Kensington Palace
Jul 11th, 2002, 06:57 PM
#1
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Kensington Palace
My family of 4 with two teenagers has 3 days in London in August....we are trying to decide whether Kensington is worthwhile...it is out of the way a bit and does not look particularly interesting to the teens...any advice???? We are going to Buckingham Palace, Cabinet War rooms, London Tower and Tower Bridge, St Pauls, Madame Tussauds and Westminister Abby....<BR><BR> <BR>
Jul 11th, 2002, 07:21 PM
#2
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I'm not sure how old your teens are, but if they are old enough to care about shopping, there are some cool, reasonable priced shops lining the street near Kensington. The Palace itself is nice, maybe not an absolute "must-see" if you've only got 3 days, but it is a chance to see another part of the city and maybe hit a few cool clothing shops on the way.
Jul 11th, 2002, 11:54 PM
#5
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Your list, Buckingham Palace, Cabinet War Rooms, Tower of London and Tower Bridge, St Paul's, Madame Tussaud's and Westminster Abbey, is well chosen as a list of standard sights that tourists usually see. Have the teenagers any interests of their own, or any tastes in music, food, clothes, art, buildings, school subjects, or anything else ? If so, you will have a better visit if you drop the more boring parts of the present list and add special places, which others and I can name here on Fodors, in their lace. Buckingham Palace is a large grey building that you cannot enter. Madame Tussauds has a long line (queue) and a lot of wax dummies of famous people. Even Westminster Abbey, excellent if you know what you are looking at, is pretty flat if you do not.<BR><BR>The site http://www.hrp.org.uk/webcode/kensington_home.asp tells you of the drsss collections in Kensington Palace.<BR><BR>The London Dungeon is designed to horrify people, and to please sado-masochists.<BR><BR>If you, or the teenagers themselves, would like to say what interests and tastes they have we may be able to build a more interesting visit.<BR><BR>Welcome to London<BR><BR>Ben Haines<BR><BR>
Jul 12th, 2002, 08:50 AM
#6
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JJ,<BR><BR>My family and I are just back from London...my 14 year old son wisely spent the morning in the Science Museum while my wife and I toured Kensington Palace. <BR><BR>The Science Museum is perfect for children and teens, especially those who enjoy technology, science, and hands-on exhibits. <BR><BR>Kensington Palace is about a 15 minute walk from the museum. <BR><BR>To be honest, IMHO Kensington Palace does not qualify as a "must-see", especially during a limited visit to London. (Neither does Madame Tussaud's which is, after all, not a "real" historic, scientific or cultural attraction, but a contrived one...)<BR><BR>The Kensington Palace dress exhibit was interesting, to a point. For those who are fascinated with the history of court dress, the exhibit would be terrific. Others may find themselves skipping ahead on the audio tour. The Palace's royal apartments are also interesting...not on the level of a Versailles, but worth a visit IF you have extra time.<BR><BR>Hope these opinions are helpful.<BR><BR>David White<BR>http://www.KidsToLondon.com<BR>
Jul 17th, 2002, 01:21 PM
#7
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If you go to the Tower of London first they give you a discount card for 50%<BR>of one ticket to Kensington Palace or Hampton Court. That discount was per 2 tickets bought. It made Kensington Palace 15 pounds for 2 people and they gave free audio tours. If your teenagers are Diana fans they had a section of her dresses. We were there last week on a sunny day and the gardens were stunning.
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Jul 17th, 2002, 01:46 PM
#8
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As someone who is not a royal watcher, I would definately save Kensington Palace to see after all of must sees. If you want, you can browse the gift shop in the Palace for free and check out the gardens and grounds. Also I had tea at the Organgery which was a nice rest after walking around London all day.
