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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Traveling to London with 2 older teen daughters in a few weeks and planning to do all the major sites (Tower of London, Globe, Westminster Palace and Abbey, Buckingham Palace).  Will be there there for a week so have some questions:

- For arrival day (when we are jet lagged) is there a specific walking tour or bus tour your teens have enjoyed?
- Any specific tour guide recommendations for the markets?  (Camden, Spitalfields, Portobello)  I know we could also just do these on our own, but sometimes a walking tour guide is nice
- A tea recommendation?  Was thinking of maybe the Orangery at Kensington or Swan at Globe?  Brigit's tea bus?  But definitely open to other suggestions
- Any shows really recommended right now?  We've been very lucky that we've seen quite a few already
- Day trip recommendation?  Windsor, Cotwolds, Hampton Court Palace
- Shopping recs? Love bookstores, thrifting, looking for dorm decor, typical teen clothes
- Museum Wise - V&A, Tate Modern?
- Restaurant recs?  Would love to find a trivia pub night teens could go do?  Have gotten requests for "conveyer belt sushi" and Indian?  Have a vegetarian n the group.  Italian / Pizza always popular but open to a variety of foods
- Staying near Tower Hill tube stop and have a 10 AM return flight out of Heathrow?  Best way and time to get get back to the airport?[/quote]

I haven’t been to Portobello market for years, but you definitely wouldn’t get a guide for either Camden or Spitalfields markets. These are not walking tour types of markets. Also, keep in mind that Camden is much much bigger than Spitalfields. I took my 16yo DS to a nice little pub/coffee place called The Market on Brushfield St opposite Spitalfields and bought him a half pint of cider (can drink alcohol provided you order some food like hot chips). He got a kick out of feeling a little grown up.

Regarding thrift stores, there’s a bunch around Covent Garden. I think one is called Pop boutique. You can google them.

My teens would not be up for a day trip to the Cotswolds. They are not early risers and I imagine just the journey there and back from East London would be super long. I would go to Greenwich which is on the eastern side of London. You can get a boat there.  There’s a market, you can go up to the Royal Observatory, wander the park, have lunch at the Trafalgar which is right on the water.

My favourite bookstore is Daunts in Marylebone and I drag my teens there on every visit. You can buy their tote bags - my DD uses hers all the time. I’ve heard really good things about the Waterstones on Gower Street. Looks like a beautiful building and is one of the biggest bookstores in Europe. It’s near the British Museum so could be conveniently incorporated in a broader itinerary.

Everybody seems to be going to Dishoom for Indian these days so worth investigating. You will be staying relatively close to Brick Lane which is famous for having lots of Indian places. Imagine most places would be much more ‘authentic’ so maybe figure out which would appear more to your kids.

There are two sushi chains which seem to be everywhere - Itsu and Wasabi. Good quality and convenient but not conveyor belt sushi.

What do your kids like museum wise? Art, history? My kids have never loved the British Museum as it can be crowded and overwhelming. They actually have a term for the fatigue that hits them about 30 mins after arriving - BME (British Museum Exhaustion). It has amazingg stuff but there isn’t a good written narrative to follow if you are wandering around on your own and the crowds for the most popular exhibits can be overwhelming.  I strongly suggest joining a tour or downloading an audio tour. You could get your kids to watch “The Dig” movie beforehand (excellent - my DD liked it) and then visit the Sutton Hoo exhibits.

If you want to go to the Tate Modern, suggest you combine it with a visit to Borough Market and wander along the South Bank. There is also the Old Operating Theatre museum right there. I’ve never been but they offer visits combined with walking tours which look fascinating - eg “body snatchers of Southwark”, etc.

I would take my DD to the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art in Piccadilly. Very different to Tate do google to figure out which would appeal more.

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