London or Paris with Teens

We took our grandkids (14 and 11) to both cities on one trip. They didn’t want to leave London for Paris.
I would choose one city. After visiting Paris, they both preferred London
A good day trip from London is Windsor Castle, easy by train, buy tickets to Windsor Castle online before you go to avoid long lines.The town is nice and you can have lunch there. Also Oxford or Cambridge are excellent day trips too.

I agree, I think pick one or the other. Unless they have taken French in High School, they may absorb more in London. Also, be flexible. The first time I took my kids overseas they started thinking everything was ADM or ADC (another damn museum or another damn church!). Maybe have them pick a few things on the trip to balance what you want to see. Half the time my kids just wanted to go back to the hotel and hang out with the other kids from all over that were on vacation too, and after a while, we realized that was ok too! Maybe some off beat stuff as well. Spend an afternoon at Harrod's, or take a Jack the Ripper tour, or go to the Imperial War Museum. Hope this helps a bit.

Pick one city.

If you are “stuck with London”, then possible day trips could include: Oxford, Cambridge, Windsor, a boat trip down the Thames to Greenwich for the Royal Observatory and the market, Hampton Court Palace, for something hipper - Brighton or ride a steam train on the Bluebell Railway (take a modern train from London Victoria to East Grinstead where the heritage line starts).

Restaurants are easier to advise once you know where you are staying. The Wagamamas chain is ideal with teenagers.

April means Easter school holidays, so places will be busy.

I took a group of teens to London and Paris several years ago and I will say that London was a bigger hit. But it wasn’t the things I expected to be a big hit

For example I forced them to go to the tower of London and after six hours we drug them out of there because it was pouring rain and the adults were miserable. But the kids were still having a great time. Same thing at Shakespeare’s globe I forced them to go and then we couldn’t get them out of that museum for anything. They were having a great time playing with all the exhibits. So you just never know

Day trip ideas
Hampton Court Palace
Bletchley Park
Studios that did Harry Potter
Portsmouth ( historic dockyard)

What does the 17 year old young lady want to do with her hife? There is so much history and so many discoveries were made here she could see where things happened, if that's interesting. For example, if she's interested in becoming a lawyer you could visit the Inns of Court and watch part of a trial at the Old Bailey. Or if medicine, biology or public health is her thing she could visit the place Penicillin was discovered (near Paddington station) or DNA was discovered (Cambridge). If computers and codebreaking, Bletchley Park where the German secret messages were decoded and the home of the National Museum of Computing (Alan Turing). You see where I'm going...

If you make the trip about the teen and young adult and include them in the planning it will go well and all will have great time.

What do your kids want to do? I don’t think 5 days London/2 Paris is unreasonable at all. It’s such a short and easy train ride between the two so why not. And the Eiffel Tower alone is worth the trip for teens.

Here are my (no doubt, biased!) thoughts:

I took my daughters (15, 13) to Paris for two nights (turned into 3 due to flight cancellation) this April and I was shocked they didn't fall in love. My older daughter has dreamed of going and doodled the Eiffel Tower since she was 3 and my younger one chose to study French at school and was excited to try hers out.

We didn't have a bad time per se and I actually found the people perfectly kind and charming despite all kinds of warnings about "the French". The girls say they are glad they went but they don't have a desire to go back, while both would dash back out the door for Cinque Terre or Rome.

I think there were probably two factors that made it not as enjoyable as we expected. 1. Our plans being at odds with the weather. We were surprised that, in early April, it was below freezing at night and there was sleet and rain. It went beyond mild discomfort at times and we did have packable down coats and wool undershirts on. Problem was, with only 2 days, we planned to walk from one end to the other and soak things in-- just not literally. It was too wet and cold and we spent a lot of time on stuffed busses.

1. More importantly, too short a visit, I think. I have noticed a theme of people disliking cities they stay only a day or two in on their first visit. Doesn't seem to work that way on subsequent visits. Not always of course, but it seems to be common.

If I were in your shoes, I'd go to London the entire time and fall in love with as many neighborhoods and markets and experiences as you like. It's possible they will love London even more if it is "the" destination and they aren't thinking about heading to Paris next?

1) Pick one city and go.
2) Treat you teens like adults. I traveled with kids, mostly teenaged while living overseas for years and they are best exposed to history, art and great scenic places.

Before we set out to travel, I would have my teens read portions of guidebooks that explained what was seen. Also, I would find books for them to read prior to travel. Did a trip to Mexico City and surrounding area when my Daughter was 11. I had a short book on Cortes conquest of the Aztecs.. She read the book before the trip and loved it even more.

Pick one city. You will be amazed at the amount of time it takes to relocate. Packing up, checking out of the hotel, getting to the airport or train station and waiting for your flight or train. Then there is the travel time itself, clearing immigration, getting to the new hotel, and checking in.

With regard to activities, get the kids very involved in the planning. The more they are "invested" in the plans, the less likely they'll be "unhappy campers" -- not that teens are ever a problem.

