2.5 Days In London - Need Advice

I know it may sound a little corny, but a "hop on hop off" tour is a great way to get oriented to a new city. If you do this the first day, it gives you something to do keep awake and avoid jet lag, and it helps make the connections about where things are. This is especially true if you will be taking the underground most of the time from place to place. You don't need to get on and off. Just make the circuit and get a sense of locations.

I realize your target audience is 13 years old, but I would choose climbing the tower at St Paul's Cathedral to the London Eye anytime.

Greenwich was special to me because my grandfather attended the Royal Hospital School there. I don't know if it would be worth the time/effort with such a short visit without some sort of special connection like that.

You are better walking than sitting on the HOHO bus day 1 to get over any jetlag.

Greenwich is definitely worth a visit, but it is a full half day or longer. Go by boat so you don't need the river trip on day 3.

Changing of the Guard involves too much standing around waiting and isn't that interesting, so I would scrap that. London Transport Museum in Covent Garden is great for children.

I agree with the Hop-on, hop-off tour the first day. You get to see all the main sights and if you sit on the top, the air will keep you awake. I would rethink the Changing of the Guard. Other posters have commented that it isn't worth the time. I would suggest an Audio tour of Parliament. I am a political junkie and I found it fascinating learning about the history of the English Government. Big Ben is basically a one minute deal. You look up and see it. You can do Big Ben/Westminster/Parliament on the same day. We did it and it only took about 3 hours total.
London Eye only takes about an hour whereas Greenwich is at least a half a day. I enjoyed the London Eye as well as my 11 year old. We went right before it closed and got to see London at twilight. Simply breathtaking.
I strongly suggest that you buy tickets for Parliament and the Tower of London online before you l leave. You will save a lot of precious time not having to wait. I would do the Tower of London and Tower Bridge first before the British Museum.

A few suggestions:

• http://www.the-shard.com/viewing-gallery/
• If you take a HOHO bus (and I agree that i is a good way to get an overview - but not with jet lag) take the one that includes a river trip (http://eng.bigbustours.com/london/home.html)
• https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/emirates-air-line/

Let me know at what time you are visiting to London, so that i can share few more ideas with you regarding to London Events too..

If you are arriving mid day keep in mind Heathrow is one of the busiest airports on the planet. You could easily be there 2 hours by the time you deplane, go thru immigration, grab luggage and arrive at your accommodation. Great idea to stay out side to conquer jet lag. I say this assuming you are arriving from the states, seeing London first, then heading to Paris.

Day of arrival:

Get Oyster cards for each of you. Depending on where your accommodation is located I'd wander around Trafalgar Square for photo ops and maybe a nosh in the crypt cafe at St. Martin's off the Fields.
I'd save Covent Garden for later.

Instead take one of these routes toward Parliament Square.
1.) walk along the Thames path from Embankment to Westminster Bridge. You'll see the London eye across the river. There's a fascinating WW2 memorial along the walk.
2.) walk along the Mall to Horse Guards road and follow Horse Guards road, past the Horse Guards parade ground and the Churchill War Rooms to great George street and turn left heading to Parliament Square or turn right and follow Birdcage Walk through St James park to Buckingham Palace.
3.) or simply walk down Whitehall past 10 Downing Street and Horse guards to Parliament Square.

If possible and after photo ops of Parliament and Big Ben, take a tour of Westminster Abbey. If you are lucky and your timing is right you might wait in line to partake in Evensong. Check the Abbey website.

Following this exploration walk back toward your accommodation and wander around Covent Garden. Food and a good nights rest.

Day 2: early morning River cruise to the Tower or simply be first in line at The Tower of London by using your Oyster card and taking the Tube to Tower Hill and exiting. Head right for the Crown Jewels and then explore the remainder of the Tower grounds. Suspect you'll be there about 2hours. . Given the short amount of time for your stay it would behoove you to be there at the earliest you can. Are the 13 year olds into Harry Potter? If yes, after seeing the Tower, walk a few blocks to the glass covered Leadenhall Market and locate the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. Admire the dichotomy of the glass covered market and the surrounding Modern architecture. Then walk to or tube to the Brick Lane Market. Really think the 13 year olds will enjoy this. Have lunch for any of the food stalls. From here I would consider taking the HammerSmith and city line from and Aldgate East to Moorgate and walking to the Museum Of London. Free museum and well done. From there dinner end of Day 2.

Day 3.
Greenwich in the morning. British Museum or Harrods mid day. London walk at night www.walks.com

Have fun!

The HOHO bus is a great way to see a lot of London, but it didn't work for us when my fifteen year old son and I took it on our day of arrival after an overnight flight during which he did not sleep. Despite sitting on the top of an open topped bus in mid March on a damp and chilly day, he promptly fell asleep and has no memories of anything we passed. To this day (eleven years later), he swears he did not see such sights as Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and the Houses of Parliament. Better to keep walking the first day and visit sights your children are really excited about - save the HOHO bus for one of the other days and take advantage of the river tour part of the ticket.

Evan Evans does a thorough day tour of London. It is far better than doing the slow HOHO routes, which are a waste of time.