The Brighton Pavillion — Photo courtesy of Brighton Guy
Brighton gives you the British seaside experience par excellence. It's a city, and has all the fun of a relatively big town on the South Coast, with shops, clubs, pubs and cinemas. But you can also chill out in one of the many beach front cafes, sip a cappucino, lick an ice cream and watch as the great and the good parade along the promenade. The town is famous for the Brighton Pavillion, a pleasure palace built for George the Prince Regent in the 18th century. The amazing onion style domes reflect Britain's concerns with empire at the time. Go inside to see the most extravagant chinoiserie interiors apparently ever executed in the British Isles. Where Prince George trod, many followed for the pleasures and louche living that Brighton offered, and that hasn't really changed much over the centuries. Brighton has a huge student population, with two Universities in its vicinity, Sussex and Brighton, so you're never short of a party in this city. Kemp Town on the eastern end of the town is famous for its gay population, and nightclubs, bars, pubs, restaurants and cocktail bars abound throughout the town for everyone gay or straight.
Brighton Pier on the South Coast — Photo courtesy of Brighton Guy
The open accepting atmosphere and easygoing charm makes it a target for hen and stag dos, and for anyone wishing to large it through the night. But don't let that put you off, there's so much variety in Brighton that it's been called London by the sea for a good reason. The calibre of DJs, musical and theatrical venues makes it a magnet for anyone looking for some culture and entertainment too. Fat Boy Slim aka Norman Cook lives here with his TV presenter wife, Zoe Ball, as do many others of Britain's media music and fashion scene, including Paul McCartney's former wife, Heather who opened a vegan restaurant here.
A study at the University of Sussex found that Brighton gets the most number of hours of sunshine in the UK a year. It might not always be warm, and in winter, fierce winds can rip along the seafront, but on the many days when the sun does shine, winter or summer, it's a good place to sit, relax and watch the world go by. And it's a great world to watch; there seems to be more happy looking tanned and toned people walking along the seafront or going about their business than anywhere else in the UK.
Brighton Pier on the South Coast — Photo courtesy of Brighton Guy
Of course the town does have its seedy side, and attracts quite a lot of homeless people from other parts of the county of Sussex and beyond. Alcohol and drugs are also pretty easy to get hold of here and the early hours of Friday and Saturday morning are not always so pretty. There is a 'kiss-me-quick' amusement arcade element to Brighton too, traditional in British seaside towns. You can buy sticks of rock on the Victorian pier which is stuffed with amusements, slot machines and arcades.
Up the other end of town, in well-to-do Hove, the cream stucco and Regency and Georgian frontages transports you to another world and another era. Just outside Brighton you've got the whole of the South Downs on your doorstep. The famous clifftop walks at Beachy Head are just down the road, and the British public (which means private) school which taught Princess Anne and many other members of the Royal Family, Roedean sits on the hills behind the town.
If you don't fancy jumping on a fast 50 minute train from many London stations, including Victoria, King's Cross Thameslink, City Thameslink, London Blackfriars, and London Bridge, then you could also sign up for the annual London-Brighton bike ride which takes place in the summer months and tests your fitness with a gruelling 68 mile ride south across the South Downs and up the famously steep Ditchling Beacon.
Shopping in the Laines in Brighton — Photo courtesy of Brighton Guy
If it's a rainy day, or you don't really want to sit on a pebbly beach, then you might like to browse the Laines and North Laines, Brighton's famously ramshackle shopping streets, just south of the station. They're packed full of independent shops, great restaurants, bars, cafes and micro breweries, and this is where you can get a taste of the alternative trendy lifestyle that Brighton espouses.
A great day out, or a perfect weekend away, Brighton has something for everyone.
