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One of the greatest opera houses in the world, this theatre is home to the Royal Ballet Company, and hosts international opera productions. Apart from the sumptuous main auditorium, there are the smaller Lindberg and Clore theatres which have music and dance. There are regular backstage tours and occasional big-screen live simulcasts of opera in the Piazza.

Seeing a play at the National Theatre takes you to the heart of London’s cultural life. Within the grey blocks of this innovative building, designed by Denys Lasdun in 1976, you can see a musical, a classic or a new play in one of its three theatres: the Olivier, the Lyttleton or the Cottesloe. Check for free shows and exhibitions in the foyer. Reduced price tickets are sold from 10am on the day of the performance

Home of one of the best music companies in the world - the London Symphony Orchestra, the Barbican is the City’s most important arts complex. Theatre, cinema, concerts, dance and exhibitions can all be seen here, and there are plenty of restaurants, cafés and bars. The centre also contains a library, convention hall and music school.

London’s other principal opera house presents excellent productions sung in English by the English National Opera. The theatre re-opened in early 2004 after extensive restoration work.

Part of the Royal Festival Hall (currently undergoing refurbishment), Queen Elizabeth Hall, along with the Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery, has a programme of musical, arts and literary activities.

After winning a reputation as the best dance theatre in London in the 1950s, Sadler’s Wells now also hosts music and opera. The stunning new building prides itself on its community events as well as its international dance shows.

This distinctive, circular building was designed to resemble a Roman amphitheatre, and has a delicate Classical frieze around the exterior. The excellent acoustic inside makes this a premier venue for every kind of concert, including the “Proms”.

The cream of new drama can be seen at this charming small theatre. Recently refurbished, both the main, and tiny upstairs theatre, are important London venues. Play “actor spotting” in the new restaurant and bar.

With a glorious location by the Thames at Hammersmith, this is a fascinating arts and media centre. An eclectic programme includes cinema, theatre, dance and the visual arts. Works of such innovators as Samuel Beckett and Peter Brook have premiered here. Once BBC studios, Riverside is still used to make TV shows. The pleasant café and bar are a draw in themselves.

A stately, colonnaded terrace by Nash houses London’s hippest gallery, the Institute of Contemporary Arts. The ICA’s cutting edge policy on the visual arts includes developing new and challenging digitally-produced works, and Becks Futures, the UK’s largest arts prize for students.