Brighton.
When the cool set come to party, this seaside city buzzes day and night, writes David Whitley.
STAY
Budget
It's worth hunting around at the usual booking sites to see which hotels are offering deals — mid-range at budget prices is better than budget at budget prices. Two good cost-conscious options, however, are the Kings Hotel (139 Kings Road, 820 854, kingshotelbrighton.co.uk) and Best Western Brighton (143 Kings Road, 820 555, thebrightonhotel.co.uk). Both offer modern, if a little bland, rooms in a seafront location, priced from £49 ($74) a night. The private rooms in the buzzy, ultra-sociable Kipps (76 Grande Parade, 604 182, kipps-brighton.com, from £40) are of higher quality than you would expect of a hostel, although bathrooms are shared.
Mid-range
Brighton's most rock'n'roll option is the Pelirocco (10 Regency Square, 327 055, hotelpelirocco.co.uk, from £95), where music journos hang around in the bar and the rooms are enthusiastically themed around record labels or pop culture icons. It plays up the naughty vibe — right down to an in-room sex toy menu. Also themed, but more subdued, is the lovely Sea Spray (25 New Steine, 680 332, seaspraybrighton.co.uk). The £59-plus rooms are dedicated to everything from Elvis to geishas but it's all very smartly done. Motel Schmotel (37 Russell Square, 326 129, motelschmotel.co.uk) is a great, less-wacky, option with cool pictures of Brighton scenes on the walls and thoughtful, contemporary furnishings.
Luxe
The Grand (97 King's Road, 224 300, devere.co.uk, from £100) is Brighton's most famous hotel. It's where politicians stay come party conference season. But while the rooms are a little dowdier than some of Brighton's hipper options, the facilities and sea views are great. The £120-and-above king rooms at Square (4 New Steine, 691 777, squarebrighton.com) are super-stylish. Hotel Una (55 Regency Square, 820 464, hotel-una.co.uk, from £115) also has a bit of a design magazine bent, with plenty of leather on display and a different theme to every room.
Lash out
Drakes (43 Marine Parade, 696 934, drakesofbrighton.com) is the classiest of the city's small hotels and all 20 rooms have an individual look and feel. The decor's sophisticated, the downstairs bar a great cocktail hangout and the fab sea-view attic rooms are available from £165 a night. Feng shui-friendly curved walls, designer beds and eye-poppingly bold colours make the frenetically flamboyant MyHotel (17 Jubilee Street, 900 300, myhotels.com, "more superior" doubles from £155) feel very Brighton. The £250-plus junior suites and above at the Hotel Du Vin (2 Ship Street, 718 588, hotelduvin.com) are probably the most elegant in town, however. Super-comfy beds, iPod docks and sumptuous public areas are all trump cards.
SHOP + PLAY
To market
Brighton isn't really much of a market city but there are options. The Open Market on London Road is the main, daily one, with stallholders covering everything from fresh fruit and vegies to haberdashery, modelling materials and "occult supplies". The Brighton Marina Boot Market takes place every Sunday and is good for bric-a-brac and antiques, with the occasional bit of vintage fashion in the mix. On Saturdays, Upper Gardner Street in the North Laine area gets "pedestrianised" and taken over by traders selling everything from military regalia to gorgeous handmade jewellery.
Go shop
Brighton's shopping scene tends to match the attitude of the city's inhabitants. The cluster of narrow lanes known as, er, the Lanes is a good place to start. You will find plenty of jewellers, photography galleries, upscale "erotic boutiques" and handmade crafts. England at Home (59 Ship Street, 738 270, englandathome.com) is a good all-rounder, selling everything from "War on Terror" board games to inflatable Zimmer frames. In North Laine, the shopping gets less polished but arguably more interesting. Expect vintage fashions, cool homewares and some retina-blastingly bright dresses. If you have to pick one street, try Kensington Gardens. Just about every doorway hides a treasure.
Live music
Many of the most interesting gigs from mid-ranking bands and up-and-comers take place at Concorde 2, pictured, (Madeira Shelter Hall, Madeira Drive, 673 311, concorde2.co.uk). It's an independent, family-run venue with a reputation for taking a risk every now and then. The Prince Albert (48 Trafalgar Street, 730 499) is a good spot to hear someone you have never heard of and the genres on stage tend to leap about all over the place. For blues and country, try the Ranelagh (2-3 The High Street, 681 634, theranelagh.co.uk). On Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, this pub wheels out acts to listen to while sipping a glass of wine.
Nightclubs
Brighton can rival Ibiza and London as a clubbing capital; hedonism tends to be king here. Of the clubs, Audio (10 Marine Parade, 606 906, www.audiobrighton.com) has long-standing credibility and there's a good independent ethic to it. It can pull in big-name DJs and the experience can be different on each of the club's three floors. Serious dance-floor pounders can be found at the beachfront Honey Club (214 Kings Road Arches, 202 807, www.thehoneyclub.co.uk) — it's the best venue for quality house music. Brighton is also the Britain's gay capital. All clubs are gay-friendly and Revenge (32 Old Steine, 606 064) is full of cheesy pop and unashamedly fun camp.
SEE & DO
Icons
The Brighton Pier (Madeira Place, 609 361, brightonpier.co.uk) is a classic British seaside emblem. It's as tacky as anything but the fairground rides, sideshows, fortune tellers and arcades still have an irresistible lure. Nearby is Sealife Brighton (Marine Parade, 604 234, visitsealife.com), regarded as the world's oldest public aquarium. The displays are inventive but the fabulous Victorian architecture proves more mesmerising than the sharks and rays. Brighton's must-see, however, is the brilliantly bonkers Royal Pavilion, pictured, (4 Pavilion Buildings, 3000 290 900*, brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk). Created as an OTT royal retreat, it looks part-Indian, part-Moorish from the outside but the interior blitz of golden dragons owes more to the Orient.
