laurarick

Our family of 4 (with 2 teen boys - 14 & 16) is visiting London for the 1st time. We have timed tickets to Westminster Abbey during the 1st week of June for 9:30am. I've heard from others that they usually spend 2 1/2-3 hours there?? I have no idea the level of interest our boys will have! Then we plan to walk from there and see Buckingham Palace (not go in), and whatever we find interesting nearby! Then we'll have lunch. We then want to visit the Churchill War rooms. I'm not sure what time I should book the tickets. I would appreciate feedback!

After the Churchill War rooms, we would like to see Big Ben, walk across Westminster Bridge, and then walk to Trafalgar Square and Whitehall. And then to Covent Garden for dinner and spend the evening walking in that area. Does this seem like a reasonable plan? Again, thank you in advance for feedback!

janisj

With a 9:30 entry (and not taking a Vergers tour) you can probably count on spending 90 minutes to 2 hours at the Abbey. A bit longer if you also take a Vergers tour and visit the Chapter House and Queen's Diamond Jubilee Gallery. Then if you want a quick bite in the Abbey's cafe (I'd just get pastries/drinks and hold off on lunch til later) and a visit to the gift shop that makes it about noon-ish.

If you've had something light to eat at the Abbey I'd go directly to the War Rooms with 12:30PM timed tickets, visit them - about 90 minutes-ish. So then lunch around 2PM.

If you don't snack at the Abbey I'd plan lunch for around noon/12:30 and then book the War rooms for 1 or 1:30 PM

laurarick

Janisj -- thank you!! I always appreciate your help!

macdogmom

Having traveled with two teen boys, I would definitely do the Abbey do lunch and then war rooms. I don’t know what kind of kids you have but with ours they definitely went into sensory overload and needed sit down food breaks. We also came in a heatwave so it was hot and lots of places with no AC. I’m in London right now (and it’s freezing) and walked through Convent Garden yesterday. It’s changed a lot but your boys will like the hubbub and performers.

laurarick

Thanks Macdogmom! We've never been on an international trip with our 14 & 16yr old boys, but I'm sure they will need breaks and downtown like your kids! It's hard to know the timing of getting from point A to B to C, etc without feeling rushed, and also how much time to plan for some of the London highlights. I'm trying to have enough structure so we have a general plan for each day, but I also don't want to over-plan. Thanks for your feedback! I hope you are all enjoying your trip! I'm curious what the highlights have been for your boys so far?

macdogmom

We are here by ourselves and those boys are now all grown with small children of their own. We first brought them to Europe when they were teenagers and did London, Paris and 2 nights in the Loire Valley. We definitely did one or maybe two big sightseeing events a day. I remember the Tower of London being a hit and British museum especially the mummies. Our first day I got tickets for the big red bus that shows you the sights of London and everyone promptly fell asleep (jet lag) but me. We still laugh about that. We have ended up traveling all here together through the years with sons and girlfriends who became their wives and have had some wonderful and life changing adventures. The 17 year old with a burst appendix in Paris gave us a great appreciation of French health care system but that’s a different story. Have fun and see the sights and don’t worry to much about seeing everything. Yesterday I walked through Chinatown in London with thousands of red lanterns swaying overhead and banners congratulating the new king and that will be a big part of my memory of this trip to London.