UKH

I am traveling to London tomorrow with my 16-year-old. The initial idea to escape the Spanish heat for a few days (we live in Valencia) seems to have backfired spectacularly.

Any suggestion for a heat-compatible touristy itinerary, suitable for a teenager? My son has never been to London, so I would like him to take in some of the classics without making it too boring for him.  

So far he has expressed an interest in buying silly things in Camden market and seeing soldiers with ridiculous warm hats faint in the heat. 

Any ideas are welcome! 

In reply to StefanB:

I found both HMS Belfast and Cutty Sark fascinating.

In reply to StefanB:

Borough Market

Tate modern 

Spittlefields market 

China Town / Soho 

Mercato Metropolitano 

Uber boat down the river Thames 

In reply to StefanB:

You couldn't write it could you. The BBC news says London will be "one of the hottest places in the world" tomorrow. 

Stay hydrated!

In reply to whatistechnique?:

It's Spitalfields market... Just in case the OP is trying to search for it And while you're there check out Brick Lane.

In reply

Spitalfields

London can be challenging in the heat, needless to say. Possibly cooler places he might like are the Imperial War Museum, the National Gallery, Victoria Park, any boat trip on the Thames, Covent Garden 

In reply to StefanB:

If the heat is off the scale, Holland Park and St James Park have lovely shady areas and Hampstead ponds are an oasis (but might be busy)

In reply to whatistechnique?:

The whole South Bank is probably quite good fun? From the view of the Houses of Parliament by Westminster Bridge to the Eye, the famous skatepark under the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Tate Modern, the Globe, the Golden Hind, Tower Bridge, various food things and performers and stuff as you go...

Maybe one for Wednesday rather than just cooking in the heat tomorrow, though. The big museums are probably the best places to hide from the heat. Pick one of Science, Natural History, V&A, Tate Modern, British Museum, National Gallery etc according to their interests.

In reply to StefanB:

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, is just beside the Cutty Sark. The National Observatory (of Meridian fame) is just up the hill, in a nice shady park (although the rest of London might be there too!)

Cant remember if the boats are air conditioned but a wee sail down to Battersea might be good - might be a relief to be on the water.

Hope you have a good trip despite the heat!

In reply to Ramblin dave:

The British Museum can turn into a bit of an oven due to its glass roof.

My favourite museum, but I wouldn’t fancy it in this heat.

In reply to StefanB:

Camden's a good shout, and one of the markets too. Maybe a stroll around Chinatown or Soho & Greenwich for the park.

My tolerance for museums would have been limited at 16 but everyone's different

In reply to profitofdoom:

Sorry I meant St James's Park, NOT Victoria Park

In reply to StefanB:

Stronghold London Fields has air con. Its glorious.

In reply to StefanB:

For getting around, get a hop-on-hop-off open top bus ticket. They're often valid for 24 hours, and some include a river trip from Westminster to Greenwich. The tube might be a touch quicker, but it will be very hot, and you don't see any of the city or how it fits together. Obviously the busses just hit the tourist sites which would be not very helpful if you were a resident, but is ideal if you are, say, a tourist. 

In reply to StefanB:

Some great suggestions here already, but the King’s Cross development is pretty cool to wander round. 

https://www.kingscross.co.uk/

Not been up yet, but the Sky Garden at the Walkie Talkie looks cool. 

https://skygarden.london/

In reply to StefanB:

Also, maybe this is a super-obvious point but rather than following a strict itinerary it's probably worth being adaptable and letting the youth have a bit of control over what you're doing - so let them know what the options are, but give them the call on the day as to whether they want to linger indefinitely in one place or push on quickly and do something else.

In reply to plyometrics:

 

Have they fixed the walkie talkies habit of melting anything on the pavement outside?

Might be a bit too unboring otherwise.

In reply to StefanB:

Thanks, everyone! Some nice ideas here!

There really is a lot of stuff to do in London ... 

In reply to mondite:

Apparently so. It was certainly an interesting design fault that’s for sure.

