What better way to get around London then on the London Underground mostly known as the "tube". With London traffic, congestion charges and limited and costly parking, the best way to zip around those sights to see is on the London Underground. Pick up a day travel card and you can rest your weary legs on the tube or bus.

The London Underground is another world as you step down from street level and walk the tunnels to your stop - often there is live music as musicians use the acoustics of the stations to provide some entertainment to commuters and tourists as well interesting art on the walls. You know when you are in Baker Street with the marble tiles creating images of Sherlock Holmes along the way.

The London Underground is the oldest underground railway in the world with currently 270 stations making it one of the largest underground system in the world and 250 miles of track only the Shangahi Metro has longer tracks in terms of route miles. Around one billion passengers use the London Underground per year making it the third busiest metro system in Europe, after Moscow and Paris. The tube is an international icon for London, with the tube map, considered a design classic, having influenced many other transport maps worldwide.

London West End is a condensed pocket of London packed with theatres with your nearest London Underground stop normally being just a few minutes walk away making it the most convenient way to arrive to and leave from the theatre. Just about all the theatres are served by just nine London Underground stations on most of the lines so wherever your hotel is or you are coming from it will be easy to use the London Underground to make it to the theatre. The West End stations for some of the major theatre shows are:

Oxford Circus (Central & Bakerloo line) for the London Palladium

Tottenham Court Road (Central line) for the Dominion Theatre, Palace Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Prince Edward Theatre, Shaftesbury Theatre

Holborn (Piccadilly & Central line) for Sadler's Peacock Theatre, Shaftesbury Theatre, Novello Theatre

Piccadilly Circus (Piccadilly & Bakerloo line) for Her Majesty's Theatre, Apollo Theatre, Comedy Theatre, Criterion Theatre, Gielgud Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Piccadilly Theatre, Prince of Wales Theatre, Queens Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket

Leicester Square (Piccadilly & Northern line) for the Arts Theatre, Duke of Yorks theatre, Garrick Theatre, Noel Coward Theatre, Palace Theatre, Phoenix Theatre, Prince Edward Theatre, Queens Theatre, St Martins Theatre, Wyndhams Theatre

Covent Garden (Piccadilly line) for the Arts Theatre, Duchess Theatre, Fortune Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, Novello Theatre, Shaftesbury Theatre, Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Vaudeville Theatre, Royal Opera House

Charing Cross (Northern & Bakerloo line) for the Aldwych Theatre, Garrick Theatre, Lyceum Theatre, Savoy Theatre, Theatre Royal Haymarket, Trafalgar Studios, Vaudeville Theatre

Embankment (Circle & District line) for the Aldwych Theatre, Playhouse Theatre, Savoy Theatre, Vaudeville Theatre

Victoria (Victoria, Circle & District line) for the Apollo Victoria Theatre and Victoria Palace Theatre

So next time you are in London don't stress about driving and finding that elusive parking space, use the London Underground to visit all the sights of London including the West End!

• Features