In town tonight

The email version of the Treasure Hunt is 400 issues old, but I've spared bloggers the self-congratulatory stuff. Here is the meat of the thing: some useful sites for checking out the London arts scene.

Hit the trail

Several of the websites included in the Gateway’s "London" section are duplicates of entries elsewhere, or London-specific pages from websites in other categories. You will find the 24 Hour Museum in "Art & design", but in "London" you will find that we’ve extracted the City Heritage Guide.

Since we first put this page on the Gateway, it has got a bit cluttered and messy (mind that glasshouse window!), but it’s worth taking a few minutes to look round, because there are lots of free goodies on offer.

There’s lots of "what’s on, what’s new" content, plenty to occupy a visitor on a long weekend in the smoke, or excite the most cynical long-term resident. And there are some good schemes to get us off our bottoms and into the streets of London (sorry, a Ralph McTell moment there – it won’t happen again).

I liked the podcast, one of three new ones, called "World City Trail". Apart from some really irritating music to start with, it’s a skilful word picture of London’s cultures, characters and cliques. Not so much an iPod guide, I thought, more an encouraging listen before you set out.

There’s stuff for kids, stuff for highbrows and lowbrows… if there’s not something for everyone it must be pretty close. There’s even one of those instant voting boxes where you can vote to demolish the Diana fountain (I did). Heartily recommended.

(From the Gateway to websites, select "London". City Heritage Guide is under "Arts & performance".)

Lots to see

theSeer is "the free online directory and resource for all of London’s creative individuals, organisations, venues, commissioners and bookers to find, receive and promote arts and creative information in London." Supported by Westminster’s own arts team, it has become a rather impressive source of arts information.

You can use it for serious research – if you are trying to find a particular sort of arts practitioner, for example – but you can also just dip in and sample the current scene. The "what’s on" headlines on the left of the home page give you a good idea of the range of arts events taking place or coming up.

There is an advanced search, which you can use to home in by date, artform or venue. I looked for exhibitions taking place on 10 October (I have a visitor that weekend who will need entertaining) and I was frankly gobsmacked at the number of shows we can catch. We’ll struggle to find the time to eat – although, knowing us, we’ll find a way!

(From the Gateway to websites, select "London". theSeer is under "Arts & performance".)

Pic: Hilary Gribbins