Brighton

Need a weekend getaway? Visiting the UK and fancy a seaside experience? This may just be the city for you – here are our very favourite things to do in Brighton!

Fish and chips, gaudy arcades atop an ageing pier, striped deckchairs and pebble beaches; there are few things more quintessentially British than a seaside resort. Yet, unfortunately for these towns that time forgot, the increasing popularity of low-cost airlines mean that fewer people are choosing to spend their holidays in a caravan on the southern coast.

Thankfully, for those of us keen to keep our carbon footprint down or to simply discover our own back garden, there are a handful of coastal towns that are still worth a visit – even for a hipster!

Heralded as a beacon of cool since the heyday of Fat Boy Slim and Zoe Ball (the city’s very own ‘it’ couple), Brighton has been one place we’ve both meaning to visit for years. The fact that we lived just 40 minutes away by train for a good few years makes our failure to visit until this summer all the more surprising. You see, Brighton isn’t just trying to be alternative – that counter-culture spirit is running through its streets. It is a city with the only elected Green MP in the UK, where tolerance isn’t just the most recent buzzword to which we should subscribe, where the kale-smoothie drinking middle classes mix effortlessly with the dreadlocked hippies and live music isn’t just a past-time – it’s a religion.

This may just be the city for you – here are our very favourite things to do in Brighton!

OUR FAVOURITE THINGS TO DO IN BRIGHTON

SO MUCH FANTASTIC COFFEE!

There’s a reason Brightonian’s are the biggest consumers of coffee in the UK – you can barely walk down a street without falling over another painfully cool coffee shop offering expertly roasted beans and stunning interior design. And with menus boasting single-source espressos, original roasts and the latest coffee brewing techniques, this is a place for those serious about the black stuff.

A number of the shops in town are also fantastic co-working spaces – in fact, it can at times feel like half of Brighton’s employed are working out of its many coffee shops!

Check out a few of our favourites to get you started: Cafe Coho, Small Batch, Ground, Bond Street Coffee and Mr Wolfe.

ENJOY THE AMAZING NIGHTLIFE

If you like the alternative, then this is the city for you. With club nights of practically every genre and dozens of live music venues offering gigs almost every night of the week you will never be short of entertainment.

We barely had time to scratch the surface, but for those who enjoy rockabilly music as much as us, be sure to check The Mesmerist – the most fun we’ve had on a night out in quite some time!

For reviews and details of upcoming gigs check out XYZ Magazine and Brighton Source. And, remember, Brighton is also crazily popular with hen and stag-dos on the weekend, so just be prepared for some rowdy crowds in certain places.

EXPLORE THE AMAZING VINTAGE SCENE

For a city that loves all things retro, it is not a surprise that some of the UK’s best flea markets, bric-a-brac stores and vintage shops can be found in Brighton.

By far the most well-know are Snooper’s Paradise and Beyond Retro (both located in the North Laines area), but there are many other smaller stores dotted around, as well as great markets such as Vine Street Vintage, The Brighton Flea Market, The Open Marketand The Upper Gardener Street Market (Saturdays only).

INDULGE IN LOADS OF VEGGIE OPTIONS

Despite the ever-growing numbers of vegetarians and vegans in the world, finding good cruelty-free food can sometimes be tricky. Not so here! Brighton is literally teeming with amazing veggie options – even in restaurants that cater to carnivores, the meat-free option is a considered affair and not a perfunctory after thought.

Check out this post, this one and last, but not least this one for some great recommendations! If you’re on a really tight budget, you’ll be happy to know there are a bunch of affordable ‘all you can eat buffets’ for vegetarians all over the place.

TWO WORDS: THAT PIER

There’s something so old-fashioned and wonderful about piers in British seaside resorts – and Brighton may just be our favourite! Explore the amusement arcade, sample the world famous fish and chips or simply take a nap in one of the free striped deck chairs.

On a perfect summer day in the UK, there’s no better place to be than strolling along the pier!

IT HAS A FAIRGROUND. ENOUGH SAID.

Rides that seem to travel at a million miles an hour, throw you upside down with no consideration of when you last ate and make you scream like a 14 year old. Who doesn’t want to go spend some time at the fair?!

The charmingly kitsch affair on Brighton’s famous pier will make all your British seaside dreams come true – and when you need a break from being thrown around, be sure to pull up one of the free deck chairs to the pier edge and see and watch the world go by.

For £17.50 you can buy an unlimited one day pass which allows you to go on all the rides, as many times as your stomach can handle.

HANG OUT AT THE BEACH

Sure, it’s covered in pebbles, but that certainly doesn’t stop locals and tourists alike from flocking to the water’s edge at the slightest suggestion of sunshine.

Rent a famous striped deckchair, bring a towel or sit at one of the many bars with decked seating – you’ll soon be singing ‘oh I do like to be beside the seaside’.

RELAX IN THE PAVILLION’S BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

Brighton Pavillion is an interesting place. Built as a seaside pleasure palace for King George IV more than 200 years ago, it’s full of oriental inspired furnishings – a tad garish if you ask us.

Whilst we spent an hour or so exploring the interior, for us the palace is much more spectacular from the outside. Stunning architecture, beautiful gardens – it’s simply begging for an impromptu picnic in the sun!

If your trip to Brighton just wouldn’t be complete without a self-guided tour, then see this site for details on ticket prices and opening times.

TAKE IN ALL THE PRETTY BUILDINGS

Wow, is this a photogenic city. Vintage buildings holding vintage shops, huge mansions, and a perfect pallet of pastel colours everywhere.

Take our word for it, you’ll have a hard time keeping the camera away from your eye.

A-MA-ZING FISH AND CHIPS

There are few things more British than fish and chips, and there are few places that do it better than Brighton.

Perform a cursory search in google and you will discover dozens of people ranking their favourite local chippy in town, but there’s one place that comes up in every list: Wolfies of Hove.

After fumbling our way towards their shop the morning after a particularly drunken night out, we discovered perhaps the best fish and chips either of us had ever had! Perfect chips, delicately battered fish (done in their secret blend that didn’t leave us nauseous) and delicious slightly sweet mushy peas.

Two things are certain right now: 1- we’ll definitely be going back to Brighton, and 2 – we’ll definitely be going back to Wolfies!

TOUCH THE SKY ON THE British Airways i360

Take to the skies to see Brighton and the South Coast as you have never seen them before!

Glide up slowly to 450ft to enjoy breathtaking 360° views in our futuristic glass viewing pod, conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects, creators of the London Eye.

Visitors can admire views across Regency Brighton, the South Downs and a stretch of over 66 miles of coastline, east to Beachy Head and, on the clearest days, all the way to the Isle of Wight in the west.

On board the pod, enjoy a drink at the Nyetimber Sky Bar, the most unique bar in the UK, serving a range of fine drinks from Sussex including Nyetimber, an award winning sparkling wine.

Brighton is the place that makes you feel at home. Colourful and vibrant, you’ll surely  fall in love with the city!

Visit Brighton

Visit Brighton

Visit Brighton