Covent Garden's Royal Opera House is the finest auditorium in London, a magnificently restored theatre seating over 2000, with studio theatres, music rooms and a full complement of bars and restaurants including the Terrace which is the nicest spot in Covent Garden for a (very expensive) sunset cocktail.

Covent Garden, as the Royal Opera House is sometimes known in shorthand, is the home of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet, and stages the nation's biggest budget extravaganzas in both fields. Rated among the top five venues of any sort in the world, the House attracts huge stars each season and sells out months in advance despite huge ticket prices.

For those with a limited budget, the free outdoor concerts in summer provide a taste of the programme within. Another route to a cheap opera experience is through dress rehearsals, however the £5 tickets to these impressive run throughs (only the orchestra wear T shirts) are hard to come by. For most fans, a trip to the Royal Opera House is a once-or-twice-a-decade experience: very expensive, but unforgettable.

The House also hosts sundry much more affordable events in the studio theatres, from modern dance showcases to lunchtime chamber music recitals. However, it is the auditorium that symbolises the British Arts at their very best, and everyone should have it on their list of places to see before they die.

Click to view events at the Linbury Studio Theatre