London with Teens

[Positivelysober]

I have the opportunity to take my two older kids for the day. They've done the London eye, science and history museums, and a little bit of sight seeing when they were little.
We are going to do the tower bridge experience as they've both said they'd like to do it.
Can anyone recommend some cool things you'd think they'd like if you've been there with your teens? I think they'd both like something history related too- they have been to the Tower of London too.

Climb monument if you're at Tower Bridge.
HMS Belfast is near there too.

The Imperial War Museum is excellent.

We are going in a couple of weeks and have booked Chaos Karts and life size Monopoly. We are doing the Van Gogh exhibit too.

The boat trip that starts opposite The Eye and heads to Greenwich is great; you see numerous buildings from a different angle and the running commentary incorporates a number of historical stories.

My teens loved the Sky Garden and eating at the Oxo Tower brasserie with a view of the river.

Sky Garden if you can get tickets. There's a bombed church and a Roman temple nearby, for a bit of history too.

I don't think you can climb the Monument at the moment.

This place is pretty cool, lots of insta worthy photo opportunities! A bit out of the way though..

www.godsownjunkyard.co.uk/

The Tower Bridge experience is great, the glass walkway at the top is great for selfies.
HMS Belfast is literally a couple of minutes walk from there too. I thought the teens would be bored as neither are particularly into history, but they loved it.

What are they interested in? Museum/ art / what sort?

Are they into alternative type stuff, comics, books... ? There's something for everyone!

And what do you like?

Great, thanks everyone some really fab ideas here to look at. Had forgotten about the war museum and had thought about HMS Belfast so, good to know other people's teens enjoyed it too.
I will look up the chaos karts as my ds will probably enjoy that, and the sky garden too.
They both like history, into photography, my DD wouldn't like a boat ride I do know that.

They have said they'll enjoy anything we go and do, it's just me over thinking, I just want to do things they'll both have fun doing.

Immersive Van Gogh exhibition in Kensington gardens

Trainers exhibition (and others) at the design museum and then a burger in the Gordon Ramsay place

Theatre - my 13yo loved Come From Away, which isn’t far from Forbidden Planet if they like comic book stuff

The Charlie and the chocolate factory afternoon tea at One Aldwych is amazing and not at all too young for teens

IMAX cinema at Waterloo

London dungeons

Greenwich would tick lots of boxes - observatory (see a ‘performance’ as well as having a walk round), the park, curry dark, market and the maritime museum

Curry dark = cutty sark!!

Dodge at Somerset house would be fantastic - combine with the afternoon tea mentioned above at One Aldwych

My two both enjoyed hms Belfast and the Churchill Cabinet War Rooms. Sky garden was also a hit. They like the markets and the walk along the south bank. Greenwich was also good.

Mine loved Covent Garden- one off shops, bars
, cafes & people watching

Mine enjoyed the dungeons and the war museum

Some great suggestions above . I would add:
Kings Cross - new coal drops yard area is cool and eat at Caravan
Evening on South Bank
Putt Shack
Museum of London
Ice cream parlour at Fortnum and Mason
Hire Boris bikes and cycle the parks

Mine love going to Borough Market for all the food. And Chinatown for dim sum and bubble tea. Also joining one of the tours with London Walks - great if they like history.

Really good ideas.

To add the British museum is fab and usually much less crowded than the other main ones.

Wandering around the area around there is lovely as well. Bloomsbury.

I love Camden but bit further out and doesn't sound like the thing.

www.museumofthehome.org.uk/ is small and unusual and interesting and has a nice cafe

Leadenhall if they like Harry potter!

The city of London is good for wandering if you like looking at buildings! Loads of quirky squares, ancient churches, gold plated fancy type tucked away roads.
Gherkin has plaque to - one sec

Unknown girl. Roman. They came across her while digging to build the gherkin. Had to stop development for a fair while for archeology.
Anyway it was decided to put her back in her last resting place IE where they found her.
And there's a plaque noting the place.

I think that's a really interesting story but ok it only takes 1 sec to look at it!

What about one of the guided walk such as haunted London or a history one.

Camden Town. The markets are great.

Ps Camden is great for taking photos and you can take a canal trip to Little Venice

Sightseeing bus
Sightseeing boat
London Eye

Covent Garden
Leicester Square
Piccadilly Circus
Trafalgar Square
China Town
Soho
Whitehall

Speakers' Corner - on Sunday

Opera, Concert, Musical, Play

Classical Music

Royal Opera House
English National Opera
Royal Albert Hall
South Bank Centre
Barbican Centre
Wigmore Hall

Zoos

London Zoo
London Aquarium

Castles & Palaces

Tower of London
Houses of Parliament
Buckingham Palace
Kensington Palace
Hampton Court Palace
Windsor Castle

Museums & Galleries

British Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
Natural History Museum
Science Museum
London Museum
Tower Bridge
National Gallery
National Portrait Gallery
Tate
Tate Modern
Globe Theatre
Clink Prison Museum
London Dungeon
Madame Tussauds
National Maritime Museum and the Planetarium
Dickens House Museum
Bank of England Museum
Courtauld Institute
Royal Academy of Arts
Wallace Collection
Sir John Soane's Museum
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Queen's House
Royal Naval College
Old Royal Observatory
Cabinet war rooms
Golden Hinde
Cutty Sark
HMS Belfast
Guildhall
Bank of England Museum

Cathederals & Churches

St. Paul's
Westminster Abbey
Westminster Cathederal

Shopping

Harrods
Selfridges
Fortnum &Mason
Oxford Street
Bond Street
Regent Street
Knightsbridge
King's Road

Parks & Gardens

Kew Gardens
Kensington Gardens
Hyde Park
St. James' Park
Green Park
Regent's Park
Holland Park
Richmond Park
Hampstead Heath

Places

Places on the Monopoly board
Spitalfields
Docklands

Monuments

The Monument
Marble Arch
Albert Memorial
Wellington Arch

Law

Royal Courts of Justice
Old Bailey
Lincoln's Inn

Markets

Petticoat Lane
Smithfield
Portobello Road
Camden Lock
Greenwich
Leadenhall Market
Roman Road
Walthamstow

Events

Changing the Guard
Trooping the Colour
Lord Mayor's Show
Notting Hill Carnival

If they like photography - This year’s wildlife photographic competition exhibition at the natural history museum is fabulous