Watch Slumdog Millionaire at The Scoop's open-air amphitheatre cinema Ishika Mohan/Fox

Open-air cinema...for opera fans

BP Summer Screens

Opera’s such a drag when you have to squint to see the actors and fork over £50 for the privilege. But you can get a front-row seat for free and sit in the open air with a can of beer while you watch this series of live broadcasts of Royal Opera House productions. Verdi’s La Traviata is coming up on 30 June, and The Barber of Seville follows in July. Much better.

Canary Wharf and Trafalgar Square, to 15 Jul, www.roh.org.uk, free

Open-air cinema...for river lovers

The Scoop

They’re putting on fitness sessions, theatre and music this summer, but in September you’ll be able to watch film classics at this open-air amphitheatre by the Thames. The Usual Suspects and Slumdog Millionaire (right) are among the movies being screened Wednesday to Friday at 7pm.

The Scoop, 16 Sep-2 Oct, Riverside, SE1, 020 7403 4866, free

Open-air cinema...for some class

Syon House

The 16th-century mansion opens its grounds for a week to let film fans sprawl out and watch old faves such as 50s musical Funny Face with Audrey Hepburn, and the Sean Connery classic Goldfinger. Have a nose around the house of the Duke of Northumberland, take a walk around the illuminated “enchanted wood”, and settle down for some iconic screen performances.

Syon House, 22-26 Jul, Syon Park, TW8, 020 8560 0882, £10 (kids 5-14 years £5)

Open-air cinema...for the beer

The Britannia

Jugs of Pimm’s or beer and barbecue food will be served in the garden while vintage films play on a cinema-sized screen under the stars. The 40s film noir The Third Man kicks off the weekly “Britflicks” season, while a monthly BFI programme continues in July with Primitive London, showing the grimy underside of 60s London, full of mods, rockers, beatniks and wife-swappers.

The Britannia, next screening Thu 9.30pm, 360 Victoria Park Rd, E9, 020 8533 0040, free

Open-air cinema...for history

National Theatre Fly Tower

On Friday and Saturday evenings you’ll be able to look up at the fly tower outside the National Theatre and watch rare gems from the BFI archive, including footage of India from as far back as 1899, 50s films about Lambeth and the South Bank, shorts about changing London, and 1929 Indian silent feature A Throw Of Dice. The films link to multi-cultural play England People Very Nice, which is in rep at the National.

National Theatre, 1 Jul-22 Aug, Belvedere Rd, SE1, 020 7452 3000, free

Open-air cinema...for something new

Somerset House

The new Almodovar-Penelope Cruz movie Broken Embraces gets its UK premiere at the opening of this annual open-air film season, and it’s introduced by the director himself. From then on, it’s masterpieces and contemporary classics in the opulent courtyard, from Hitchcock thriller Strangers on a Train to an Alien/Poltergeist double bill. Films start at 9.15pm, but food and drinks are available from 7.30pm to the sound of DJs playing themed tracks.

Somerset House, 30 Jul-8 Aug, Strand, WC2, 020 7845 4600, £12-£16

Want more? Try London’s open-air theatres