Does anybody fancy helping me with a London plan please?

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

3 full days
2 adults and 2 16 year olds

One day they want to go to the zoo; we will take them there and pay for them and leave them for the day with a picnic and then collect them. Meanwhile we'll probably go to Wahacca and to Sir John Soanes, plus maybe the National and Portrait galleries.

Any ideas for the other days please? I imagine it'll be a mixture of doing things together and them going off for a couple of hours. In the evenings, we'll stay together.

Thanks. :)

Have they been to London zoo recently? Personally think it's pretty grim. Best thing was the reindeer at Christmas.

Otherwise what are they into? Shopping? Museums? Art? Techy Stuff?

They haven't been to the zoo for years and years and say they really want to go. They could be talked out of it in favour of something else, I guess.

They like indie music, art (but not dragging around galleries for ages; they'll probably tolerate Tate Modern for a bit), eating junk food etc! They might want to go to Camden but are not sure yet (have been before).

London Eye/lunch on the Southbank

Take in a show

V&A and Natural History Museum

Take the river bus down to Greenwich for the afternoon

For meal ideas Wahaca is fab, PingPong dim sum is great too, and if you're around Holborn, Bounce has ping pong tables.

Camden Market and Camden Town is quite good for teenagers

If the weather isn't too cold the Thames Clipper is a nice way to see London. You can go from Woolwich up to Embankment, passing the houses of Parliament and Tower Bridge and then get off of for the London Eye. They also do 2 for 1 deals on the Clipper or a family ticket, you'll need to work out which is cheaper

You can do Greenwich and the new Emirates Skylift, lots of places to eat at the O2 or head up to the park and observatory. The clipper also stops at the O2. There is also the Shard but it's ridicously expensive so personally I wouldn't bother

Have you been on the cable car over the Thames at Greenwich? You could combine that with a trip down the river if they're interested.

Deffo can't afford the Shard! May well be around Holborn, so thanks for that.

Greenwich itself is not terribly exciting for teens though, is it?

What is the skylift?

And you could leave them in Carnaby St and surrounds while you went in Liberty, Banana Republic etc

I wish I had teenagers to take to London. Instead I have preschoolers who are scared of the tube.

We've always thoroughly enjoyed London Zoo and it has lots of indoor stuff so works well in bad weather - the Rainforest bit where you lean over the side with no barriers, the butterfly house etc. Squirrel monkeys are good value too - scampering around you in a walk-through area. London Zoo has fewer of the big animals (they're at Whipsnade) but lots of lovely primates and the new penguin pool is fab!
Agree on the river - you could do Tate-to-Tate boat taking you between Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Covent Garden for street theatre (ties in nicely with Soanes). Globe Theatre? Brick Lane? Spitalfields?
And judging by your name, OP, have you done the Warner Bros Potter tour at Watford?!

My 17 year old absolutely loved Camden Lock Market this time. She also loves Borough Market for all the food samples.

If they're indie kids Greenwich has loads of little hippy shops and the market.

I lived in Greenwich/Blackheath as a teenager, loved it!

THe big vintage shop, Beyond Retro, is good if they like that sort of thing. THere is one in/near Brick Lane and one nearer Carnaby Street.

Ping Pong and fries

Kings Road for shopping and Saatchi Gallery, Peter Jones and the Crab Shack for lunch

We haven't done the Potter thing and they would love it. Is it easy to get to from central London? That might be more appealing than the zoo too.

Leaving them around Carnaby Street is a good idea, although dp would soon lose interest in Banana Republic etc! I suppose I could always dump him at the Wallace Collection...

If you go to the zoo afterwards you can get a narrowboat from the zoo to Camden market. It's a nice boat trip down regents canal.

Greenwich has the university now so is quite studenty, which might appeal.

I also find London Zoo rather sad. The Aquarium is nicer though.

See if something is on at the o2?

The Emirates Cable Car is brilliant. It really is. Right across the Thames to the O2. It's a bit scary but well worth it. Unless its windy then it doesn't run. We went about 11.00 on a Sunday no queues and the DLR rid their is great too, straight past Canary Wharf. Honestly I am a Londoner so not easily excited about The London Thing but that was fab.

I do love the DLR! The cable car looks perfect - do you do both ways? Is it near any other good stuff?

Blimey the ping pong table hire is expensive!

Well you're only a short distance from Canary Wharf there, which has A LOT more going on than you'd think. Museum of the Docklands is there and that's fascinating. Loads of lovely restaurants and bars with outdoor seating areas. Then a boat back down the Thames to the south bank which is great too. Big skateboarding and BMX area there which has some unbelievably talented youngsters performing, it's right on the south bank as you're walking down, so no trips to get there. Your teens might like that. We do and we are obviously adults. Tower of London and Crown Jewels in that neck of the woods too and that's always worth a look.

Afternoon tea at the lanesborough is great fun (but treat it as a big meal- we were stuffed). Walk along the south bank, explore Chinatown, Greenwich market is great.

The cable car is great and very cheap. IIRC it's about £3-4 per person return trip. So's the Clipper Boat down the Thames.(You get a big discount on Clipper if you have travelcards.)

If they like indie shops Greenwich market is brilliant. So is Spitalfields market near Liverpool Street (and you could also have a curry on Brick Lane.)

Lichtenstein is on at Tate Modern right now, which is perfect for teens (massive pop art, comic book humorous pics)

Covent Garden is still fun with all the street performers, string quartets, little shops (cybercandy - if they have a sweet tooth - is amazing)

Soho is still interesting - great comic book/manga shops. There's a fab ice cream shop which sculpts your ice cream into the shape of a rose. Worth paying a tiny but extra.

Also nice to do one of the parks - St James is pretty.

I'd also definitely book a show in the West End or at The NT or The Globe.

Wagamama would be fun for lunch

Some brilliant ideas, thank you.

Icecream like a rose - where?

Southbank, Soho and Covent Garden all on the list and we'll probably do the 'tourist walk' from Trafalgar Square to Westminster to saint James' Park to Buck Palace to see the dogs, to Green Park, to Picadilly.

And Wagamama also on the list, as dd2 has insisted!

and Wicked would be a good show

Oh, you MUST go to Postman's Park to see the memorial to "have a go Heroes", your children will love that.