Right, so my kids and I - two girls ages 14 and 10 - are heading to London after I won a trip as a bonus. Go me!
We’ll be staying at Grosvenor House in London from 12/27/14 - 1/3/15. I’d like to do some touristy stuff - like ride the Eye and such - and my 14-year-old is insistent on seeing the Doctor Who shop. Fine.
But what else, my friends? What else? The last time I was in London was about 20 years ago. I’m told it’s significantly different. Plus, then, I just haunted clubs and record stores. Maybe it’s me that’s different.
the Tower during the day, to see the Crown jewels.
the Royal Mews, where they have all the carriages that take the Royal Family to events, like Royal weddings, including the carriage that the Cambridges rode in after their wedding. Also has the Gold Coronation Coach, commissioned by George III and used in every coronation since: Gold State Coach - Wikipedia
(The Mews are indoors, so it’s a good choice if the weather is a tad inclement, which is likely at that time of year.)
the Crypt of St Martin’s in the Field. They have a little café run by church volunteers, and you can do brass rubbings. (If you’re so inclined, attending a Sunday service at St Martin’s is well worth it.)
I would just add, since you’re political junkie: a tour of the Palace of Westminster, ie Parliament. There’s nothing like seeing the Mother of Parliaments.
They start the tour in the Queen’s Robing Room, where she comes to get ready for the State Opening of Parliament, then the opulent House of Lords, and then the much more utilitarian House of Commons. Well worth it, and there should be enough there for a couple of teen/pre-teen girls as well.
Covent Garden. It’s where the opening scene of My Fair Lady takes place, and is now a covered shopping mall. When we were there in the summer there was a lot of buskers and musicians. I assume there would be a lot over the Christmas season as well.
The girls are already sold on the Tower to see the Crown Jewels because, hell, crown jewels. But I’ll see if they’re interested in the other stuff there.
We’ll take a day trip to Stonehenge and so forth. I was there in my teens and figure it’s something I should make sure they see as well. Plus, they’ve already been to Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska so I hope to get the same shots there.
The Jewels themselves are impressive, but you tend to get shuffled past them quickly. Do go on one of the guided tours with a Yeoman Warder, they are a lot of fun. There’s plenty of Youtube videos of them if you want to check out beforehand.
The tower of London is fine but very pricey. I wouldn’t consider it an absolute must-see as there is so much more history elsewhere in London. If you want to cut down on costs then the following are all world-class museums or galleries and are totally free (as in…no pressure, no hassle, walk-in free)
And each is is worthy of half a day at least. Plus London is such a great city for just strolling around I’d recommend you pick up some simple tourist guides with walking routes and information and just have a wander. You’ll never be far from something of interest and somewhere good to eat.
Oh, and get oyster cards as soon as you get there. And avoid the open-top bus tours (a rip-off if you ask me, gives you nothing that can’t be gained from the normal bus routes and a decent guide book)
And the Eye is going to happen whether I will or no. Something about Doctor Who or Sherlock or something. Anyway, I’m reasonably assured that someone dreamy did something on it once and we MUST go on it. And I like ferris wheels so what the heck.
The museums will be good, though I’ll have to find a way for them to entertain a 10-year-old with more energy than ten dynamos. She’ll want to make the trip to the Harry Potter studios though.
Do you detect a pattern? My life functions as run by school girls. I’d say that I find refuge at the office, but my assistant - who sounds like a 10-year-old girl - runs my life with a rod of iron there, too.
I’m looking forward to running around Hyde Park and such. Last time I went I wasn’t adult enough to enjoy the city properly.
Here’s where we’ll be staying. Looking at the map it’s a short walk to Kensington Palace, The British Museum, Big Ben, Westminster, and much other fun stuff. This is going to be a blast.
St. Paul’s cathedral is impressive. Your kids might like Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, which has both modern and historical figures. Look kids: Big Ben, Parliament.
The science museum and natural history museum have lots of interactive kids things so they might be okay. London has great food if you’re willing to a) not spend the entire time trying to find English food - it’s not that it doesn’t exist but there are a ton of places aimed at tourists which are poor quality and expensive - whereas the restaurants specialising in world dishes are amazing; and b) don’t eat at any chains on main roads near tourist areas.
