Popular Arts Venues in London
Theatreland, the South Bank and everything in between.
London's arts scene runs in clusters. Theatreland covers Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Soho. The South Bank and Bankside hold the big producing houses and concert halls along one riverside walk. Islington, Chalk Farm, Hammersmith, Whitechapel and Stratford carry dance, new writing, music halls and gig rooms.
Where the scene clusters
Two districts do most of the work. Theatreland runs from Covent Garden through Soho and Shaftesbury Avenue, while the South Bank keeps theatre, film, classical music and contemporary art within ten minutes of Waterloo. Beyond them, Islington, Chalk Farm and Stratford hold the newer work.
What you can see for nothing
More than visitors expect. Several public galleries charge nothing for their main displays, the larger arts centres open their foyers free in the daytime, and standing tickets on Bankside are still the cheapest way into London theatre.
When the season peaks
Autumn is the busiest stretch, with new productions opening from September and the film festival taking over the South Bank in October. Summer brings the Proms to South Kensington and a new pavilion commission in Kensington Gardens. January is quieter and cheaper.
Popular Arts Venues in London
Alexandra Palace
Multi-purpose venue
Seven acre palace in 196 acres of parkland, with a Great Hall, a restored Victorian theatre, an ice rink and around 1,500 free parking spaces. Original home of BBC Television.
Alexandra Palace Way, Wood Green, London, N22 7AY
Almeida Theatre
Producing theatre
325-seat Off West End house known for bold revivals and transfers to the West End and Broadway.
Almeida Street, Islington, London, N1 1TA
Barbican Centre
Arts centre
Owned and funded by the City of London Corporation. Concert hall, theatre, cinemas, art gallery and conservatory on one Brutalist estate. Resident orchestra is the London Symphony Orchestra.
Silk Street, Barbican, London, EC2Y 8DS
Battersea Arts Centre
Arts centre
Grade II* listed former Battersea Town Hall. The Grand Hall was restored and reopened in 2018 after a 2015 fire.
Lavender Hill, Battersea, London, SW11 5TN
BFI Southbank
Independent cinema
The UK's leading repertory cinema, four screens plus the free Mediatheque archive viewing room. Main venue of the BFI London Film Festival.
Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XT
Bush Theatre
New writing theatre
New writing house in the former Shepherd's Bush Library, with a main auditorium of around 150 seats and a studio.
7 Uxbridge Road, Shepherd's Bush, London, W12 8LJ
Cadogan Hall
Concert hall
950-seat concert hall in a converted 1907 Christian Science church, home of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
5 Sloane Terrace, Chelsea, London, SW1X 9DQ
Curzon Soho
Independent cinema
Three screens showing independent, arthouse and foreign-language film alongside mainstream releases.
99 Shaftesbury Avenue, Soho, London, W1D 5DY
Donmar Warehouse
Studio theatre
251 seats, not-for-profit Off West End house first opened in its current form in 1977.
41 Earlham Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9LX
Eventim Apollo
Live music venue
Grade II* listed 1932 art deco theatre, capacity around 5,000 standing or 3,600 seated.
45 Queen Caroline Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 9QH
Hayward Gallery
Public art gallery
Brutalist gallery with pyramid roof lights, known for major contemporary art exhibitions. Part of Southbank Centre.
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
London Coliseum
Opera house
London's largest theatre at around 2,359 seats, Grade II* listed, home of English National Opera.
St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, London, WC2N 4ES
Lyric Hammersmith Theatre
Producing theatre
Victorian auditorium of around 550 seats rebuilt inside a modern shell, plus a studio and a large free-access creative learning space.
Lyric Square, King Street, Hammersmith, London, W6 0QL
National Theatre
Producing theatre
Three auditoria: Olivier (1,150), Lyttelton (890), Dorfman (up to 450). Grade II* listed Brutalist building opened 1976.
Upper Ground, South Bank, London, SE1 9PX
O2 Academy Brixton
Live music venue
Grade II listed 1929 art deco hall with a sloping floor, capacity around 4,900. Reopened on 19 April 2024 after a closure that began in December 2022.
211 Stockwell Road, Brixton, London, SW9 9SL
Prince Charles Cinema
Independent cinema
Two screens just off Leicester Square, known for sing-along screenings, quote-alongs and all-night marathons, with some of the cheapest tickets in central London.
7 Leicester Place, London, WC2H 7BY
Rich Mix
Arts centre and independent cinema
Independent charity in a converted garment factory, with three cinema screens, a main performance space and studios.
35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, London, E1 6LA
Roundhouse
Music and performance venue
Grade II* listed 1847 railway engine shed converted to a performing arts venue in 1964. Around 3,300 standing capacity.
