Venues don't come much more iconic than the Royal Albert Hall, which since its opening in 1871 has been the most prestigious concert hall in Britain. For a long time, its cavernous acoustic prompted the joke that it was the only place where a British composer could be sure of hearing his work twice; in 1969 the echo was tamed when the famous 'flying saucers' were hung from the auditorium ceiling. The Hall gives top-flight concerts in the main auditorium, and has seen numerous UK premieres of famous works; Wagner, Elgar and Verdi conducted their own premieres here. In the classical world it's most famous for being the original home of the Proms, which were first held here in 1895, but it's also hosted famous events in rock history -- Frank Zappa got his keyboard player to play 'Louie Louie' on the Albert Hall pipe organ -- and its boards have been trodden by stars from Sinatra, the Beatles and Hendrix to Jay Z, Adele and One Direction. Two of the six restaurants (Café Consort and Elgar Room) also host intimate classical and jazz recitals, and of the 14 bars, the Cloudy Bay Wine Bar offers a selection of seafoods as well as New Zealand wine. With the exception of the Café Bar, which is open to visitors without tickets, all bars and restaurants are only open to ticketholders. The nearest Tube stations are South Kensington (District, Circle and Piccadilly) and High Street Kensington (District and Circle), each about 10 minutes' walk away. The Hall is served by six bus routes: 9, 10, 52 and 452 (Kensington Gore), 70 (Queen's Gate) and 360 (Prince Consort Road). London Victoria is the nearest railway station. Parking is available at Imperial College London, with entrances on Exhibition Road and, in the evenings only, Prince Consort Road.