Picture palaces

In an age of cinema complexes, we celebrate five historic and beautiful picture houses that have stood the test of time

There's no better escape from reality than a trip to the cinema, but some really do offer the VIP experience: lovingly restored art deco cinemas and nostalgic picture houses that are about as far away from a modern multiplex as you can get. We round up our favourites.

Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds

This highly original venue is one of the UK's only cinemas to have been owned by a council - and the country's only surviving gaslit cinema. With its distinctive facade, ornate balcony and exterior box office, the building is as colourful as its past. Opening in 1914, as World War One was getting under way, the cinema offered a welcome escape. Surviving the advent of TV and multiplexes, it has staged fun PR stunts -including using a real elephant to advertise the film The Big Hunt. With National Lottery help, it now has its own cafe bar.

* 73 Brudenell Road, Leeds; hpph.co.uk

TOTNES CINEMA, DEVON

This tiny, tucked-away venue behind Totnes High Street often has a queue of people outside, all trying to secure a seat in what is surely one of the quirkiest cinemas in the UK.