First and foremost Brighton has always been a seaside town and with its long,
long stretch of pebbly beach there's plenty of room to plant your deckchair and
fall asleep in the sun. The legendary Palace Pier provides for all the best kind
of vintage seaside attractions, from hot donuts and candyfloss to a hall of
mirrors and a games arcade. Then there's the promenade that runs all the way
along the front and makes for a wonderful blustery walk on a winters day or a
warm and sunny stroll in summer. Shops, cafes and bars line the promenade so
whether you need warming up or cooling down, everything is catered for.
The seafront is also home to the largest concentration of Brighton hotels
with sea views being a big draw for visitors to the city.
Further back from the front, Brighton has a thriving shopping centre with a
mix of high-end shops and individual boutiques populating The Lanes area and
bigger brands and chains at the shopping centres at Churchill Square and
Brighton Marina. For a particularly retro chic experience, head to North Laine,
which has an excellent selection of funky kitsch and where you can buy from a
number of local studios selling jewellery, sculpture, ceramics, glass, metalwork
and paintings. In total, the Lanes have 300 unique shops in less than half a
square mile and the largest selection of independent retailers on the South
Coast, so it's a shopping hotspot with a bit of a difference.
In terms of things to see and do, once you're sick of the beachfront,
Brighton has plenty more to offer. The Brighton Pavilion kind of sticks out like
a sore thumb, looking more like an Indian palace than a British seaside home.
Constructed for the Prince Regent (later George IV), this fascinating building
was modeled on the Indo-Saracenic style prevalent in India for most of the 19th
century and has some of the most extravagant chinoiserie interiors ever executed
in the British Isles. Brighton also has a wonderful selection of parks,
including the historic Kipling Gardens in Rottingdean, with its woodland garden,
herb garden and a croquet lawn. If you want to venture further afield, Brighton
is also a great base for walkers as it is on the edge of the South Downs
National Park.
Entertainment-wise, you can enjoy an evening at the Brighton Royal Theatre,
which regularly hosts all manner of plays and shows, often with famous faces, or
indulge in a little comedy at the Brighton Centre or Komedia. There's even a
Brighton Comedy Festival, which takes place for three weeks every October. In
fact Brighton plays host to a range of annual events, many of which are worth
combining with your trip to the south coast. There's the Brighton Festival, an
arts and performance event that in 2010 was curated by Brian Eno. There's also
the Brighton Fringe, a version of the Edinburgh Fringe, and finally there's the
legendary Brighton Pride.
Brighton has a wide range of drinking establishments from sophisticated wine
bars, to traditional English pubs and happy hour specials so you are very
unlikely to go thirsty in this town. This is complemented by restaurants for
every taste, from takeaway and fast food for post drinking session munchies, to
Spanish tapas and vegan curries.
