Seaside City of Brighton

The Royal Pavilion in the center of town is a must-see for any Brighton visitor, day or night.
Heading down to the beach is, of course, a necessity.
The nightlife in Brighton is always popping with a range of music for any taste, from cheesy pop to indie rock.
Take a wander through the Lanes and the North Laines for the best, most unique shopping in Brighton.

Quick Tips:

Get fish-and-chips to take-away from one of the many chip shops along the seafront and eat it on the beach. There's no better experience on the English seaside!
Check "whatson.brighton.co.uk" for up-to-date listings for cinemas, clubs, theatres, and gigs.
Brighton is known, among other things, as the Gay Capital of Britain, so be open-minded.
Kemptown, an area of Brighton to the east of the Palace Pier, is cast as the gay community of Brighton, with loads of gay pubs and clubs.
Avoid Western Road from the clock tower down to the seafront on weekends if you don't want to fight through crowds of hen parties, stag nights, and freshers.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you arrive by train at Brighton station, all you have to do is walk straight ahead to be in the center of town and many major attractions (The Pavilion, Palace Pier, North Laines/The Lanes shopping) are accessible on foot. Maps are available at the station.
Getting the bus is the other option for city travel. Tickets are £2.80 for rides on any Brighton and Hove bus all day, singles are £1.50.
Taxi ranks can be found at the station and along major roads, but many tourist destinations are accessible on foot.

While not gay myself, there was still much to enjoy during the Gay Pride Parade in Brighton. The parade started on the seafront and wound its way through the streets of Brighton to Preston Park, near the center of the city. Floats with booming music, dancers dressed in chaps and pink cowboy hats, and kids holding rainbow flags are just a few of the features of the parade. Many people were dressed in outrageous and revealing outfits with pink, sparkles, hot pants, and platform heels everywhere.
There was a fun fair in Preston Park with rides, food stands, and dance tents. It's a once-a-year experience not for the faint-hearted or modest! Gay or straight, everyone is welcome as long as you're open-minded and considerate of others.

During the summer, Brighton beach is generally packed with people.
Always a favorite, Brighton pier was attracting the usual cast of tourists and families. On the pier there are fun fair rides, like bumper cars, a small roller coaster, and various other rides. There are also carnival games and slot machines, along with booths to buy cheap trinkets and souvenirs. You can buy "American donuts," ice cream, and other snacks on the pier, but watch out for the seagulls! I had one steal a donut right out of my hand!
Farther down the beach is the now-decrepit West Pier: a victim of arson, it is now slowly crumbling into the sea. On clear evenings, it makes a good photo opportunity, since starlings roost in it at night.
The sea is generally filled with paddlers and swimmers, along with kayakers and boaters. Bring your own food and drink to have on the beach, since the cafes and restaurants on the seafront are all fairly overpriced. The deck chairs also cost money to use for the day, so you might as well just get comfortable on the stones.
Not a "normal" beach, Brighton beach is made up of pebbles, which can be nice since it's easier to get a pebble out of your swimsuit then sand! Always packed during sunny weekends over the summer, the beach is a great place to see a wide variety of people. During the winter it quiets down and is a good place to collect your thoughts and watch the seagulls swirl and dive.

Arguably the most famous landmark in Brighton, the Royal Pavilion was the playhouse of George IV. He helped make Brighton the popular seaside resort it is today.
The entrance fee is around 7 pounds, though there are discounts for students. Well worth the money is the hand-held audio tour guide. It gives interesting history about the building.
Built in a combination of quasi-Indian and Chinese style architecture, the Pavilion has onion domes and spires outside and dozens of golden dragons inside the building. The most impressive room is the dining room that seats over 100 and features a massive chandelier.
3/4 of the way through the tour is the Queen Adelaide tearooms, where cakes, food, and drinks are on sale for slightly but not ridiculously high prices, and in good weather you can sit and eat on the balcony overlooking the Pavilion Gardens.
The gardens are planted with the same types of plants that would have been there during the time of the Prince Regent. Palm trees and flowering plants abound and the gardens are a popular place for tourists and locals alike to nap, eat, and listen to the street musicians.
Allow a few hours to wander around to feel like you've gotten your money's worth.

In the center of town and right next to the Pavilion Gardens, the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery has free entry and is well worth a visit! I go about once every 2 months when I'm in the area. My favorite part are the photos of modern Brighton.

There is a wide variety of permanent exhibits including 20th century art and design with a couch shaped like Mae West's lips, world art, and body and style which. There are also major exhibits on Brighton history and Images of Brighton. In these exhibits, you can listen to recordings of fishermen talking about their days on Brighton beach and those who came to Brighton for a "Dirty Weekend" and see images of Brighton's past and present.

The museum cafe is overpriced and there are plenty of cafes and restaurants in the area that will serve better food cheaper.

Feel free to bring children to the museum as there are several areas designed for kids.

It's closed on Mondays and opens at 10 Tuesday through Saturday and at 2 on Sunday.

A fairly standard movie theater, the Odeon shows major Hollywood films on 8 different screens. Open from around noon on weekends, there is always a variety of films to watch.

The snacks/food are overpriced, as they often are at movie theatres, and they aren't particularly good. I generally bring in my own snacks in my bag if I think I'm going to get hungry.

The lines can be long for the ticket booth at popular times for popular films and it's possible to book tickets online at Odeon.com. There's not a lot of charm or ambience to the building. It's spread over 4 different floors and some of the screens require climbing several flights of stairs.

Ticket prices range from around £5.50 for students to £7.50 for adults. Children get a discount as well.

If you're looking for a place to watch the latest blockbuster hit, this would be the place to go. If you're looking to watch the latest art/foreign film, try the Duke of York's Cinema.

A beautiful, old cinema that's at the bottom of my road - I see films there as often as I can! It's not hard to find, a sculpture of woman's stockinged legs are kicking up from the roof of the building. Much more ambience and more enjoyable then watching films at the Odeon in town.
I've seen the French film Lemming, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, Capote, and Thank You For Smoking, among other films, at the Duke of York's. Many of the films they feature don't play at the major cinemas: art films, foreign films, independent films. It's a chance to see films that come from somewhere else then Hollywood. Though they do cater to mainstream audiences as well, screening blockbuster hits. They just show them about a month or so after the bigger cinemas.
During the summer, films start at around 1:30pm and continue through until around 9 or 10pm. They offer the normal theater snacks like soft drinks and popcorn, but also have a selection of cakes and a fully stocked and licensed bar! Student tickets are offered to local university students. Full-price tickets are around £5.50.