2 Best Performing Arts Venues in South of the Thames, London

With the best repertory programming in London, these four cinemas run by the British Film Institute are in effect a national film center. More than 1,000 titles are screened each year, with art-house and foreign-language new releases, restored classics and silents, experimental and niche interest works, and short films favored over recent Hollywood blockbusters. The center also has a gallery, bookshop, library, and a "mediatheque" where visitors can watch film and television from the National Archive for free (closed Monday). The Riverfront Bar and Kitchen offers dining with views, while the BFI Bar is informal and buzzy and the BFI Café offers coffee and light snacks. This is one of the venues for the BFI London Film Festival, though throughout the year there are minifestivals, seminars, and guest speakers.

The British Film Institute's drum-shaped IMAX theater has the largest screen in the United Kingdom (approximately 75 feet wide and the height of five double-decker buses). It shows state-of-the-art 2-D and 3-D recent releases along with reissues and special events.