London, the favorite of teenagers | The Press

They are too young - and too cool - to be passionate about ancient art museums, but they are too old - and too cool - to follow their parents without grumbling. Traveling with teenagers in Europe is sometimes a bit of a challenge. Because you have to convince them to get up in the morning, despite the jet lag. But say the words Beatles, Bowie or even Harry Potter and suddenly they light up. Greater London is made for them.

THE GREAT LONDON TRIP

Museums, shopping and excursions, here are six ideas to impress your teenagers visiting London... without sacrificing your own pleasure.

The bus (and the Tube)

Sometimes you don't have to break your head to please teenagers. Sometimes it's enough to get them on board - and then sit down because it's less tiring - on a London bus, on the top floor.

It's slower than the Tube, the super efficient metro where they will hear the famous "Mind the gap", which has become a tourist slogan, which urges users to pay attention to the gaps between the car and the platform.

But on the bridge at the top, you can see the city passing before your eyes and you no longer have the impression of being on ordinary public transport, especially if you manage to sit at the very front , in front of the large window.

Idea, take the 19, which crosses from Knightsbridge - where Harrods department store is - to King's Cross station.

From there, you can see all kinds of great classics like the Ritz or Fortnum & Mason and we walk along parks.

To take the bus, you use the same Oyster card as for the metro. These are magnetic cards that you buy and which can be recharged very easily at terminals in metro stations and which allow you to use public transport without difficulty.

Oxford

Your teens may be too old to publicly admit they love the Harry Potter universe, but take them to the college town of Oxford and they'll forget that are too cool for school.

We're going by train. We don't need to book. There are departures very regularly. It takes about an hour, sometimes less, depending on where you leave in London. It's easy.

And there, we walk in the small town, discovering the university buildings with their warm old stones which inspired J. K. Rowlings and the producers of the Harry Potter films (and which will perhaps encourage your young people to pursue studies academics...).

Oxford is a university that brings together different "colleges" which all have their "hall", that is to say their cafeteria, and all look like the large common room of Harry Potter.

You have to see that of Christ Church College, one of the most spectacular. But it is not the only one.

For a meal break, grab soup or scones with cream and tea at reasonable prices at the Vaults and Garden Cafe, housed in a beautifully vaulted room in a 14th-century building.

Of course, for the real fans of Hermione, Hagrid and company, you can also visit the sets of the Harry Potter films, installed in a Warner Brothers studio outside London. But for that, you have to book well in advance.

https://www.chch.ox.ac.uk/visiting-christ-church/hall

https://www.thevaultsandgarden.com

https://www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/fr

Tate Modern

Housed in a huge former thermal power station, in the heart of the city, on the banks of the Thames, the Tate Modern has several qualities.

First of all, most exhibitions are free, like in many London museums, so even if you're not sure of the enthusiasm of the teenagers, you can go back whenever you want.

Then, on the top floor, there is a spectacular view of London, an option not to be overlooked when you know that the London Eye, the Ferris wheel installed nearby, a tourist classic, can cost more than $100 a visit for a family, mainly to see London from above.

And then at the Tate, there is free WiFi, that too, teenagers like it. That said, the multiple exhibitions are likely to interest them too!

A variety of contemporary art, often with techno or interactive elements. During our visit, an exhibition by American artist Jenny Holzer delighted young people, as did the presentation of The Clock, a film-feat on the passage of time by Christian Marclay.

Another time it was Chinese artist Ai Weiwei and next summer there will be an exhibition by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. A cool museum.

https://www.tate.org.uk/

Shopping

Whether it's just window-shopping, finding the latest sports shoes or eccentric clothes in thrift stores, London is a city of shopping with a lot of variety.

There is, for example, the Portobello Street Antiques Market in Notting Hill, or the thrift stores in Spitalfields Market in Shoreditch.

One of my favourites: Broadway Market in Hackney on Saturdays. There are hipster London crafts and street food. It's the meeting place for millennials.

For more traditional shopping, head to Oxford Circus where you can find everything from Top Shop to Selfridges. It is in this district that there is also Liberty, a department store dating from 1875, housed in a Tudor-style building.

You have to go to the central part, with its wooden mezzanines. Also spectacular, there is Harrods, in Knightsbridge, in the heart of the beautiful districts.

If you don't have the budget to buy Burberry or Stella McCartney, you can buy chocolate, a rare bunch of grapes or a Union Jack-coloured iced cupcake on the food floor.

https://oldspitalfieldsmarket.com

http://www.portobelloroad.co.uk

https://www.libertylondon.com

https://www.harrods.com

https://broadwaymarket.co.uk

The classics

Teenagers generally don't like huge museums or overly didactic tours, but that doesn't mean they should totally avoid the great classics.

Westminster Abbey, for example, is a must see and they will be interested in the graves of so many famous people they have heard about in their history or science lessons, such as Isaac Newton or Charles Dickens.

Trafalgar Square is a spectacular and lively place, as is Piccadilly Circus, which is a bit like Times Square in London.

