Tourist in your own city - London

[BrinkWomanship]

I’ve taken my two DDs to most of the more obvious places in London. I’d really welcome some less obvious suggestions of things we can do. They’re aged 11 and 14. The eldest is jaded as only a teen can be. She’s into history, art and science but the youngest is easily bored and a gallery or museum is dull for her. She says she doesn’t know what she likes (which is fair enough - she is only 11!) though enjoyed the science museum which we’ve now done to death.

Please help inspire me!

Horniman Museum is good, and has beautiful gardens too

Have you walked up the monument?

not sure if that’s a silly question 😬😂

My DCs appreciated both the V&A and the Imperial War Museum as they got older. In particular, the map of London with every bomb mapped was fun as they could see our road, which houses had been hit etc. And it's definitely pitched older/more adult than other museums. The Soane's Museum (bonkers but beautiful) and the Hunterian Museum (creepy) are both on Lincoln's Inn Fields and we had a weekend trip to both of them and then ramen at Uzumaki which is anime themed and great for kids (Menya ramen also excellent though not anime themed!)

We also like to get on buses and head to new neighbourhoods, just to get off and explore a bit, go to a few shops, stop at a cafe. DS2 particularly loves to try viral social media junk foods eg. korean fried chicken, bao buns, bubble tea so we will sometimes go on "side quests" to try them - would that be interesting to your 11 year old? Or do challenges like - find a restaurant from a cuisine you've never tried (korean BBQ or chinese hotpot is great as they can cook their own food) or find a full outfit from the retro stores in Camden Market/Brick Lane, or travel to see blue plaques of people they're interested in: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/

V&A museum of childhood, HMS Belfast,

OP says youngest finds museums, boring and yet people just recommend museums.

How about a river boat? See the terms from the point of view of a duck.

Roof walk at the O2? Trip on the london cable car afterwards?

Actually if you google "london side quests" there are some pretty good ideas as well!

@WeddingDressguest she also said her youngest loved the science museum...

I don't mean this in a rude way....
Do they actually want to go into London??
Unless there's something they specifically want to see (which it seems they don't) it seems an odd choice of day trip.

Dennis Severs House

But, she also said they've done the science museum to death and a gallery or general museum would be boring for her.

Mooch around the City… Monument (it’s exactly as tall as its distance from the start of the great fire of London), Tower Hill, Tower Bridge, St Paul’s, Leadenhall Market, the Sky Garden for views. So much more than people realise. There are plenty of places for a coffee/lunch, including a big Wetherspoons by Tower Hill, if you want to keep costs down. St Katherine Docks is also lovely, with a huge pub that used to do fantastic pizza - haven’t been for a while.

If they’re into Harry Potter, there’s a shop in Leadenhall market that was used as the entrance to Diagon Alley. (I think it’s a mobile phone ship now, but it used to be a shop selling women’s undergarments, and had a sign above the saying ‘Nylons’, which I always thought sounded like something from a Victoria Wood sketch.)

If they’re up for a walk, the river path between Tower Bridge and Westminster bridge is heaving with sights and has lots of stopping options, but walk the south side rather than the north.

Um....do you want free or paid? Natural History Museum (v obvious sorry!)

Battersea Power Station? You could get an uber boat there if it works from where you are. There's a little pop-up funfair atm (old fashioned rides, think big wheel is like £8 - good views!). There's a boardwalk and the landscaping is fun to walk around (or scooter!), there's a big shopping centre (might tempt the jaded teen) then you could walk into the park where there's a little zoo, nice place to run around.

If you find yourself in Covent Garden (likely with a teen), head to the top of the Royal Opera House, up the escalator. They have some nice ballet costumes and ephemera on display in the bar area and you can go out on to the balcony and look down at Covent Garden. Good for a free loo stop too.

Would you ever head out to Canary Wharf? You can take the DLR between stations and ... your kids are probably a bit old for this, but it's kind of fun to sit at the front and pretend you are driving and it feels like a monorail up high. Then you could decamp at Canary Wharf where my kids always feel like they have landed in America or somesuch. Good place to wander around with the landscaping and by the water etc (get lost in the 7th circle of hell that is the shopping centre!) I am sure there are things for kids to do there.

