Itinerary review - London with teens and a tween

"Day 6 (Sunday) - Abbey Road" - make sure you get the correct one, London has 10 Abbey Road's. See here: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-20431978

Hi Dani -

Sounds good to me, I love to wander about when I visit London!

I'd suggest to aid wandering you pick up one or two of the free street maps that contain ads and offers. You can probably get these in the airport before you transfer into London, along with the free Tube maps that are also great navigational aids. These are easily folded into a pocket and you don't then have to wander around with your phone guiding you and running your power down. I always carry a small compass in case I get really confused (not just in London!) which I'd recommend generally.

Have you thought about going to see whatever is on at the Globe one evening? 'Groundling' (standing) tickets are cheap, although I could understand it not being the kids thing especially. Maybe the tour will pique your interest! Add to Exploring Southwark a stroll along the south bank of the Thames, but bear in mind the Harry Potter studios are outside London, so leave plenty of time to get there.

Platform 9 3/4 is situated in the Kings Cross Terminal, (next to the Harry Potter gift shop, unsurprisingly) but your Eurostar will depart from St Pancras, which is a separate station albeit only a few yards adjacent.

All the museums are vast and will suck up as much time as you care to throw at them, so maybe a timed or selective visit is the thing, particularly if exploring on foot is more the general idea.

I believe the best shot camera wise of Tower Bridge is from Shad Thames. Cross the bridge heading for the Shard. Turn left in front of it and left again. This now side street turns sharp right - worth continuing down here to see the rest of Shad Thames, old warehouses with aerial corridors linking the old shoreline warehouses to the ones behind, although now converted to shops, apartments and the like. However on the right turn go straight up a flight of steps as if to access the apartments in that particular block. At the top of the short flight of stairs is a balcony/corridor with a fantastic view of the bridge and the Thames which you are standing just above. Also good shots further down on a boardwalk sort of area.

If you can fit it in, take a trip up to the Skygarden at 20 Fenchurch Street, or the Walkie-Talkie building as its referred to. It's free, but needs to be pre booked and there is airline style security to go through before you get to the lifts. On a clear day however, the views in all directions are sensational and if you want to splash out, there's a bar up there.

Hope the weather behaves for you - it does make such a difference - and that you have a great trip.

Ian

How late in the morning is your Shoreditch art tour?
Asking because Portobello Market is a zoo after 10am.

Personally I’d ditch the Shoreditch art tour ( unless it’s an absolute must) and revamp Saturday schedule starting at Portobello at 8:30am at the lastest, then meander over to Kensington Gardens towards the Round Pond and a glimpse of Kensington Palace, then keep walking over to the Albert Memorial then to the Science And Natural History museums. Here’s a link to the latter’s dining options. https://www.timeout.com/london/restaurants/natural-history-museum-cafe

Also on your departure to Paris Day combine British Library, platform 9 3/4’s and breakfast at Dishoom.
The fruit and yogurt offering is so good. You could then walk along the Regents Canal. There’s also the
Hardy Tree at the nearby Old St Pancras Church.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-hardy-tree

Have fun. Great city!

If you are leaving St Pancras at mid-day, you need to be at the station an hour before at 11. That won't leave time for much wandering in the area. Also be aware that large items of luggage are not allowed into the British Library, although there is (expensive) luggage storage at St Pancras station.

Philip makes a valuable point about the Eurostar and your luggage. Something to consider when trying to visit spots near St Pancras station.

HI My kids were similar ages when we went to London for Thanksgiving a few years ago. Here are a few of their favorites you did not have listed. Sci Fi Forbidden Planet store for all things sci-fi. Not sure if they are into that but it is a fun store to take a look at. My daughter was in her Dr. Who stage at the time. They also really got a kick out of having Thanksgiving lunch in St Martin In the Fields Church which has a cafe in the Crypt. It freaked me out a little but the teens seemed to love it. The food was pretty good too. You did not mention theatre but we found the costs were less than at home and the shows very, very good. They also liked the Churchill War rooms. It was pretty interactive and interesting. As for the Harry Potter studio tour we spent 8 hours there! My kids probably would have spent longer if they were not closing the door behind us. Sounds like a great trip enjoy!

Great insightful tips, thank you all! Especially grateful for the photo tips :) Our street art workshop is one of the only things one of the boys specifically requested, but maybe we'll try Portobello road before, or see if we can shift the workshop to another day. The Sci Fi Forbidden Planet store sounds like something my husband would like as much if not more than the kids and I hadn't heard of it - thanks for that!

Since it's June, we can now officially say we'll be there "next month" - yay!!