London this summer holiday

[lulubelle1977]

Hi!

To be clear we live in the suburbs of London so not really tourists as such. But wondering if you have any cool things planned for your teenagers this summer?

I heard there was an ice-cream museum but that looks permanently closed.

We've done the usual over the years....theatre, museums, galleries, but wondering if there's anything new and exciting that you could suggest.

Thank you!

If you Google Shoreditch Street art tours or spitalfields graffiti art tours, you'll get a few companies showing up. Some are 'free' and then encourage you to pay what you think it's worth. I have done these and they are fine but can be massive crowds.

Some are led by artists who really know the area, all their mates are doing the work and they know where the new stuff has appeared overnight. I recommend these if you can find one. We saw some amazing things I;d never even have noticed - like tiny minature sculptures hidden in cracks in the wall, and the most amazing sculpture in an alley I'd never walk down (tried to find it again on my own and never have!)

I can't remember who we went with (I went twice when DC were tweens as they loved it and it's constantly evolving.) But it will be good, just maybe ask about the group size - the smaller the size, the more likely you are to be able to hear and see.

great thread- thanks for starting it, Op!

reckon my daughter would be very happy with most of the stuff mentioned

Son into skate-boarding and little else, so shops, museums etc not his bag.

@MissSueFlay you mentioned skateboarding along south bank- do you mean just around that area generally (is it easy to do?) or actually at the skate-park proper (and would he get a look-in there or is it heaving?!) thanks for any help.

@bemorelemmy I actually don't know if you can just turn up and skate, or if it's some kind of club. It's in the undercroft beneath the Royal Festival Hall, lots of graffiti and urban art, very cool. There's a barrier up for spectators to stand against. There's usually about 20 skateboarders or so and they are a high standard, doing lots of tricks etc.

@bemorelemmy look here: skateparks.co.uk/London/southbank-skatepark

Mine really liked Portobello road

We went to London last summer and my ds enjoyed Neds noodle box for lunch and puttshack. Both dcs enjoyed Camden and teen dd loved afternoon tea at The Wolsley.

The Clink is ok but you're literally in and out, my 9 year old thought it was great!

Last year we got the canal boat from Paddington to Camden which was good then had a wander and got food in Camden market.. Kids are 14 & 9 and both really enjoyed it.

For footballers there is Toca Social at the O2, my 14 year old loves it there and you can always do cable cars and walk over the O2 (again all approved by the 14 year old)!

Sky Garden for a drink with a view.

@MissSueFlay thank you- will check it out

Anyone tried the giant Monopoly game? Looks expensive but fun.

Twist museum in London looks pretty cool to me

Please look at the reviews

Yes we went for a Christmas present. Was good fun I'd recommend it but defo pricey. We went first thing to avoid being paired with strangers (family of 3)

Camden seems unfailingly popular for teens.

There's a tomb raider live experience in London. Near Camden Market. Just googled it. Looks alright.

Yes been to the clink museum- it’s not expensive and was good for an hour. I had my 15 year old and 12 year old and was gruesome enough for them.

The challenge is to convince teens that going to a cool place with their parents is cool. We are struggling to get our 14yo DS out with us as we are seen as so uncool.

I have tweens not teens but have the following on my outings list:

Coal Drops Yard and walk along Regents Canal to Camden Market

Newly reopened National Portrait Gallery & maybe a rooftop cafe/bar over Trafalgar Square

Battersea Power Station - lift to the top of the chimney, and sometimes has art installations alongside the zillion clothes shops and cafes. Good for a rainy day

Terrible Thames - probably too young for teens

Grant Museum - weird Victorian stuff like “mermaids” in jars

Dopamine Land - looks similar to Twist Museum

Novelty Automation

Wow, there are some great ideas here! Filing away for the future...

This summer my teen and I are doing:

Camden Market
Groundhog Day musical (Tim Minchin)
Frameless (immersive art thing)

And I can recommend:

The Samsung centre in Coal Drops Yard (you can play around on lots of tech for free)
Tower Bridge (cheap compared to lots of other things, features heavily in one of the Spiderman films)

Update: tomb raider experience
It was actually very funny and more physical than I expected. My two teenagers laughed throughout mainly at us adults getting quite involved in the story. We got a family ticket for 4, £30.80 each, but actually I thought for an hour and half activity it was worth it. Walked around camden for a bit- victors a few of the TikTok popular places. Half a day - good fun.

Thanks all for your fab advice.
Got back yesterday.

Hilights:

Puttshack - lots of fun playing crazy golf inside, great atmosphere.

The Swan pub, next to the Globe. Had a fantastic Sunday roast here, probably the best restaurant roast we’ve had.

Spotting Morphs. Lots of sculptures around the St. Paul’s/Millennium Bridge area.

Shopping.....Niketown, Dover Street Market (very very cool!), Size?, Subdued, Space NK, Brandy Melville and a few other places we don’t usually get to go to.

Flat Iron - fab steak restaurant and such good value. Steaks were cooked to perfection.

Game Immersive - played an interactive Squid Game activity here. All enjoyed it although the adults definitely found it more challenging!

Café in the Crypt - an old favourite but so nice and cool, a great escape from the heat. Food not as interesting as I remember it but still nice.

Stayed at the Premier Inn Tate Modern. Think our room was refurbished very recently. Spotlessly clean with a mahoosive shower. Would definitely stay there again.

All in all, a great getaway.
Planning a Christmas trip now!

Bump! Wow it's been a year. Any plans for the summer in London this summer?

We're going to try Frameless near Marble Arch.

Have heard frameless is really good.

Parliament tour tickets have just opened for summer and it's a really good tour (with a nice tea room/gift shop at the end). They sell out pretty quickly, but there's a self-guided tour as well that would probably work better with small kids anyway.

Placemarking