Boat to Greenwich/cable car/park? (I'm just thinking of geographical locations you might not have done to death)

Oh, I know you said your 11 year old isn't into art, but the Young Artists Summer Show at the RA might appeal as it's all art by kids. She might be inspired! You could do a 'guess the age' of the artist! It's free, (closed Mondays) and then you have Green Park opposite or oooh, you could go across to Fortnums and their new Biscuit Emporium which has fun buttons to press and lots of lovely treats to look at. Pop into Waterstones also to the kids book section, or Hatchards. That's what I would do with an 11 year old actually. Really feel like a tourist in my own city!

They’re probably more into activities than museums although Soanes and Hunterian are a good shout. The postal museum is good as you get to ride in a little carriage. Ride on the DLR through Dockkands to Mudchute Farm and on to Canary Wharf. Museum of the Docklands (might still be free) is good and interactive for kids.

You can go behind the scenes at the Natural History museum too (need to pay). Greenwich market is good for a day out and you can take the river boat there. Battersea if they like shopping.
So many trendy little cafes and areas - they could look on Tik Tok. Games cafes, table tennis/table football cafes, pinball/pacman retro cafes, particularly in East London.

Look out for free festivals. We recently went to the Music is Black one at Stratford and it was brilliant. Great artists, dance demos, stalls. Docklands festival should be on.

Time Out online will list current events.

How about Tate Modern - just a mooch around the turbine hall if they're not up for an exhibition - a wander along the south bank, then a river boat up to Battersea power station and Battersea Park?

You could do a Roman themed little trip to the Mithraeum under the Bloomberg building. They do a little show thing every ten minutes. Then the Amphitheatre under the Guildhall which is really good (the guildhall itself is quite a stuffy art gallery but I have always kind of liked it). I think there are some more Roman ruins recently put on display in the city but can't remember where. Then you could complete the Roman day by going for a pizza?!

RIB on the Thames, London zoo, The Accelerator big slide thing which I know I didn’t spell right, all the big parks, Frameless art exhib, London Dungeon, London Bridge experience.

Java Whiskers Cat Cafe
The Mithraeum
Bubble Museum
Paradox Museum
There’s usually interesting experiences/exhibits in places like Canada Water or Canary Wharf (think there’s a Viking one & Titanic one atm).
Horizon 22 observation deck
Walk across Tower Bridge (but the top bit)
Uzumaki London Japanese restaurant

You could take them both on a street art tour around Spitalfields, led by artists who show you incredible secret art you might otherwise never see - from beautiful murals and graffiti in hidden spots to miniature sculptures tucked into wall crevices. My young teens adored that.

Boat up the Thames to Greenwich - the market has dirt cheap vinatge jewellery and nice food stalls. The Cutty Sark is pretty - even if you just walk past it. Same with Naval College and Observatory. Maybe make a game of it - three weird things in a day - touch the meridian line on top of the hill at the Observatory in the park, walk under the Thames in Brunel's Victorian white-tiled foot tunnel and then take the cable car to O2 and back, or get back on the boat and ride out to the space-age-like Thames barrier (very reassuring if they are scared of climate change and flood.)

South Bank is fun for Tate Modern, buskers, walk-in fountains on hot days, food stalls.

At that age, won't they love Camden Market?

St James' Park to walk with the pelicans.

We recently did one of those walking escape rooms, it was excellent. We got to see bits of town we'd never visited and we've lived here 20+ years: https://www.inthehiddencity.com

The Mithraeum isnt that exciting and I like Roman history.

I love the Mithraeum but it's a short visit- 20 mins max- so would combine with other things in the area.

Deen City Farm?

My 14 year old was blown away by it tbh. Can't say I agreed but she is very interested in cults generally so maybe that was why it caught her imagination. Definitely needs to be done with other things but sometimes a little trip out to see one thing is quite fun when you live in London anyway and can just go home after.

We enjoyed it as did the kids (11 & 7) - it’s a nice break from the city - either from the weather or crowds & a bit different to looking at exhibits in cabinets. Also has very good free toilets!

Invest in a copy of "This Other London" by John Roberts and "London's Lost Rivers" by Tom Bolton. Some of the walks are a bit long, but you don't have to complete them in one hit.

I know it's a museum, but the costume exhibits at the V&A are lovely. I'm not really into fashion but I love wandering about there, and of course it's free.

Another museum that might be a bit more interesting to teenagers if they are interested in music is https://handelhendrix.org/. The Handel bits are for probably really only for hardcore classical music fans but the Hendrix part recreates the flat where he lived with his girlfriend in the late 1960s (she gave them a lot of help with this) and I absolutely loved it. (It probably does help that my husband is a massive fan of Jimi Hendrix, admittedly, so I alread knew quite a lot about him and his music.)