Brighton Travel – A Self-Contained Haven By The Sea

Brighton and Hove is a seaside city in the southern English county of East Sussex. The pebbled beach stretches westward towards Hove and eastward towards the city of Eastbourne. Brighton’s population is multicultural and numbers around 156,000. Taken together with Hove, this number reaches 247,847.

When Brighton’s West Pier opened in 1866 to a flurry of activity and celebration, locals saw the potential for tourism and trade. Hence a second larger Grand Pier followed in 1899. With the addition of further attractions such as an aquarium, a pavilion and museum as well as hotels and a funfair, visitor numbers increased steadily to as many as eight million a year (since record keeping began). Such is the popularity of Brighton that even after fire damage forced the West Pier to close in 1975, visitor numbers still rose.

Modern Brighton
The beach promenade boasts an array of cafes, nightclubs, amusement arcades and retailers selling seaside memorabilia. Compare today’s modern architecture (the Jubilee library is amazing) with the splendour of the Royal Pavilion. See www.brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk

Travel
From London Brighton is an hour by train or two hours by coach. Coaches terminate directly on the seafront. If coming by train bear in mind that main attractions and the seafront are a half hour walk from the station. Thrifty, well placed in Trafalgar Street will advise on car hire – see www.thrifty.co.uk/car-hire/brighton.htm.
Alternatively for local travel within Brighton and the twin town of Hove, purchase a bus pass onboard or from numerous outlets. A bus map can be collected from the visitor information centre located on Pavilion Buildings. Tel 01273 290337.

Shops and Restaurants
With over 400 restaurants service cuisine from many cultures, you’ll be spoilt for choice.
Brighton is mostly famed however for art and craft oriented shops, high street stores and exclusive boutiques. Development has been rapid, with the construction of a shopping complex on Western Road (see www.churchillsquare.com), and an outlet centre in Brighton marina a mile from the main city. Why not wind your way through the North Laine area and soak up the bohemian bustle surrounding more than 300 shops? Streets in this locality include Kensington Gardens and Bond Street. Or look at jewellers in the Lanes area (East Street and Duke Street).

Entertainment
The famed Brighton nightlife is to be had in seafront clubs playing everything from techno to house. We liked the Latest Musicbar on Manchester Street for music and cabaret every night of the week. See www.thelatest.co.uk/musicbar for up-to-date listings.

Many arts and music festivals take place in Brighton all year round, and perhaps the most famous is the Brighton Arts Festival taking which lasts three weeks of May of every year. See www.brightonfestival.org. Art Galleries are everywhere you look, for examples see www.jollygorgeous.com for beautiful art pieces and sculptures. See also www.theartistsquarter.co.uk to learn more on the dedicated quarter from which local artists sell their work.

Alternatively lose yourself in the South Downs, just ten minutes drive out of Brighton. The more green among you can also relax in any one of 98 parks and open spaces scattered around the city.

Other places to visit include the Sealife Centre which houses sharks among over 150 species of aquatic life see www.visitsealife.com/Brighton. Or you may enquire about boat trips out of the marina at www.watertours.co.uk.

Accommodation
During the high season and festivals, accommodation will be scarce so see www.brightonaccommodation.com to plan your stay in time. We liked the New Steine Hotel, where the hotel manager personally welcomed us. The hotel is a lovely five storey establishment complete with ensuite rooms. New Steine is situated on a street of the same name, just two minutes from the seafront. New Steine backs onto St James’s street, which has four chain supermarkets, pubs, record shops and a post office, so main amenities are nearby. The hotel serves three types of breakfast all made with local ingredients, and a choice of their delicious a la carte menu or menu of the day. See www.newsteinehotel.com for room prices and more information.

As part of the Brighton Fringe festival (running alongside the main arts festival), New Steine hotel ran two shows – The Pink Sinatra – a hilarious take on Frank Sinatra’s more popular songs which saw actor Scott Free singing and interacting with the audience, and Sinful, a dark one-woman show of indulgence and decadence (artist Carly Tarett both wrote and performed this show). Not to be left out, New Steine also showcased their own ‘art’ gallery’ displayed in the dining areas of the hotel.

In summary Brighton makes a fab weekend change of scene, or day trip. There is something for everyone, families included.

For visitor information, and much, much more about Brighton and surrounding areas see www.visitbrighton.com.