4 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 wildly eclectic and very cool Meltdown generally takes place in June at the Southbank Centre. It's curated by a different big-name artist each year (past curators have included the likes of Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Elvis Costello, and Grace Jones), so you never have any idea what to expect until the program comes out.

In 2015, Matthew Warchus, the director behind Matilda the Musical, took over as artistic director of this venerable venue, where stage legends like Maggie Smith, Vivien Leigh, Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton, and Judi Dench once trod the boards. Today, you'll still find some of the best shows in town here—both new work and revivals of modern classics—some featuring contemporary stars like Andrew Scott and Claire Foy.

The general public has never really warmed to the Southbank Centre's hulking concrete buildings (beloved by architecture aficionados), products of the brutalist style popular when the center was built in the 1950s and '60s—but all the same, the masses flock to the world-class concerts, recitals, festivals, and exhibitions held here, the largest arts center in Europe. The Royal Festival Hall is truly a People's Palace, with seats for 2,900 and a schedule that ranges from major symphony orchestras to pop stars. The smaller Queen Elizabeth Hall is more classically oriented. It contains the Purcell Room, which hosts lectures and chamber performances. For art, head to the Hayward Gallery, which hosts shows on top contemporary artists such as Antony Gormley and Cy Twombly. The center's riverside street level has a terrific assortment of restaurants and bars, though many are branches of upscale chains. Friday through Sunday, a street food market with food trucks serves cuisines from around the world.