Try using a foodie app to view local reviews and try to eat from a different country every night. If you want fish and chips go to Poppies in Camden or Old Bishopsgate Market as it’s the best in London (have sticky toffee pudding for desert)
Also NY Eve itself is always interesting. There will be fireworks on the Thames near the Eye most likely but there will also be a million billion other people. The tube/subway will run all night and be free to ride for everyone and lots of roads will be closed. Lots of families about though for the fireworks.
I enjoyed riding the Eye. It gives you one hell of a view on a clear day (which it was the day I rode it). If anything, the ride was too short. I enjoyed the bus tours, too. I got a ticket that let me get on and off any of the tour lines for a couple of days, which covered most of London, plus there was a guided boat tour of London from the Thames. All depends on what you’re looking for, I suppose. Enjoy your trip, it sounds like it’ll be a ton of fun.
“Interesting” could be a very British way of saying “horrifying”, depending on what sort of Americans you are. There will be massive, crushing crowds and shocking levels of public drunkenness. Expect to have to get to the river hours before midnight if you want to actually be able to see the fireworks (or, indeed, the river), not to be able to move for the duration, and not to get home until the small hours as the crowds take a very long time to clear. I haven’t bothered with New Year anywhere near the Thames since I was a student, but a couple of years ago we went for a walk the next day. Unless you like vomit, I wouldn’t. (I can direct you to a lovely viewpoint for watching fireworks from a distance, though - you can see the main displays in the centre and a lot of the others all across town. We sometimes go up there on Bonfire Night, hundreds of displays big and small all over London.)
My daughter Arwen and I just went to London this past April.
Second (or third) the recommendation for Oyster cards. They’re vital for getting around the city.
Some suggestions:
Since you’ve got at least one Potter fan, ensure you build in a stop at King’s Cross station. You can have your photo taken with the Hogwarts House scarf of your choice around your neck, pushing a trolley into Platform 9 3/4. When we went, the lines weren’t long, and we didn’t purchase the souvenir photo they took; we snapped our own with our phones and everyone was nice about it. There’s a little HP shop there too. Touristy certainly but delightful & free.
For shopping, may I suggest Hamleys on Regent Street and the Forbidden Planet megastore on Shaftesbury Avenue? You will find something to please your Dr. Who fan for certain at FP. Very cool shops.
We did the London Eye and actually, it was my daughter’s favorite part (she’s 18). I preferred the Thames River tour that we did as part of the Eye package. I’d recommend purchasing tickets online to miss the rush; we got straight on to the Thames tour and waited maybe 15 minutes for the Eye. Peerless views of London from there.
I don’t know about your girls, but it’s tough to go wrong with the London Zoo and Sea Life London Aquarium in our family (though the Zoo might be nippy at Christmas time).
If you’ve got book-lovers, London’s a paradise. We loved the South Bank book market (again, perhaps a bit nippy in the open air). Charing Cross Road still has a fair few bookshops on it.
If you go to Oxford, you can see Harry Potter filming locations at the Bodleian, including the Divinity School (the HP infirmary) and Duke Humfrey’s Library (the HP library, especially the restricted section). It’s an easy train jaunt from London and we loved the bookshops there too.
Personally I loved the Tower of London. My favorite bits were the White Tower and the dungeons. My children have always been rather bloodthirsty so Arwen enjoyed this too. Plus: Tower ravens!
We’re huge Sherlock Holmes fans (BBC Sherlock as well as the classic Holmes), so we made sure to take in the Sherlock Holmes Museum and made a pilgrimage to St. Bart’s.
If either of your daughters is horse-mad or loves to look at young handsome men or both, the Changing of the Horse Guard might be worthwhile, although get your hot chocs first since it will be chilly!
Question: What about ducking over to Paris for a day? Seems the train is only an hour or two from London to Paris via the Chunnel. Is that a feasible trip for the Eiffel Tower and lunch?