You can also take them to see a musical in these neighborhoods, whether it's about Harry Potter or the classic The Phantom of the Opera.

Of course, some teenagers will want to cross Abbey Road, like the Beatles. Buckingham Palace is worth walking past or visiting, it is possible on certain specific dates, especially in summer.

And Kensington Palace - home of Princes William and Harry and their families - is in pretty grounds, not far from the Serpentine Gallery, which specializes in contemporary art.

My favorite classic: the Victoria & Albert, who often has popular culture exhibits that are very accessible. I saw an exhibition on David Bowie, another on the history of underwear and yet another on the future through different objects.

https://www.vam.ac.uk

https://www.westminster-abbey.org/en/

https://www.rct.uk

Windsor Castle

If you want to easily visit a castle of British royalty, you have to take the direction of Windsor. Again, as for Oxford, it is easy to get there by train. It takes about an hour.

Once at the station, you can walk to the castle in about 10 minutes. There, you can see the chapel where Meghan and Harry got married last spring. And you can visit the rooms where the wedding photos were taken.

Visiting certain sections of the castle - which is actually a series of buildings in the heart of a small village - gives a good idea of ​​what the private apartments of royalty must have looked like.

Currently, but only until January 6, you can see Meghan's wedding dress, designed by Clare Waight Keller, the British designer at the helm at Givenchy, as well as the traditional costume worn by Prince Harry.

The teens, who had seen photos of the wedding on Instagram, greatly appreciated it. The ticket price includes a very interesting interactive audio guided tour.

https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsorcastle

WHERE TO EAT?

London is overflowing with gourmet addresses. It's perfect for making discoveries with your teenagers. Or to delight them with what they adore, without leaving his shirt there.

Violet Cakes

If your teenagers are interested in the new Duchess of Sussex and her prince, then you have to take them to eat the best pastries in London at Violet Cakes in Hackney.

Claire Ptak's tea and coffee shop may be a little out of the way, but it was the organic-only Californian, trained by Alice Waters, who baked the wedding cake for Meghan and Harry.

At Violet Cakes, we eat in the morning for a reasonable price brioches, scones, muffins and coffee or tea, or, later in the day, we choose a piece of cake.

The jam is exquisite. A few outdoor tables allow you to eat on site, weather permitting.

47 Wilton Way

http://www.violetcakes.com

Honey & Spice

This is not a restaurant, but rather an Israeli-style buffet where you can choose to eat in or take out.

Aficionados of Yotam Ottolenghi will be happy to know that it is run by elders of the house of the great master of vegetables and that, here too, the Middle Eastern flavors are combined with a lot of vegetables, but also some tender meats.

We choose what we want to eat, we sit down at the tiny counter (or on the terrace, in summer). With a cup of tea.

If you want a real sit-down meal, in the same vein, you can eat at Honey & Co., just across the street.

Not to be missed: the desserts, all kinds of cakes with lemon, pistachio, orange blossom and company. The owners have a third grill restaurant called Honey & Smoke.

52 Warren Street

https://honeyandco.co.uk

Chicken Shop

It's not a big restaurant, it's even a small chain of unpretentious bars.

But to eat with teenagers, we go there with our eyes closed: quality roast chicken, potato or sweet potato fries, green or cabbage salad, avocado, corn in cob, good burgers, mac and cheese.

The menu doesn't drift too far and stays with the beloved ones. There are several branches in residential areas.

We reserve if possible. Slightly neo-rustic decor. I insist: we are in the right basic. A safe bet at reasonable prices.

http://www.chickenshop.com

Rochelle Canteen ICA

This is where you stop if you want a really good meal at a fair price, right in the city center, a stone's throw from Trafalgar Square.

All white, all bright, hidden in the ICA cultural centre, this Rochelle Canteen offers British-style meat and vegetable dishes, a refined, modern, hearty and tasty version.

You have to try the chicken pot pie, seasonal grilled quail, buttered cabbage, white beans and chocolate terrine with whiskey-soaked raisins and double cream.

Dishes to share between $9 and $25, roughly. Nice wine list. Big crush for this second address of the super duo formed by Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson, two great ladies of the British restaurant industry.

16 Playground Gardens

https://www.ica.art/rochelle-canteen

Brat

The first time I went to Brat, in Shoreditch - London's version of Brooklyn or Mile End - I ran into Keira Knightley, one of the actresses from Love Actually . It's hard to get more "British" and more pre-Christmas.

Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a restaurant where you can meet the actors of Harry Potter, or the Zayn Malik and Harry Styles.

At Brat, you have to book, because it's very popular and frankly very good. All the cuisine is prepared over a wood fire.

The place is totally typical of London, with brass and dark woodwork and a nice bar where you can sit comfortably.

On the menu, modernized British dishes. A few ideas and approximate prices: blood sausage ($12), mutton ($30), whole sole ($38), smoked potatoes ($7.50), grilled peppers ($8). We share, we modulate according to appetite.

4 Redchurch Street

https://www.bratrestaurant.com