Culture
Brighton has always been keen on the theatre and there are three theatres within the Brighton Dome (12a Pavilion Buildings, 700 747, brightondome.org) complex, hosting everything from touring shows to big-name comics. Independent art galleries are dotted around town but the largest is the publicly funded Brighton Museum and Art Gallery (Royal Pavilion Gardens, 3000 290 900*, brighton-hove-museums.org.uk). There's a strong emphasis here on 20th-century art and design. The events calendar is also packed, with the top draw being the Brighton Festival (brightonfestival.org) in May. Multiple venues host debates, theatre and dance productions, while comedians flock in for the Festival Fringe.
On foot
The obvious walking trail is along the seafront. Setting off from Hove, you can amble to the marina past cute beach huts, pictured, the burnt-down West Pier, beach volleyball courts and the sailing club. Ice-cream in hand, it's a people-watching extravaganza. Tourist Tracks (tourist-tracks.com) sells downloadable MP3 audio guides that follow specific trails around Brighton Pavilion and the Regency era architecture of North Laine. Both walks take around an hour and cost £5. Brighton Walks (302 100, brightonwalks.com) offers more traditional guided strolls around the city, including one that specialises in the maze of the Lanes.
Follow the leader
Get your nose clips at the ready for Brighton's quirkiest tour option. Between May and September, Southern Water (1903 272 606*, southernwater.co.uk) operates trips around Brighton's surprisingly impressive Victorian-era sewers. Fresher air is available on a 45-minute boat trip from Brighton Marina. Water Tours (7958 246 414*, watertours.co.uk) operates jaunts around the coastline and piers for £7.50. You can also get a different take on the Lanes with a guided stroll around a series of supposedly haunted sights. The Brighton Ghost Walk (328 297, ghostwalkbrighton.co.uk) runs from outside the Druid's Head Pub at 7.30pm, Wednesday to Saturday.
EAT & DRINK
Cafe culture
Bill's (100 North Road, 692 894, bills-website.co.uk) is lit by candles, with jams, curds and biscuits lining the wall, specials scrawled on chalkboards and satisfied customers congregating around its cute wooden tables. It is a big place but there can be queues for Saturday breakfast. Even strict carnivores end up raving about vegetarian hotspot Terre a Terre (71 East Street, 729 051, terreaterre.co.uk). The lengthy dish descriptions show just how much care and thought goes into each plate. However, if you are after a classic tea room, the willow-pattern China-obsessed Mock Turtle (4 Pool Valley, 327 380) is cream tea and chintz heaven.
Snack attack
It is not the English seaside without fish and chips and the Regency (131 King's Road, 325 014, www.theregencyrestaurant.co.uk) is the classic place that no one wants to recommend because everyone else recommends it. It is hardly a secret as the cod and chips is excellent. For coffee and cake with the trendies, the Marwood (52 Ship Street, 382 063) is done up like a 1980s schoolboy's bedroom and serves a mean flat white. Top choice for a quick bite, however, is Scoop and Crumb (5 East Street, 202 563) with its 18 flavours of ice-cream and inventive, freshly made sandwiches.
Top of the town
The Restaurant at Drakes (43 Marine Parade, 696 934, drakesofbrighton.com) is fairly new but is already generating a reputation that justifies the prices. Expect quality meats given rich treatments, at £39 for three courses. English's (29 East Street, 327 980, englishs.co.uk) is a cramped little place but the seafood is excellent. If you are really splashing out, let them do the choosing with the cold seafood platter for £40. Due South, pictured, (139 King's Road Arches, 821 218, duesouth.co.uk) looks over the beach, has art on the walls and promises "free-range, biodynamic, organic ingredients from local producers". Many locals declare it is Brighton's top restaurant.
By the glass
The Basketmakers Arms (39 Cheltenham Place, 689 006, thebasketmakersarms.co.uk) is cited almost city-wide as the perfect pub. There is a great range of proper beers on tap, the food is good and there is a young, friendly crowd, without the self-styled Bohemian pretension that can affect Brighton in plague-like proportions. Equally marvellous and attracting a similar crowd is the St James Tavern (16 Madeira Place, 626 696). The real ales are good but the tasting flights of selections from more than 80 rums make it genuinely exciting. For a relaxed, upmarket glass of wine from an extensive list, In Vino Veritas (103 North Road, 622 522, invinobrighton.co.uk) does the trick nicely.
Hot tip
If you want to see Brighton on a budget, avoid weekends. Room prices tend to skyrocket then — especially in the summer months and particularly on bank holiday weekends. You won't miss the party by coming midweek as Brighton's clubs tend to be busy week-round. Single rooms are often much cheaper than doubles as well, and you will usually pay a premium for a room with a sea view.
Getting there
Emirates (emirates.com) flies from Sydney to London Gatwick. Gatwick is about 30-minutes north of Brighton on a direct train. Other major airlines fly from Sydney to London Heathrow, which means battling through London, then taking an hour-long train journey south.
Visas and currency
Unless you're planning to work or stay for more than three months, you won't need a visa to enter Britain. The currency is sterling and £1 equals about $1.50 at the time of writing.
Calling Britain
The dialling code for Britain is +44 and the Brighton city code is 01273. You drop the zero when phoning from abroad, so to phone from Sydney, add 00 11 44 1273 to the front of any number listed. If marked with an asterisk, it's not a Brighton number, so just add 00 11 44.
More information
The writer was a guest of Visit Brighton.
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