Tear out page here then fold along the dotted lines TURN OVER FOR MAP AND NUMBER LOCATIONS
Fold 1Weekend
in Brighton
Party town, seaside suntrap, shopping hotspot:
Brighton makes a thoroughly fun, quintessentially
English weekend getaway, with heritage sights
and a busy food scene.
Friday
Saturday Sunday
THE LANES
Whatever item you yearn for,
you’ll find it in Brighton’s tightly
packed network of the Lanes,
an atmospheric shopping area
between the train station and
the beach. Every twist and turn
is crammed with jewellers, gift
shops, cafés and boutiques
selling everything from designer
threads to hard-to-find vinyls.
North Laine, nearer the train
station, has a retro vibe with
bohemian cafés.PLATEAU
This Lanes tapas bar serves dishes
such as tandoori mackerel, Sussex
onglet steak and wild mushroom
risotto with celeriac and truffle
mascarpone, as well as slightly
pricey mains. The shabby-retro
interior includes scuffed
floorboards and stained glass
that belonged to a previous
incarnation of the building. At
night the place morphs into a wine
and cocktail bar (plateaubrighton.
co.uk; 1 Bartholowmews; noon–
3pm & 6pm–10pm; tapas from
£6, mains £30).BAI360
Brighton’s newest attraction
opened in 2016, at the point
where the now-defunct West Pier
used to make landfall. The BAi360
is the world’s most slender tower:
a space-age, 162m-tall column
of reinforced steel and concrete
designed to represent a ‘vertical
pier’. A huge glass ‘doughnut’
takes passengers 138m above the
city for gobsmacking vistas of the
Sussex coast (britishairwaysi360.
com; Lower King’s Rd; 10am–
7.30pm Sun–Thu, to 9.30pm
Fri–Sat; £16).BRIGHTON PIER
The natural place to start a
weekend in Brighton is its grand
century-old pier. Admittedly it’s
a little tacky, but that’s part of
the charm. There are plenty of
stomach-churning fairground rides
and dingy amusement arcades to
keep you entertained. Just west are
the sad remains of the West Pier, a
skeletal iron hulk (brightonpier.
co.uk; 10am–9pm Mon–Fri, to
10pm Sat–Sun).COALITION
On a summer’s day, there’s
nowhere finer to watch the world
go by than at this popular beach
bar, diner and club. The terrace is a
perfect sunset spot, as its tables
skirt the seashore along Brighton’s
famous pebble beach. Come for a
drink before dinner, or arrive later;
all sorts of events happen here,
from comedy to live music and
club nights (coalitionbrighton.
com; 171–181 King’s Rd Arches;
10am–5am Mon–Fri, to 7am Sat).ENGLISH’S OF
BRIGHTON
A 70-year-old institution, this local
seafood winner is great for sampling
the bounty of the south coast, from
Essex oysters to locally caught
lobster and Dover sole. It resides
inside converted fisherfolk’s
cottages, with shades of the elegant
Edwardian era inside, and offers
alfresco dining on the pedestrian
square outside (englishs.co.uk;
29–31 East St; noon–10pm; mains
from £16).IYDEA
Even by Brighton’s lofty
standards, the food at this
multi-award-winning vegetarian
café in the North Laine area is a
treat. Breakfasts are cooked to
order, while daily-changing
lunchtime delights range over
curries, lasagna, falafel, quiches
and salads. Round off with vegan
wines and organic ales (iydea.
co.uk; 17 Kensington Gardens;
9.30am–5.30pm; mains from £5).BRIGHTON MUSEUM
& ART GALLERY
Set in the Royal Pavilion’s
renovated stable block, this gallery
has a sparkling collection of
20th-century art and design,
including a crimson Salvador Dalí
sofa modelled on Mae West’s lips.
There’s also an enthralling world
art gallery, plus Egyptian artefacts
and an ‘Images of Brighton’ exhibit
(brightonmuseums.org.uk; Royal
Pavilion Gardens; 10am–5pm
Tue–Sun; £5.20).The new BAi360 offers a bird’s-
eye view of coast and townLong-standing English’s of
Brighton is a seafood sensationThe opulent Royal Pavilion is an
unmissable part of local historyFold 2MINI GUIDE
ROYAL PAVILION
Brighton’s must-see sight is the
Royal Pavilion, the glittering party
pad and palace of Prince George,
later Prince Regent and then
King George IV. It’s one of the
most exotic, eye-popping
spectacles in all of England, and
certainly Europe’s finest example
of early-19th-century chinoiserie
(brightonmuseums.org.uk;
Royal Pavilion Gardens; 9.30am–
5.45pm Apr–Sep, 10am–5.15pm
Oct–Mar; £13).Seaside sunshine at
Brighton Pier