London Theatre Hotels

Theatreland, West End, London
       Nearest Tubes to London Theatres and hotels: Tottenham Court Rd, Covent Garden, Leicester Square, Shaftesbury Avenue

Paris may have the food, Barcelona has the weather and Rome has the history, but London's unquestionably the world's leading destination for lovers of live theatre. A non-stop festival of stage-based creativity, the city hosts literally hundreds of comedies, musicals, new writing and re-workings of the classics each night ranging from the time-capsule Elizabethan brilliance of Shakespeare's Globe to radical companies like Shunt hosting improvised interactive pieces in tunnels under the Thames.

London's theatrical strength is in its richness of experience. As the home of the UK's acting industry, the West End alone has almost 50 theatres whose productions draw millions to the city each year - dominated by musicals like Les Miserables and the works of the king of the West End for nearly three decades, Sir Andrew Lloyd-Webber, the pleasures of watching a spectacular musical in a grand old theatre here is an experience visitors to London will never forget.

In recent years Shaftesbury Avenue and the other large central theatres have become increasingly reliant on star names and, in the wake of huge hits like Mamma Mia! and We Will Rock You, the phenomenon that is the "jukebox musical". These populist compilations of famous band's music continue to fill their expensive seats, much to the chagrin of serious actor types constantly complaining about the death of the West End. However, the good shows of this type are very, very good, and the bad rarely hang around for long enough to trouble the first-time punter. And though Hollywood stars in a West End cast can seem like a cynical ploy to sell tickets (especially since the unknown actors alongside them will be earning the minimum wage, about £450 a week), London is one of the only places in the world to catch stars like James McAvoy, Christian Slater and Kevin Spacey going back to the medium they love, and audiences drawn in by the headline act often discover a great new play too.

The first stop for theatregoers in the West End is Leicester Square's Tkts booth. There's hundreds of imitators around the centre but this is the original, most trustworthy and best: there's discounts of up to half price on best seats for the majority of shows in town, and you can book until half an hour before showtime. Visit www.tkts.co.uk for a heads-up on what's available.

The West End's not just about celebrities and song and dance, however. Subsidised companies like the National Theatre, the Old Vic, Chelsea's Royal Court - the city's centre of bold new writing - and the outstanding Donmar Warehouse host productions of international significance, with breakout hits like The History Boys and Frost/Nixon often transferring to the silver screen. The Royal Shakespeare Company bring the best of their Stratford-upon-Avon seasons to London each year, and Shakespeare's Globe is one of the city's biggest draws - a meticulously recreated wooden Elizabethan playhouse on the South Bank where you can stand under the stars and watch sensational versions of the Bard's best works for just £5.

Ballet and opera are well represented too in London's theatreland. Covent Garden's Royal Opera House has 350 years of history and unparallelled grandeur; English National Opera at the nearby Coliseum Theatre is an equally classy alternative, and both offer an affordable chance to see some world-class opera and dance performances.

But it's the underbelly of London's creative life that gives the city's theatre scene such vibrancy. Because the city's home to so many drama schools, young actors and the next generation of directors, its fringe scene is the best in the world. You can see productions of Medea in the back of a Camden pub, radical political pieces in disused churches, new musicals in tiny studios, Shakespeare reworkings in parks up and down the city during the summer months, and everything in-between - tickets are always cheap and there's a vast range of choice every night of the week. Pick up a copy of Time Out listings magazine and take a risk - you might see a star of tomorrow or a show so bad it'll give you dinner party conversation for the next decade, but at the very least you'll be contributing financially and experiencing a touch of the excitement and energy that makes London one of the world's centres of the performing arts.