Top 10 Things to do in London with Teens
Wondering what to do in London with teens? Look no further! Here’s the Afegirls’ top 10 list:
1. Steal (a look at) a Raven from the Tower of London
The Tower of London is just cool. There’s this awesome sense of history — parts of it have been there since William the Conqueror! It has all the blood, gore, intrigue and passion you could ever want. Beheadings? Check. Disappearing princes? Check. Wrongfully imprisoned princesses? Check. And all, bizarrely, watched over by six tower ravens, at least one of which has gone mysteriously AWOL. (Rumor has it he preferred hanging out at a nearby pub . . .)
Our recommendation: take the Beefeater tour (strangely having nothing to do with gin) and find a way to stay close to the guide. Also, get there first thing in the morning so that you get on the first or second tour of the day. After the tour, explore to your heart’s content.
2. Remember to Look Left on a Bicycle Tour
I’m always a fan of doing some kind of “city overview tour” on your first day in a new city — you get the lay of the land, burn some energy after a day of travel, and, hopefully, learn some things that may re-prioritize certain aspects of the rest of your trip. The London Bicycle Tour checked each of those boxes for us. The whole thing took about 4 hours. Our tour guide pointed out the expected sights — look, kids: Big Ben, Parliament — and also told us the quirky names that Londoners had bestowed on notable modern buildings. We enjoyed being “in the know” and pointing these out to each other for the rest of the week — look, it’s “the Pickle” and “the Shard”.
We were also able to experience London’s changeable weather — went from blue skies to pouring in about two minutes. And had an adrenaline rush as Dan and Emma challenged a double-decker bus for the right-of-way. The tour was also timed perfectly with the Changing of the Guard — major bonus!!
3. Celebrate Baldness at the Churchill War Rooms
Admission to this site buys you a tour of the actual war rooms — i.e., the underground bunkers where Churchill and the rest of the British government spent the bulk of World War 2 — and admission to the Winston Churchill Museum. The museum is an incredibly fascinating and in-depth look at one of the great leaders of the 20th century. We all came away educated and, more surprisingly, we all enjoyed it. There’s a great audio tour through the war rooms themselves to tell you what you’re looking at and why you care.
4. Watch Life-Sized Nutcrackers at the Changing of the Guard
We saw this on our bicycle tour, which saved us having to make a special trip. It’s such an iconic London sight, that it really cannot be skipped. I think, for the kids, seeing the real-life pageantry made the whole idea of royalty much more real.
5. Channel Audrey Hepburn & Rex Harrison in Covent Garden
In many ways Covent Garden is incredibly commercialized — think South Street Seaport in NYC. But the atmosphere is still fun — street performers, sidewalk pubs and cafes, ice cream, and art vendors. And, if you squint your eyes, you can kind of imagine you see Eliza Doolittle selling her flowers in front of the Actor’s Church . . .
6. Rise Above the Crowds (S-l-o-w-l-y) on the London Eye
If traveling with teens, skipping the giant Ferris Wheel is likely not an option. We saved it for the end of the trip. It was fun to get a last look at all of the sights we had seen throughout the trip, and the view is unbeatable! Definitely buy tickets ahead of time though — the line for same-day ticket purchase was INSANE!
7. Cruise the River Thames
We hopped on a boat at the Westminster Pier and cruised down to Greenwich for the day. You can also go up-river to Hampton Court Palace and Kew Gardens. Seeing the city by river is pretty cool, especially on a nice day, but be choosy about what type of boat you take! On the way to Greenwich, we had a smaller boat, on which the seating was entirely outside (a portion was covered, but not enclosed) — very enjoyable. The guide’s commentary was present but not overwhelming. This was NOT the case on the way back. We were on a much larger boat, and forced to sit inside. The guide commentary was on speakers and just incredibly loud and unpleasant. With mounting headaches, we jumped off at the earliest opportunity and took the Tube the rest of the way.
8. Plant a Foot in Each Hemisphere at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich
We had mixed reviews on our day in Greenwich (thus the low ranking). I really enjoyed the whole experience — boat ride down the river, stroll to lunch along the river, meander past the Old Royal Naval Academy and up to the Observatory, pics on the Prime Meridian, and tour of the Observatory itself. The boys were fairly positive as well, but Emma says it was her least favorite day. Apparently she was promised ice cream, and we failed to deliver. Yes, she was 14 and not 4 on this trip, but is still holding this grudge . . .
9. Get Artsy in the West End
London Theater is arguably better than Broadway. Just an incredibly vibrant scene and a great mix of new offerings and old-standbys, classics and avant-garde. We saw The Woman in Black, which has been playing for something like 25 years. It’s an incredibly spooky show, with really only two actors. We loved it!
Read descriptions, check reviews and go! There are discount theater booths in Covent Garden and Leicester Square worth checking out.
10. Tame the Lions at Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square is a popular outdoor hangout spot — it has lions and fountains and statues (oh my!). We paused briefly at the Square on our bike tour, and, while the guide talked at some length about the historical importance of Admiral Lord Nelson (whose statue is at the center of the Square), Emma fixated on the tourists climbing the gigantic lions surrounding Nelson’s statue. She started tugging on my hand: “Can we come back?” “I really want to climb one.” “I mean, I NEED to climb one.” “Mom!”
Being the pushover parents that we are, we made Trafalgar Square our lunch stop on our Amazing Race day. And she climbed a lion. (And scalded her legs because the black metal lion was scorching hot. Doh!)
Side note: the Tate Gallery is right there, and it’s a great museum. So, if you’re so inclined, you can work in a little culture with your lion-taming.
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Want more Afegirls in London?
Check out:
– Our complete one-week London itinerary.
– A recap of how we planned the London trip
– Our suggestions for food and lodging in London
– Our family’s Amazing Race competition through London
– A day out in Dover: Castles, Cliffs and Tunnels Galore
Trip Date: July 2016
Kids’ Ages: Jonny 16 & Emma 14