4 days in London with teenage girls

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I've managed to book us a few nights in London over the summer. I love London but I normally just go shopping when I'm there, with a token visit to an art gallery to pretend I've been a culture vulture.

Has anybody got any good ideas for what we can do? It's dp and I and two teenage girls.

Likes - art and museums / eating out / walking / maybe a show but I dread to think how much it would cost
Dislikes - touristy stuff like Madame Tussaud's.

DD1 and I like shopping; dp and dd2 hate it.

We've done the Eye before and whilst we loved it, we probably wouldn't bother again.

We're staying in Greenwich, so I guess a boat trip might be a possibility?

Any ideas for things we might not have thought about would be really appreciated. Thanks. :)

this is on my list

I was reading about DS' house yesterday - it looks totally my sort of thing and totally NOT dd2's sort of thing! DD2 is insistent that she can't think of a single thing in London she would like except eating and Madame Tussaud's (and hell will freeze over before I go there again after being dragged along against my better judgement once before)! I also really want to go to Sir John Soane's house.

We're staying in Greenwich. Is Burough Market only open at weekends? Where is it?

Borough Market is open Thursday - Saturday, it's at London Bridge/Borough tube station.

Thank you. It does sound worth a mooch.

boat trip from Greenwich to Shakespere's Globe - take in an afternoon matinee performance - fantastic when the weather is fine. I usually get cheap seats from lastminute for Wicked every summer (my DD and their friends love it) the £15 and £20 seats are towards the back, but the theatre is so well tiered that you can still see well. The southbank centre often have evening special events on for free in the summer.
Do a Duck tour. camden market good for gothy teens (as others have already said). My teens enjoy the Royal Academy and then a mooch about Waterstones in Picadilly and tea in Fortnums or lunch in Chinatown. They also love the fashion and tapestries etc in the V&A. and they still like the British Museum- oh and Somerset house- there are sometimes film nights there too in the courtyard.

Yes I too want to vist John Soanes house. The old operating theatre is great, as is the Hunterian - but my kids thought it too gruesome.

YY to boat trip.

I so want to go to the Hunterian as well - have just read a really good book about John Hunter. Dd1 is v creeped out by The Wellcome Collection, so I'd probably better wait until a time that dp and I can go without the girls.

Is tea in F&M fiendishly expensive?

Does anybody please know if the V&A costume bit has reopened? I can't make head nor tail of their website (dim).

Sorry haven't been to the V&A for a while (I no longer live in London). Proper afternoon tea at Fortnums is horrendous about £34 !! I think in the fountain restaraunt but they have a bit called the parlour on the first floor that does lovely ice creams - Its a jaw dropping £12 for a sundae and about £3.50 for a coffee and £6 for a slice of cake- but they do "ice cream" for £8 and you get 3 scoops and some sauce - so my kids get one of those to share.

I am planning to go to the Sanderson Hotel for their Mad hatter tea this summer if I can persuade one of my DD (£25) www.sandersonlondon.com/en-us/#/explore/?id=/sanderson-london-mad-hatters-tea/ as it looks amazing. The St Pancras hotel has just reopened and they have restored the Ruskin foyer and staircase etc and I'd love to see its interior - it has a cafe which I might try to get to so I can have a mooch.

Mine might have to settle for a cone from Thorntons then! There's no way on this earth I'd pay 8 pounds for a bit of icecream. I'd be able to hear the creaking of my Yorkshire ancestors turning in their graves if I did!

I'd love to do proper afternoon tea but for four people it's just silly money. The Mad Hatter tea does indeed look great though.

The St Pancras Hotel is one of my favourite looking buildings in Britain - it would be great to have a mooch around inside. :)

A fab place for lunch in Greenwich is a very authentic little Chinese takeaway that is set up in the market. They do everything on two woks and a camping stove and it feels like a tiny itty bitty bit of the Singapore street markets. Very reasonably priced too.

Thank you - dd2 would love that.

Boat trip from Greenwich to the South Bank - lunch or dinner at Skylon grill or restaurant (often offers available), ask for a window table
Films at Picturehouse Cinema in Greenwich, nice bar there too
Walk through Greenwich park to Blackheath, could eat at Chapter Two
Ballet at the Royal Opera House - Marinsky there over the summer & drinks in the floral hall or ice creams on the terrace or great ice cream shop round the corner (road with Catholic church)
Look for theatre deals at Lastminute.com
Concert at the O2
V & A
War Horse - fantastic
Don't forget one day family travelcard for cheap travel - also if you travel by train you can often get 2 for 1 on paying attractions
If they are old enough, a free make-over e.g. Laura Mercier in John Lewis, Chanel at Harvey Nicks or Space NK - you could buy them something reasonable like a lip gloss or mascara & they might give them some samples

Forgot to add, Top Table for restaurant deals & there is usually a family week or fortnight for theatre deals for August, children / teens go free / cheap. Globe and National theatre good too - National seats from £10 or £12

Brilliant ideas - thank you so much. :)

I've done the duck tour with my DDs when they were about 5 and 8 bit expensive, but great fun. Might be a bit childish for uptight teens, but just perfect for primary school age DC and silly adults. If you forget to mention the water bit you'll get a wonderful look of shock off small people

Thanks Star - sorry, I'd missed this until now.

The Wallace Collection is something I always recommend to anyone visiting.

always gets overlooked - went there myself a few months ago with some relatives visiting from Oz and had a brilliant time. Lovely bar/restuaurant attached to the back too.

Just behind Selfridges

FYI the Tate musem run a boat between Tate Britain and Tate Modern in the summer

You can get a boat from greenwich to central London, getting off at various piers on the way. Ther is a good tourist info centre in greenwich - find out about everything! Lots going on in Greenwich itself, too. There is an interesting interactive installation called 'High Arctic' in the Maritime Museum. The Planetarium, Astronomy Museum and the Observatory also v good. And it's a lovely walk to the top of the hill. The covered market at the weekend.

There will be loads going on on the S Bank - check the 'Watch This Space' programme of free events outside the National Theatre, there are free installations and shows etc.

Thank you both. Will deffo investigathe the Tate to Tate boat and will do all of those things in Greenwich. Went to the wallace last time we were in London but didn't have cake there so may have to go back!