Some London ideas...

by BillyGoat, At Thanksgiving with Joe Bethersontin, Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 11:26 (1816 days ago) @ Flann

None of this is probably very earth-shattering. I think all of these would be fairly kid-friendly. Not meant to be exhaustive.

-Depending on when you arrive, the hop on/hop off bus tour might be a good way to kill that afternoon. Get everyone a lay of the land without pushing tired kids too hard to sightsee.

-Regent's Park Open Air Shakespeare Theater. I love almost everything about London and this is my absolute favorite. IMO, Midsummer Night's Dream outside is as good as it gets.

-Imperial War Museum. Sounds very stodgy, but it's an amazing museum of WWI and WWII. A good number of interactive exhibits that should engage the kids.

-Churchill War Rooms. If you only did one WWII thing, I think the museum would probably be better for kids. But the Churchill War Rooms are insanely cool.

-I'm an absolute sucker for the Tower. The Beefeater Tour is just fantastic. Virtually exactly the same every time. One thing been obsessed with since reading Patriot Games is the Ceremony of the Keys -- when the lock the Tower every night. I ALWAYS forget to order tickets (and it might already be too late). But that would be pretty unique.

-Take an afternoon and just chill in one of those parks. Have everyone bring a book or Uno or something. Get some ice cream. It's amazing. Hyde, Regents, whatever. Rent a rowboat on the Strand in Hyde Park. Go Horseback Riding in Hyde Park (one of the favorite things that my wife and I have ever done), but you need to be prepared to ride English style.

-Buckingham Palace. You can always see the Changing of the Guard, which is pretty cool. But at that time of year you should probably be able to go in and tour it. I think the Queen will be in Scotland. That was worth the price of admission. Half the freeking world was once run from that building. If you don't want to go through the hassle of the changing of the guard at Buckingham, I really like the dismounting ceremony at Horse Guards Parade on Whitehall, and I think kids would enjoy it (it's also way shorter and you can get way closer if you get there early and grab a spot in the courtyard). But the horse guards get inspected every day in the late afternoon because Queen Victoria once discovered that they were drinking all day (not a great quality for one's bodyguards). So she ordered that they be inspected at the end of the day in order to keep that under control.

-IF you and your wife can get away for an evening, go get a drink at Duke's Hotel. It's right by the Palace of St. James and the Ritz. Supposedly, it's where Ian Fleming decided that James Bond would drink Martinis. It's just a wonderful bar, with awesome cocktails. It's gotten more crowded over the years, but it's just a great spot.

-For less touristy and more hanging out, try Spitalfields Market. Food stalls from all over the world. Amazing stuff to eat. And a cool place to hang out. Kind of off the beaten path of the tourist stuff -- it's over by Liverpool St. Station.

-I guess there's the Harry Potter studio tour, which I've never done, but will the next time I go.

-Outside of London, two awesome options. Windsor and then Stonehenge/Bath. Personally, I love Windsor. The focus is on the castle, but the park is pretty amazing. Lots of good little pubs in town. Ride the train to and from, which is fun. Stonehenge and Bath, I think, is a bus trip (unless your family can give you all a lift), which isn't as great as the train. Stonehenge, IMO, is about a 3 minute thing and you can cross it off your bucket list. But kids all know what it is and that it's famous. Bath is the highlight of that little excursion. It's just a cool town. But the highlight is, obviously, the baths. It's just amazing how you can see the strata of architecture from the Romans to medieval monks to Victorian.

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