Extending London trip with a teen

Wow what a great company perk. I've never heard of that before. That's amazing! With just two extra days, I would definitely stay in the UK. It would be too much of a hassle to go to a whole other city and only have 1.5 days there. In all honesty, I would just stay in London and do some day trips out of the city. There are many things within a two hour train ride, including Bath and Canterbury.

Stonehenge is exciting, espcially if you pay the extra to get to wander among the stones. The Roman baths in Bath are fun and the museum is great if your son likes museums at all. We did the walking Jack the Ripper tour which most 14 year olds would get a kick out of (as well as the adults), plus the theaters there are fantastic. The whole area around the London Eye fascinating with the park, the characters, the carnival rides. Don't forget the Hard Rock Cafe!

For the limited days you have, stay in the London area. A day trip to Paris is possible if you're determined. You can arrange Eurostar tickets so you'd have about 10-12 hours in the city if you want to do a rushed tour. My daughter and I did that and managed the Lourve, Tulieries Gardens, the Hard Rock Paris, the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and some shopping. We were supposed to do the Catacombs too, but a series of travel snafus made us 5 minutes late and we missed our tour. :-( (the trouble with being rushed) So Paris was rushed, but its possible- especially if you get all of your tickets in advance and have a game plan!

I agree with sanderskn - with only 2 nights, sleep in London and do day trips. Canterbury is a cool place to visit. Your son might be interested to learn about Thomas Becket, an English 12th-century saint who was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral. The town also has an 11th-century Norman castle - in ruins, but still amazing to see, and built next to a section of Roman wall which still survives! The castle is a 10- or 15-minute walk from the cathedral.

I haven't been to York, but it's a 2-hour train ride from London, I believe, and has a Viking museum and a medieval castle complex. You can read about the city and sights here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York

Stay in London. MORE than enough to explore. Hampton court day trip. Take a river boat to it and train back from it or vice versa. The London Royal Air Force Museum > http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk or the Duxford Imperial War Museum, http://www.iwm.org.uk. Stonehenge and Avebury. Greenwich Mean Time http://www.visitgreenwich.org.uk. Tour the White Chapel Bell Foundry. http://www.whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk. Talk more than one London Walks. http://www.walks.com Maybe one of the day trips. Other intriguing museums that might be of interest:

http://www.londonmotormuseum.co.uk.
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/london-fire-brigade-museum.asp
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums/petrie
http://www.englandrugby.com/twickenham/world-rugby-museum/
http://www.horniman.ac.uk
Take a tour of Lords Cricket Grounds, visit the Chistleurst Caves, take a canal boat ride, visit Camden Lock, Bourough's and Spitafield's Markets, visit Mudchute Farms.
LOADS of stuff to keep your family busy for an extra two days. No need to travel elsewhere.

Greggy,

Well, i would ask your son what he's interested in and go from there.

Noting that you loose one (1) day traveling there. Also, going to Paris for just a couple days would be a shame since it deserves more. But if thats all you can do, then maybe splitting up evenly between Paris and London or London and some other city.

Happy trails

Thanks for all of the replies. I think I will stay near London and day trip.

You have already received some good advice. I would just like to chime in my recommendation to try going on some London Walks tours if you can (walks.com). The guides are excellent and give a lot of interesting history. You don't have to sign up ahead of time, just pick a tour that interests you and fits into your schedule and show up and pay your money. I did 3 of their tours in 2012 and enjoyed each one. There is also a Paris Walks group as well and highly recommend them as well. Enjoy showing your son different cultures.

Staying in or day trips from London is a good idea. There are many London Walks that would be of interest to a fourteen year old, some museum are more geared to your son's age group such as the science museum, the London Eye is great fun and if your son likes Doctor Who a day trip by tain to Cardiff, Wales is managable to see the Doctor Who Experience.

I don't know if you count Greenwich as a day trip or not, but a boy would probably enjoy time there. You could let your son choose where he'd like to go that's near London. He might enjoy doing the research on the internet (or maybe even a guide book) and would be more invested in the trip.

In Britain, I think it's a benefit that absolutely every direction sign, museum brochure, theatrical presentation, or friendly B&B host will be using English, so your son could feel more independent and in the loop. With your travel record so far, it seems likely that you'll share another country with him pretty soon, when you have more time for that focus.

I would echo several other posters here and ask your son what interests him. I took each of my children on a trip to the UK when they were 14, both to visit their relatives and to explore the country where I had lived as a child. I tailored each trip to the interests of the child and challenged them to do research about areas they might like to visit. We did travel all over (my family is spread out) using public transportation, but with such a small country most areas are an easy day trip. It was also an eye opener for me because despite having lived in and visited the UK many times, on these trips I visited and saw places I would never have seen had the kids not picked them out. It also might be worthwhile to explore what will be in your son's school curriculum for the next school year, my kids thoroughly enjoyed sharing their experiences in the classroom when they returned from their trips. Most of all, it was great to see my home country through the eyes of my children.

To Claudia: I know London a bit; you know it a lot. Thanks for posting so many good ideas.