London Advice

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Hello!

I am taking my dd (15) to London for her 16th Birthday present in a few weeks. We have been to London once before on a Girl Scout trip but were only there for two days and did not get to see much.

Do you have any recommendations on things a teen would love doing? She's got a lot planned out already but I want to make sure we have time for some unexpected adventures.

Also are there any cool teen exciting restaurants i could look into? We are seeing a play one night so booking a fun dinner to go with it might be a good idea.

We are staying in central London basically to save us time even though it was more expensive. We will be making use of the tube as we used that last time we were there and loved it. So much better than our subway system here.

Thanks for any tips!

 

[iona]

What sort of things is your daughter into? Animals? Sport? Fashion? Photography? History? Films? If you can tell us a little about her interests and hobbies I'm sure we can give you some good suggestions.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

What sort of things is your daughter into? Animals? Sport? Fashion? Photography? History? Films? If you can tell us a little about her interests and hobbies I'm sure we can give you some good suggestions.

She's into fashion, long distance running, dance, and history. She is taking the US version of Advanced Placement European History right now and has been fascinated by things they have gone over thus far. It's her favorite class. That being said she's got a lot of "stereotypical" american teenage girl interests in clothes and make up. I totally don't mind taking her shopping or visiting stores I just don't it be to be the same stores we have here.

The play she selected to see is Mama Mia since we could get Harry Potter and Cursed Child Tickets. We do have tickets to go to the Warner Bros Harry Potter Studio tour as well.

Thanks!

 

[iona]

Museum wise the Victoria & Albert Museum would probably be a good fit. It's in the same area as the Science and Natural History Museums but is much less busy. Start with the Theatre & Performance gallery (which includes costumes from the West End production of The Lion King) and then see where your fancy takes you. The glass and fashion galleries are worth a visit too.

I also love the British Museum but if you're visiting get there for opening, plan to spend a couple of hours and then move on once it gets busy!

I'd definitely consider a trip to Greenwich - markets, quirky shops, great views over London from the top of the park and it's fun to catch a boat either there or back.

As a teenager I loved trips to Camden and Covent Garden with my friends and they're still popular with British teens (as an adult you'll prefer Covent Garden).

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

Thank you!!

 

[A Small World]

My teen daughter (17) loves going to London for a trip (we live in the North of the UK)
She enjoys wandering round Covent Garden and also likes walking through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
Check out Kensington Palace for the history aspect and also they often have a small exhibition in there of clothes worn by the Royals (usually The Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana)

Restaurant wise she has enjoyed going to Bubba Gumps on the last 2 trips - its in Leicester Square so close to the theatres

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

My teen daughter (17) loves going to London for a trip (we live in the North of the UK)
She enjoys wandering round Covent Garden and also likes walking through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens
Check out Kensington Palace for the history aspect and also they often have a small exhibition in there of clothes worn by the Royals (usually The Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana)

Restaurant wise she has enjoyed going to Bubba Gumps on the last 2 trips - its in Leicester Square so close to the theatres

Thanks! We do have Kensington down and have reserved a tea at The Orangery.

 

[Dimplenose]

My DD (now 23) loved Camden Market as a teenager - I have never felt so old! Do try haggling as you can sometimes get a reduction in price.

She also liked/likes to shop at Primark for cheap clothes. There are 2 branches on Oxford Street.

If you go to Greenwich then going by boat will get you great views of London.

Kensington Palace has a special exhibition of Princess Diana's clothes at the moment. http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-pa...ee-and-do/diana-her-fashion-story/#gs.7Q9Q5VQ - you may need to book.

V&A is my favourite museum - DD tolerates a visit there for my sake. There are very good free, volunteer led, guided tours at set times of the day - there is a list of the day's tours in the entrance hall. No need to book, just wait by the sign at the given time.

 

[Tinkerbelle's Mom]

My DD (now 23) loved Camden Market as a teenager - I have never felt so old! Do try haggling as you can sometimes get a reduction in price.

She also liked/likes to shop at Primark for cheap clothes. There are 2 branches on Oxford Street.

If you go to Greenwich then going by boat will get you great views of London.

Kensington Palace has a special exhibition of Princess Diana's clothes at the moment. http://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-pa...ee-and-do/diana-her-fashion-story/#gs.7Q9Q5VQ - you may need to book.

V&A is my favourite museum - DD tolerates a visit there for my sake. There are very good free, volunteer led, guided tours at set times of the day - there is a list of the day's tours in the entrance hall. No need to book, just wait by the sign at the given time.

Thank you!!

 

[Tanzanite]

My daughter loves when we visit England to go makeup shopping in Super drug and Boots shes just turned 16 and talks about her last shop in Super drug Our drugstores in the states are not as nice she says.

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

We are planning a trip to London in about a year and a half, so I'll be stealing ideas for our then 15 yr old. Thanks for starting this thread, OP!

 

[finchy3]

https://www.londoneye.com
A good place to get your London eye fast-pass and London eye river cruise tickets.
We also did this tour and it was fantastic https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com

 

[sharon78]

We also enjoy Buppa Gump, great restaurant especially if any of you are fans of Forrest Gump the detail in this restaurant is amazing.
Also another favourite for us is Choccy Woccy Doodah very indulgent cakes and drinks. It is a small cafe above the shop so unless you get there at opening you will probably have a bit of a wait.