squirrels with nuts ( we don't have squirrels here so that was a real novelty
Hampton Court was also good.
We also went to the Royal Albert Hall on a tour - I think they also quite enjoyed that too
The kids were a bit over State Apartments by the time we got to Kensington Palace but there's a display of some of Diana's clothes.
Wimbledon- although the last week in June will probably clash with the tournament
The Apple Shop in Regent St
Covent Garden

We had 10 days in London & were so busy we didn't get a chance to get to some of the other areas we were hoping to visit- Bath, Brighton, Oxford etc.
I'm sure in a week you'll have no trouble filling in your time
Have fun
I'm sue

I see that Fat Tire Bike Tours started a tour in London a couple of years ago. I have taken my kids (now ages 16 and 20) on the tours in both Paris and Berlin when they were younger. It is a fun, different way to see the sights in the cities. They do not require athleticism so don't worry about that. They are informative and fun. Also, we have enjoyed seeing plays while in London and liked taking some relaxing time in Hyde Park walking, seeing the ducks, and taking a paddle boat ride. It was a nice, down time from the sightseeing. We did not enjoy the long line to get on the London Eye and I would only recommend doing it on a clear day (I wouldn't do it again because it was so crowded...not a good experience for us). My kids did not like the wax museum but we have them here too so it was not special- also too crowded. Enjoy your trip!

ttt

cferrb: Do you know about the yellow/gold star up at the top of the thread? That's how you can save a thread to your favorites w/o having to mark/top old threads.

Thanks Janis. I didn't know about that.

Theater, theater, theater!!

I am going to London with my husbund and two boys (12 and 16) in February. Where to stay? I was planning to rent an apartment.

Fabiiola, you might want to start a fresh thread, instead if resurecting one. People who are experts in apts, but not with teens might never see your question.

lia_b, if you're not totally inundated, here's what my 14yo boy liked the most when we went to London in Feb:
Tower of London
London Eye (also enjoyed thames clipper ride from Eye to Tower)
British Museum (went back for a second round!)
He enjoyed all the major sites and sights, but the verger's tour at Westminster Abbey was too long and boring for him. Buckingham Palace Changing of the Guard also went on a bit long for him.

He also enjoyed seeing the Magna Carta in Salisbury (his choice to go specifically to see that) and I really enjoyed the town and the cathedral tower tour- fascinating. We liked Stonehenge just because it is the oldest standing human monument; we went with English Heritage so that we could go in the inner circle. Salisbury is a very easy day trip from London and easy to do on your own; I suggest taking the train from London and avoiding annoyance of a motor coach tour or navigating traffic on your own.

PS - theatre! We saw a terrific production of Billy Elliot (couldn't get tickets to One Man, Two Guvnors, you may want to try to get tickets for it at its new location) and two comedy shows. Check out the Soho Theatre for reasonably priced up and coming comedy acts and a young crowd. It is not restricted to over 18 and the show we saw was not at all raunchy or full of bad language.

Our teenaged grandkids loved The British Museum, Westmiinster Abbey, Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Abbey Road( Bealtles) and Harrod's Food Hall, especially the ice cream bar which their friends had told them about. They returned to Harrod's several times. The boy also liked The Tower of London a lot.

Folks - the OP's trip was back in June 2009...

Glad to see the thread is resurrected (timely for me) even if the Op returned home long ago.

Any suggestions what five teenagers ranging from 16 - 19 (4 boys 1 girl) - can do for free in London for a day next week? The weather doesn't look like it's going to be any good which is a shame so all ideas gratefully received. Thanks.

<B>Amanda_Edward:</B> You'll do MUCH better if you start a new thread of your own w/ your specific questions.

This thread is 3 years old and many won't even see your post and will jump straight to answering the OP.

Thanks Janisj - I'll do that.

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