UltimateCity Guide Brighton
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Stories from Brighton & Hove, United Kingdom

Every story, long read and guide in the ULTIMATE Brighton City Guide, in one place.

In depth

Brighton & Hove in depth: piers, pavilions and the people who made them

The Prince and the piers, Brighton on film, the Brighton Belle and Volk’s Railway, the i360, the Art Deco coast from Shoreham to Bexhill, and where the city is growing: the stories behind Brighton.

Christmas lights over Gardner Street in the North Laine at dusk, with Komedia’s neon signNorth LaineChristmas in BrightonThe new market, the lights and the sea in winter lightFish and chips with lemon and tartare sauce, Brighton styleIn depth: foodBrighton CuisineVegetarian pioneers, seafood and Sussex wineDJ Pete York mixing on Pioneer decks under red and green light, at a club night in the King’s Road ArchesIn depth: music & clubsBrighton After DarkThe Zap, the Concorde and Fatboy Slim on the beach

On film

Watch Brighton Rock and Quadrophenia before you come, then walk their streets.

  1. In depth: nature & wildlifeWild BrightonStarlings, the Downs and the sea
  2. In deptha-ha under the Shoreham flyoverThe making of their “Butterfly, Butterfly” video
  3. The back storyBrighthelmstone to BrightonThe Prince, the piers and the city
  4. In depthBrighton on filmBrighton Rock and Quadrophenia
  5. The back storyEating in BrightonA MICHELIN star and fish on the beach
  6. The back storyWhere to stayRegency Square to the King’s Road

Areas

Brighton & Hove by neighbourhood

From the Lanes to Hove, each area has its own guide: twittens and jewellers, the vintage shops of the North Laine, Kemptown’s Regency squares and Hove’s beach huts.

Sunshine on Market Street in the Lanes: tile-roofed cottages, café tables out on the paving and a clear blue skyNeighbourhood guideThe LanesTwittens, jewellers and wood firesFlower stalls outside Gunns on Sydney Street in the North Laine, between a pink shopfront and Gander vintage interiorsNeighbourhood guideThe North LaineVintage, records and gigsThe white Regency terraces of Sussex Square in Kemp TownNeighbourhood guideKemptownThe village by the seaThe Hove beach huts glowing in the sunset along the seafront promenadeNeighbourhood guideHoveBeach huts and lawnsThe iron skeleton of the ruined West Pier standing in the seaNeighbourhood guideThe seafront & the i360Two piers and the arches

Practical

Plan your trip

The practical things to know before you go: trains, money and the beach, the hour from central London, the airports, and three days for a classic first visit.

The domes and minarets of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton under a clear blue skyItineraryThree days in Brighton & HoveThe classic first visitA Thameslink train in rainbow Pride livery under the curved iron and glass roof of Brighton stationBy railBrighton by railAbout an hour from central LondonAn Airbus A330 coming in to land at Gatwick in early-morning light, the wooded Sussex hills behindAirportsAirports from BrightonGatwick, Heathrow, Luton, StanstedThe Brighton i360 tower and its name sign over the seafront entrance under a clear blue skyBefore you goBrighton essentialsTrains, money, the beach and 999An aisle at Snoopers Paradise lined with glass cabinets of vintage finds and rails of clothesItineraryBohemian BrightonVintage, gigs and Kemptown

Our advice

Fish at lunch, Hove at night

Eat fish by the sea at lunchtime, and book a Hove tasting menu for the evening. Eating in Brighton

Day trips

Explore the South Coast

Long nicknamed London-by-the-Sea, Brighton is the hub of the south coast: west to Shoreham, Portsmouth and the New Forest, east to Hastings and Rye, inland to the Weald, and across the water to France.

The white Spinnaker Tower above Portsmouth Harbour, with ferries on the waterOur South Coast guideThe South Coast: Dover to St IvesHarbours, cliffs and seaside townsThe battlemented stone front and clock tower of Knole above its lawnBeyond BrightonNorth & inlandAshdown Forest to KnoleThe Coastguard Cottages on Seaford Head and the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters beyondBeyond BrightonEast of BrightonRottingdean to Rye, and DieppeWorthing Pier and its Art Deco pavilions in evening light above the shingleBeyond BrightonWest of BrightonShoreham to the New ForestThe curved Art Deco Southern Pavilion at the end of Worthing Pier at sunsetTown guideWorthingThe pier, the Dome and the Downs

Across the water

France is just across the Channel: the ferry sails from Newhaven to Dieppe, and the Eurostar leaves St Pancras, a direct Thameslink ride from Brighton.

  1. Town guideShoreham-by-SeaThe river, the harbour and the Downs
  2. Town guideLittlehamptonThe Arun, East Beach and the dunes
  3. Town guideSouthamptonThe walls, the water and the liners
  4. Town guidePortsmouth & SouthseaThe Dockyard, the harbour and Southsea
  5. Town guideBournemouthBeaches, chines and the East Cliff
  6. Town guideCrawleyA new town with old roots

Lifestyle

Homes & Gardens

Great gardens, countryside, garden centres, interiors, paint, kitchens and antiques across England, region by region.

Great Dixter’s timber-framed house above the meadow gardenHomes & GardensSouth of EnglandGardens and antiques near LondonRowing boats and jetties on Derwentwater in the Lake DistrictHomes & GardensNorth of EnglandGardens, moors and makersThe Jacobean south front of Blickling Hall, Norfolk, under a blue skyHomes & GardensEast of EnglandGardens, coast and antiques towns
  1. Homes & GardensWest of EnglandCotswolds, Cornwall and the Midlands

Our advice

The Pavilion, then the sea

Book the Royal Pavilion on the Brighton & Hove Museums website, and keep an evening for the seafront at sunset. The back story

The ULTIMATE letter

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