London with my 13 year old

[Nobodysempire]

I'm going for a weekend with my daughter to London. She is 13. I'd love some ideas of things we can do together. She doesn't like scary stuff so nothing like The London Dungeons. She's seen Matilda and we've been to The Tower of London. Any inspiration gratefully received.

DS (14) loves walking around seeing the sights/architecture you see in films.
The London Eye
China Town
Tate Modern
Covent Garden

Walks.com sightseeing walking tours
Shard (expensive but you can use Tesco vouchers!)
The big museums, eg natural history or British museum?

What are her interests?

I went with my 13 year old the other weekend - she's interested in fashion and design. We did the V&A and Portobello Road and then to Goldhawk Road to look in fabric shops, Shepherds Bush Market and then China Town for some food before heading to the musical we were going to watch that night. It was a fab day. On another day I'd probably take her to Central St Martins, wander up Regents Canal, go to the secondhand book boat and then maybe the London Fashion and Textile Museum.

What are your child's interests?

Sky Garden (free)

Camden Market.

My teens love London. Just walking through Covent Garden, China Town and Soho is fun as each area has a different atmosphere. The underground is fun and easy to navigate, so we just buy all day all zones tickets and hop on and off where they fancy. You could do a Thames boat trip to the Tower of London. Natural History Museum is great. St James's Park is brilliant for black swans, friendly squirrels and turtle spotting. Last time we stayed we saw an early show then ate near to our hotel, so I wasn't out with them late.

V&A
Imperial War Museum if she's interested in 20C history.
Tate Modern
Camden Market
The Egyptian section of the British Museum
The No 11 bus route.

And walk. Walk on you own or join a group. But do walk. Even if it's just through Hyde Park, down to Bucks House and through St James' Park to Trafalgar Square.

I would suggest dinner at a Tas - Bloomsbury (ie by the BM), the Cut (near the IWM), or around the corner from the Globe (near TM). Delicious Turkish food - meze...... a bit of this and a bit of that.