So what research have the teenagers invested into this journey?

Just for balance, started taking my now 32 yo son to Europe when he was 11 yo every summer/every other summer and he absolutely loved Paris from Day 1 but was meh about London. We’ve been to both many times and he still much prefers Paris. Everyone, no matter what age, is different. .

I’d split the days evenly and do both.

hey hey ghackb
like others have mentioned, one city would be better with your time frame. it's your vacation though so it's your decision to go to paris. if you do both, book a multicity flight: atlanta to london/ paris to atlanta (no backtracking)
eurostar.com booking way ahead of time (couple months) is more budget friendly. keep an eye on it.
so much to see and do in london, have your kids get involved, have them plan one day each what they want. it's a compromise if someone not that into it.
discoverwalks.com/ london
withlocals.com/ london
getyourguide.com
many different things to do and see
be prepared if wanting to see changing of the guard at palace. checkdate/times (rct.uk/ visit). lots of people, very crowded, if short hard to see with many in front of you, long wait time when you get there early, wear comfy shoes, have cameras ready. it's a sight to see, we loved it. saw the horses galloping down the road in perfect harmony, also at the wellington barracks on birdcage walk is where the guard and band form.
wowcher.uk.co
register with email (free), it's like groupon. under more click what you want to look at. some are 2 for 1 price, afternoon tea, theatre tickets, river boat rides, dining/restaurants, etc
walks.com
look at all the different walks available and what days/times
streetsensation.co.uk/ markets
list of street markets, where, times, what they offer as in goods, food,
stmartin-in-the-fields.org
historic building and church, have lunch in cafe
freetoursbyfoot.com
many different tours/activities to see and do. you will not see everything. make a list of must do's, okay to miss, no time. have a map of london and mark where places are and combine them to what you plan to see in that area that day.
b-bakery.com
afternoon tea, chose which tour you want) on the big red double decker bus. takes you past known attractions in the city while having goodies on board to enjoy.
sixinthecity.co.uk/ walks
visitbrighton.com
a day trip by train away from london to have fun at the beach/boardwalk
thamesrockets.com
speedboat rides down the thames river
londonboxoffice.co.uk
cheap theatre tickets if interested
jasons.co.uk
boat ride down the regent's canal from little venice to camden lock
aladyinlondon.com
scroll down to search put in brighton beach with ideas there
or look at other places, days trips from london in popular posts, all your gang would enjoy
my novel is done, gives you lots to look at, think about, do your research along with the kids. have fun and enjoy
aloha

We long ago discovered we can see and take in so much more by traveling slower.

Since visiting any great city is an investment (of sorts), they are worthy of be seen properly.

1 week, stick to one great city. There's certainly enough to take up the entire week.

I normally agree slow travel is best, but with teenagers who get bored easily, and London and Paris being two of the world’s greatest cities, and a 17 yo that may not want to travel with a parent again after turning 18, experiencing both cities together is worth considering.

Thanks to all for these thoughtful recommendations! We will likely stick with England, plan for most of the time in London with possibly a day trip. And yes, I do plan on having the kids research and provide some feedback on where to go!

Thanks again! I really appreciate all the responses!

Something different, Tea Time on a Double Decker Bus: https://b-bakery.com/london/bus-tours/afternoon-tea-bus-london

Have you considered two days somewhere else in England, such as Bath/Stonehenge? You wouldn't have to adjust to a different language and Mad Max used to have a day tour that included some Harry Potter sights.

Pick one city, you’ll lose half a day of a short trip changing cities.

There’s plenty of YouTube videos aimed at travel for young people that’ll cover both cities, have them do some research.

For me at that age, I would have picked London. First of all, I was a soccer fan but also I just had learned a lot more British history and culture than French in high school. So, at least I’d have some idea of what all I’m looking at. To be honest, as a teen I wouldn’t even care about restaurants and French food. I wasn’t horribly picky, but definitely ate like a teen without any refined tastes.

very interesting takes on P vs. L for teens

Expose them to both. When my daughter was 16 we had a week’s school vacation. We spent the bulk in London but 2 days midweek in Paris. At the time she liked London better. However she later spent her college junior year abroad in Paris and a Fulbright post college year in Nancy. Then 5 years in London. Expose them to both, you never know where their life will lead them. Don’t restrict them early on.

I'd be more likely to choose Paris in April. I think you are more likely to enjoy reasonable weather that early in the year in Paris than in London. Both have great museum choices. If that's what your children will enjoy most, the weather might not matter as much.

Does it have to be one or the other? April is a great time for Spain. Early April will have Semana Santa, Holy Week, and Easter. If you chose somewhere like Sevilla, there would be a lot of celebrations, parades, etc. going on. Late April is the April Fair in Sevilla, it's a great cultural event - like stepping back in time a century or two. With a week, I'd plan several days in Sevilla and try to pick up at least one other city. You could fly into Madrid and visit Toledo and Cordoba - all available by fast train from Madrid.