Days out American Visitors

Fishbourne is not a Roman Fort it is a Roman Palace and the most impressive found north of the Alps. But it depends on how into History they are, we took an American friend who really didn’t get the difference between that and medieval tombs in a Church. Chichester itself is nice, and a walk along the walls can be good.

Agree a day in London - don't overcram it with too much though.

How about Charleston at Lewes? As well as exhibitions at the original farmhouse, there's an exhibition space in the town as well now, and Lewes is a lovely old town to visit.

Are the kids on social media and have an idea bout what they’d like to see and do?
London China Town often comes up on TikTok and it they are online then having visited a viral place might make them happy.

Agreed , but I saw somebody suggest Bluewater and they do , aside from the shops , have a zip wire , crazy golf and a climbing centre so it’s a bit more for kids than the shops , which frankly aren’t that brilliant .

Hampton Court Palace. Winchester.

Oh, how times have changed for the worse. I'm sorry to hear that.

West Witteting is a good shout and Chichester is pretty. There’s a roman fort near there that I’ve not been to - Fishbourne. Oh and Bosham is pretty, that’s nearby. We like having lunch at Chichester Marina and the walk through to Birdham is pretty.

Thanks, we tend to go down to West Wittering and Chichester, but every time I say ‘oh next time let’s do Arundel Castle’ so this would be a fab add-on. We live in Surrey. Thank you!

I think Jane Austen’s house in Hants is a great shout, as is the Weald and Downland Museum, with different houses from different time periods. Some of the suggestions would mean spending most of each day driving which seems somewhat unnecessary when you have interesting places, including london, on your doorstep!

How about Oakhurst national trust cottage in Hambledon? Very pretty village with shop/cafe and cricket green and nice pub. Would tick the picturesque English village box without having to drive 3 hours?

West Wittering or similar if you want a day at the beach if weather allows?

Depending on budget, you could incorporate going for afternoon tea on one of your london days, as something quintessentially British- either an old fashioned hotel or somewhere like Sketch or the place in the Shard?

@OneGladRoseTiger shame you couldn’t find a proper pub. You possibly needed to find a decent village first. Come back and I’ll show you some lovely ones!

I agree the Americans don’t really need a theme park given the standard over there is so much better.

Train to Waterloo and walk to Houses of Parliament vis South Bank up Whitehall maybe a boat ride.

Train to Portsmouth Dockyard - fun, interesting, old

Definitely a nice pub lunch or two, Shere obviously.

West Sussex way …
Arundel castle is a good shout.

How about Weald and Downland ( repair shop) . Lots of olde worlde charm plus great village pub lunch in Singleton. Chi for shopping and walking the Roman walls and Cathedral which are free.

My north American visitor loved Wagamama and can’t wait to come back, think they do now have it in the USA but only in a very few cities.

I’m an American. On our visit to the UK last year, we enjoyed London and Windsor. But if they are your family you should have a good idea of what they like. I can’t imagine shopping would be interesting as we pretty much have the same stores and brands from what we noticed when we were there. Don’t assume they will like the food there just because you do.

On the subject of food, we liked authentic pubs but they were hard to find. Everything seemed to be owned by a chain, and the menus were a poor attempt at standard American food, which was disappointing. Almost every place seemed to be offering 10 variations of a cheeseburger. A countryside pub would be a good idea.

Theme parks don’t interest us. We travel to avoid them!

Oh and we have baked beans. Nothing “baffling” about them!

At those ages they probably know what they want to see/do and have done a decent google job.

It is very much going to depend on what they are interested in.
Harry Potter Studio tour in London
The Imperial War Museum
Theatre, Musicals -
Boat / river tours
Swimming in Lidos
The London Dungeon
Escape rooms.....

Americans do have baked beans, but the sauce is completely different, and they're never served at breakfast or served on toast or a jacket potato.

Sweets and biscuits and crisps will probably be popular because the flavours are different. Even the same brands aren't the same (I prefer UK KitKat to American). I'd take them out for a pub lunch though, especially if you've got a nice historic one.

Harry Potter film locations in London
https://www.the-magician.co.uk/harry-potter-film-locations.htm

If they are Star Wars fans then Canary Wharf tube station and the Barbican are used for Imperial bases. (Imperial as in the baddies not the university) Andor (Disney +) and Rogue One (film)

If you google something they are into they may have filmed in London.

Didn’t America basically invent shopping malls?
I don’t think that’s a good idea for a day out.

being next door to London - you are elected with days out

Gift bags - go for the treats that are so typically British - remember British chocolate tastes completely different to USA's Through in the stuff like marmite , Irn bru , tea cakes - real British foods they they may never have tried or heard of, plus British mags . And whilst they have "chips" they dont get our flavours, so throw in something like prawn cocktail walker . And dont forget a Colin the caterpillar

I send my sister in Oz, typical British chocolate and snacks that they pay through the nose for ( costs more in postage then purchase ) Custard creams, cadburys and galaxy and M&S skips and wotsits/ monster munch and space invaders - always loved

Dover Castle is lovely, and Canterbury Cathedral isn’t far; which is Norman, as well.

Teenagers might enjoy the olde worlde side of Stratford.
It’s unlikely that the whole family would want to watch a performance of Macbeth in the theatre, though. That’s a bit much for a lot of people.

If you are going to do a castle do Dover , the old castle is great and the war tunnels are interesting , Harry Potter if they are interested , the current event is good according to my husband .

They have baked beans in the US wtf

I don't think teens will care about Shakespeare! American teens are tortured with it in high school

From an American POV. If you can do the typical London sights that would be what they are expecting. Double decker bus …etc. Is Camden Market still a thing? (Sorry been a long time since I’ve been ‘90s in case it’s not and you’re wondering why I’m mentioning it) that would be fun for that age group.

No theme parks- depending on where they live they’ve got their own… probably no on any malls for the same reason.

Can you ask the parents if they have particular interests or if they have mentioned something? This could lead you down the Harry Potter, theatre, or heavy history path.

So they’re going to want try all the ‘funny’ flavors of crisps that you have and will love anything Cadbury.

This is off the top of my head so tag me if you have other questions 😁 I’ll try to think of more.

From a company called Riverside South Downs.

They also do bike /ebike hire as well, and there's a cafe there. It's also near a train station and a museum. We were going to go to the museum but the children were tired so I don't know what that's like