London break with teens - help!!

[greenold]

We are off to London next weekend for 3.5 days to celebrate our eldest's 18th - their request. We have two other teens, a 16 and a 15 year old. We live up north and I've not been to London in about twenty years!

We have booked a couple of shows so that bit is sorted. One day we plan to do London eye, Tate modern etc.

What would you recommend - touristy but probably not landmarks, I can imagine myself next to Big Ben or the Houses of Parliament with the three of them looking at me very unimpressed - what fun, cool, interesting stuff could we pack in?

thanks so much! Want to make it a really special and memorable time.

The cable car to the O2 is good fun and you can catch the uber boat along the river for the return trip. Lots of places to eat at the O2 and a shopping centre there too.
Camden is good for teens, lots of quirky shops and the market, with street food stands and the canal too.
My two love Battersea Power station for shopping. Can also get the Uber boat to there.
The Sky Garden is cool and free (but you need to get tickets online).

Camden market and Covent Garden

London Bridge to take a photo of Tower Bridge behind you and then Borough Market for a quick wander.
Definitely worth wandering around the South Bank and maybe checking out at least the Turbine Hall at Tate Modern.

Camden is not cool, 19yo DD moans constantly that it's full of basics, tourists and drug front shops. Portobello is marginally cooler, maybe Carnaby Street, Covent Garden. You need a cool place for drinks for your 18yo (if they drink) that will accept under 18s. There's a cocktail place in Covent Garden that I can't recall the name of that's very Insta-friendly. Leake Street for the graffiti. Walk under the river to/ from Greenwich? Cable car?

These are great ideas, thank you. I'll look into some of these some more. Cocktail place for their birthday is a nice idea too if the younger ones could get some mocktails.

the birthday one is a guitar player - any cool music shops or places to see buskers or other music?

Camden is def fun and you can explore the richer neighboirhoods of hampstead and primrose hill afterwards .

Yes to portabello and wander around West Bourne grove and possibly Holland park park and area. Remeber London is a series of village.

Camden is over but dd1 who is 17 loved Spitalfields and there is brick lane next door. Lots of lush street food there too it was such a nice day. We went in July and dd1 loves museums. She liked the v and an and Tate Britain best which just gives you a history of British art in a timeline which is good.
Earloer trips my younger kids loved Tower of London which is v reasonably priced.
wandering the south bank is nice.
we also do sky garden which you have to book 3 weeks in advance

Hi op.
We live near enough to go all the time. And teen DD loves Covent Garden shops then the walk to seven dials market for lunch. There's a branch of subdued, brandy melville etc.

https://www.sevendialsmarket.com/

It's a bit American but the Hard Rock Cafe might be fun for the guitar loving teen.

It's in the green park area too so you could go for a walk through the park and see Buckingham palace if you wanted (appreciate a bit anticlimactic but it's close!)

@greenold try this thread (I saved it because its useful to dip into): https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/chat/4324449-Quirky-London-tourist-attractions

We did Immersive Gamebox, Southbank which was so fun.

You could also do a Rib boat ride along the Thames.

sevendials looks great, will check that out. I think they might have been to the Hard Rock Cafe on a school trip - will see what they thought.

I am terrible at planning a trip - I find it all so hard to visualise unless I've actually been somewhere!

Not Camden - I took my kids up a few weeks ago and it is not the Camden it used to be.

Southbank skatepark and tunnels
Up at Battersea Power Station
Thames rib ride
Carnaby Street still has good shops

@greenold also, the Jack the Ripper walk that ends at the Jack the Ripper Museum is very good. It will especially appeal if any of them have done the Crime & Punishment module in GCSE history.

Perfect @bodged!great list.

immersive gamebox is a good shout too, they all like things like this

These tours/shows at the Magic Circle are fab: https://themagiccircle.co.uk/shows/

(Pro-tip ... its sometimes possible to get cheap last minute tickets for this and other small events via the Central Tickets seat filler service).

If they like games then one of the WhatsApp treasure hunts might be a fun way to have a mooch through an area. My two (bit younger than yours) enjoyed it (despite themselves!). I think it was called Secrets of the Squares or something. Meant we did sightseeing with something to do.

It’s a lot cleaner and more ‘corporate’ than when I lived there. But if you don’t remember old Camden it’s ok.

Museum of Youth Culture is great

I took DD who was 12, but a mature 12. We stayed in Shoreditch and spent time in Spitalfields and Brick Lane which we enjoyed. Chinatown was a bit meh and she did insist on going to Westfield but that’s only because we didn’t have a Sephora in Edinburgh then!

The Outernet looks amazing.
www.outernet.com/
I also fancy trying a Skuna boat or the crazy slide at the Olympic park
https://www.zipworld.co.uk/locations/london

i follow londonfamilydaysout on instagram which might give you some interesting ideas- from free to pricey and also places to eat, cocktails bars. We don’t go often but I second Covent Garden and Brandy Melville/ Subdued which my sixteen year old liked.

Is the shard worth a trip up?

Uber boat from Tate Modern to Greenwich

They would probably love Madame Tussauds

Seven dials food stalls is cool