Places to visit in Brighton

Hipster vibes aside, Brighton Beach and its seaside amusements have been this city’s biggest draw for centuries. If the weather is in your favour, put a towel down and soak up the sun. Then, make your way to Brighton Palace Pier to ride the dodgems, devour ice cream and spend all your 2ps on arcade games. Look out for the burnt-out West Pier, home to starling murmurations. We can smell the scent of fish and chips wafting through the air already!

The first UK Soho House by the sea is housed in a Grade II-listed pile overlooking the coast. Art deco details line the Clubhouse with terraces for sea-view cocktails and the campest element: the banana-shaped outside swimming pool, designed by local artist David Shrigley. Slide by for Med-style dishes with a cocktail or coffee to energise you for the day.

On a secluded part of Brighton Beach, you’ll find Beach Box Spa, a year-round, authentic Finnish sauna experience. Climb into a beautifully converted horse trailer and unwind in the heat before using the English Channel as a plunge pool. It’s the sauna-bathing experience you never knew you needed. East of Brighton Pier, you may stumble across former fisherman Rory McCormack’s Flint Grotto. This unique art garden is full of huge stone sculptures inspired by historical and religious characters.

Over in The Lanes, slide by Dishoom Permit Room for delicious Bombay-inspired curries and cocktails before hitting Brighton’s biggest LGBTQ+ nightclub, Revenge, where international pop stars, DJs and drag queens will have you dancing until morning. Don’t miss the magic mirror photobooth, LED tunnel and sexy Berlin-inspired decor. When things get too hot, cool down on the roof terrace with views over the city below, including the iconic pier.

Wondering where to stay in Brighton? Still in the Kempton district, Snooze is a funky hotel that takes you back to the 1970s with its bright retro decor and vintage design, without compromising on luxury touches. Oh, and the breakfasts are brilliant too – local favourite Egg & Spoon provides a ‘text and delivery’ boxed breakfast service. All this and you’re just a four-minute walk from Brighton seafront.

Get under the skin of this seaside city’s history, heritage and downright out-there personality with a walking tour. Only in Brighton! Reveals what makes Brighton unique, in a 90-minute fact-filled,  tongue-in-cheek walk around the city. To delve into the UK’s gay capital and its LGBTQ+ history, join the Piers and Queers tour, where you’ll get a lowdown on the Regency Dandies, Brighton’s political activism and even an Edwardian ‘drag king’.

Built as a seaside retreat for King George IV when he was Prince Regent, the Royal Pavilion is one of the most dazzling buildings in the UK. Blending Regency grandeur with Indian architecture and Chinese-inspired interiors, this pleasure palace is packed with history. Discover the Pavilion’s colourful past  – from holiday home to World War I hospital – through its maze of restored rooms. Peek inside Queen Victoria’s bedroom, admire the sumptuous saloon and don’t miss the banqueting room’s imposing dragon chandelier.

The Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is located in a building initially designed to be the Prince Regent’s tennis court. Inside you’ll find a mishmash of treasures, from fine art to ancient Egyptian trinkets, Brighton seaside memorabilia to art deco furniture. Keep an eye out for the giant cat by the entrance talks if you cough up some pennies first.     

Away from the amusement arcades, you’ll find a shopping paradise with  retro rewards. North Laine is a bohemian bustle of criss-cross streets in Brighton’s cultural quarter. Look out for Snoopers Attic, a vintage cult collective specialising in one-of-a-kind clothing and Beyond Retro, a sky-lit warehouse packed with more than 10,000 fashion staples. Get your hair done at Cuttlefish, a sustainably run salon, before dinner in one of the colourful cafes or vegan-friendly restaurants dishing up some of the best food in Brighton.

Brighton’s eccentricity is what makes this East Sussex city so appealing, and its quirkiness doesn’t stop when you go to bed. Hotel Pelirocco is a rock’n’roll bed and breakfast with 19 individually themed rooms, inspired by pop subcultures and maverick musicians. Check into the likes of Lord Vader’s Quarters, chock-a-block with Star Wars memorabilia, or a cabin-style room dedicated to the country queen herself, Dolly Parton.

You’ll enter an amazing museum of illusions at the Upside Down House, a pretty turquoise beach house with a gaming area, jukebox and a vintage bicycle where you least expect it. Walk on a ceiling, do handstands off the loo and take mind-boggling pictures to show your mates back home.

From veggie restaurants to beachfront brunches, Brighton is bursting at the seams with every type of culinary creation. The Salt Room, one of the best restaurants in Brighton, is a modern British seafood restaurant with uninterrupted seafront views. It’s known for its dishes cooked over coal, but the desserts deserve your attention too. Dive into a sharing plate of British seaside classics with a twist, including house-made fudge, doughnuts, ice cream and candyfloss. Just don’t tell your dentist.

Slide by No.124 Brighton, a Regency townhouse hotel bringing fun to Brighton’s hotel scene with  a disco ball above the door and turntables in rooms. The FieldTrip Spa is a place for soothing massages and facials using sustainable products. Refreshed, you can sip a cocktail and chow down on a steak in the ground-floor restaurant. If you’re wondering where to stay in Brighton on your next visit, book in before you leave.

Don’t leave town without sliding by Centre Stage, a lively LGBTQ+ venue in the heart of Brighton’s Gay Village. Once you’ve taken in a show or cabaret act, you can be sure you’ve seen the best Brighton nightlife.