Chalk Farm Road, Chalk Farm, London, NW1 8EH
Royal Academy of Arts
Art gallery
Independent charity led by artists and architects. The Summer Exhibition has run every year since 1769.
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, W1J 0BD
Royal Albert Hall
Concert hall
Seating capacity 5,272. 1,719,156 visits in 2025, 17th most visited UK attraction per ALVA. Home of the BBC Proms each summer.
Kensington Gore, South Kensington, London, SW7 2AP
Royal Court Theatre
New writing theatre
Home of the English Stage Company since 1956 and the UK's leading new writing theatre. Jerwood Theatre Downstairs and Upstairs.
Sloane Square, Chelsea, London, SW1W 8AS
Royal Festival Hall
Concert hall
Grade I listed 1951 Festival of Britain hall, around 2,700 seats. Free daytime access to the foyers.
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX
Royal Opera House
Opera house
Home of The Royal Ballet and Opera, around 2,250 seats in the main auditorium, plus the Linbury Theatre.
Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 9DD
Sadler's Wells Theatre
Dance house
The UK's leading dance venue, around 1,500 seats. Nearest tube is Angel. Also operates Sadler's Wells East in Stratford.
Rosebery Avenue, Islington, London, EC1R 4TN
Serpentine
Free public gallery
Two free galleries either side of the Serpentine lake, Serpentine South and Serpentine North. Commissions a temporary architect-designed Pavilion each summer.
Kensington Gardens, London, W2 3XA
Shakespeare's Globe
Producing theatre
Open-air timber reconstruction of the 1599 Globe, plus the indoor candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. Standing yard tickets are the cheapest in London theatre.
21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London, SE1 9DT
Soho Theatre
Studio theatre and comedy venue
Three spaces programming new plays, cabaret and stand-up. A second venue, Soho Theatre Walthamstow, opened in a restored 1930 art deco cinema.
21 Dean Street, Soho, London, W1D 3NE
Somerset House
Arts centre
Neo-classical quadrangle between the Strand and the Thames, with free courtyard fountains in summer and an ice rink in winter, plus exhibitions and studios for creative businesses.
Strand, London, WC2R 1LA
Southbank Centre
Arts centre
Europe's largest single-run arts centre. 3,423,648 visits in 2025, 6th most visited UK attraction per ALVA. Includes Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Purcell Room and Hayward Gallery.
Belvedere Road, South Bank, London, SE1 8XX
The Old Vic
Producing theatre
Founded 1818, around 1,000 seats. Independent not-for-profit receiving no regular public subsidy.
103 The Cut, Waterloo, London, SE1 8NB
The Photographers' Gallery
Free public gallery
The first independent gallery in Britain devoted to photography, founded 1971. Free entry to most displays.
16-18 Ramillies Street, Soho, London, W1F 7LW
Theatre Royal Stratford East
Producing theatre
Grade II* listed 1884 theatre of around 460 seats, historically home to Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop.
Gerry Raffles Square, Stratford, London, E15 1BN
Union Chapel
Live music venue
Grade I listed working church that doubles as a concert venue of around 900 capacity, with a Father Willis organ.
19b Compton Terrace, Islington, London, N1 2UN
Whitechapel Gallery
Free public gallery
Founded 1901, free entry. Showed Picasso's Guernica in Britain in 1939 and has a long record of first UK shows for major artists.
77-82 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 7QX
Wigmore Hall
Concert hall
545-seat 1901 recital hall internationally known for chamber music and song, with a famous cupola and dry acoustic.
36 Wigmore Street, Marylebone, London, W1U 2BP
Wilton's Music Hall
Historic music hall
The world's oldest surviving grand music hall, Grade II* listed, conserved rather than restored so the worn interior is left visible.
1 Graces Alley, Whitechapel, London, E1 8JB
Young Vic
Producing theatre
Flexible main house of around 420 seats plus two studio spaces, the Maria and the Clare.
66 The Cut, Waterloo, London, SE1 8LZ
London, asked.
Where are London's main theatre districts?
Theatreland covers Shaftesbury Avenue, Covent Garden, Leicester Square and Soho, with the London Coliseum and Royal Opera House on its eastern edge. The South Bank adds the National Theatre, Shakespeare's Globe, the Old Vic and the Young Vic. Islington, Hammersmith and Stratford hold further producing houses.
Which London arts venues are free to enter?
Whitechapel Gallery, the two Serpentine galleries in Kensington Gardens and most displays at The Photographers' Gallery charge nothing. The Royal Festival Hall foyers are open free in the daytime, and the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank lets you watch the national film archive at no cost.
How do people promote a show in London?
Word of mouth and listings do most of it. Printed what's on guides still circulate through hotels, stations and tourist information points, leaflets sit in venue foyers and box offices, and posters around Theatreland and the South Bank catch people already out for the evening.