In reply to StefanB:

Jumping backwards and forwards between the Eastern Hemisphere of the world and the Western hemisphere (the prime meridian, the equator's not quite as exciting brother) is entertaining, which ties in with the observatory, Greenwich park and national Maritime museum + Greenwich Naval college suggestions from previous posts as they are all next door to each other

https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1uroM4e6x17Z9xJ60zsbw8Eivn2k&ie...

https://www.google.com/search?q=greenwich+naval+college&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-...

https://www.google.com/search?q=national+maritime+museum&rlz=1C1CHBF_en...

https://www.google.com/search?q=greenwich+market+google&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-...

If you want to hire some shoes and do some bouldering you can try the Freerider "Boulder problem" OK a recreation of it, not the actual El Cap one!  https://londonclimbingcentres.co.uk/centre/vauxeast/

https://gripped.com/profiles/alex-honnold-recreates-freerider-crux-indoors/   (edit: no I can't quite manage it, how do you do the Karate kick?????)

In reply to CantClimbTom:

For museums best to check out their websites/twitter.

Just seen an email from British Museum saying its closing at 3pm today and tomorrow.

In reply to StefanB:

The Museum of London is great and very under rated. I reckon it won’t heat up as much as some of the others. 
The Underground will be like a furnace. 

In reply to StefanB: left of centre idea : rough trade east , record shop and cafe ( of course ) , show him how music used to be purchased . It’s just off brick lane so loads of interesting shops and places to eat close by . My favourite bring Dosa World  

In reply to StefanB:

I was going to post "The title reads like an entry in Prince Andrew's diary", but I thought better of it.

In reply to ThunderCat : had to think about that for a few seconds . But when I got it i proper chuckled 

In reply to StefanB:

Mr S is just back from a week in London with a 15 & 17 year old.

They packed a lot in - Science museum, Trafalgar Square, Kew Gardens, a couple of west end shows, a night at the proms, a day trip to Brighton and to see UEFA womens match.

The teens said highlights were Brighton, the Lion King and my 17 year old loved Kew, the 15 year old took herself off into central London on buses and trains by herself that day, which for an island bumpkin who only recently stopped being excited by escalators, was a brave undertaking.

In reply to StefanB:

Did you pack swimming gear, the serpentine would be good to cool off in, but might be a bit weedy? I assume most lidos will be packed out with long queues.  

Tower of london is good. When i was 17 camden would have been on the itinerary, as well as Brixton, just to see and experience them in the 1980s.

In reply to Ramblin dave:

I would agree with this. Strolling the South Bank is one of my favourite things to do in London. Even if I don't actually do anything, I always like the atmosphere.

Also a +1 for Greenwich and the Cutty Sark.

In reply to Sealwife:

The rest sounds great. We are in Brighton now having taken the train down from London a couple of days ago with our bikes. I have never been on such a crowded train, nor had loud Italian spoken so closely into my ear at such speed so continuously for so long. It drained me but everyone was in good spirits. Teens would probably have loved it.

In reply to StefanB:

Thanks again for the suggestions, everyone! Just thought I should report back. The trip turned out great. 

The heat was actually a blessing in disguise (for our purpose) since everything was fairly quiet. Living in Spain, our bodies are acclimatized, so can handle it quite well. 

Note for future trips: with a teenager, it seems enough to spend a full day in Campden and then do some sort of quick Instagram tour where you take a selfie in front of all the landmarks.

In reply to StefanB:

Galleries. Museums. West-End. Royal Albert Hall.

And get on a bicylce and tour about the city in the wee hours of the morning (02h00 - 04h00) when the streets can be something even a little approaching "quiet" and the monuments are typically illuminated with bloody-great-flood-lights -- the best way to see them, in my opinion.

After that, don't bother with London. You couldn't pay me enough to ever re-visit Camden or Oxford Street or any of the other spots like those -- I lived in the City for two years, did all of that once only and that was one time too many by far, frankly.

In reply to Xharlie:

Down vote, lived in london for over 20 years, a great city. Now in Lyon, France, missing bits of london.