A seaside city on the Sussex coast, with a Regency palace, two piers and a pebble beach
Brighton and Hove is a city on the Sussex coast, south of the South Downs. Brighton grew from a fishing village into a fashionable resort in the Regency period, when the Prince of Wales built the Royal Pavilion here.
The centre is compact: the Lanes and North Laine sit side by side between Brighton station and the Palace Pier, Kemptown runs east along the cliffs towards the Marina, and Hove stretches west from the Peace Statue. Most areas are within a 15-minute bus ride of the beach, according to Visit Brighton.
Gegenden
Each area has its own mini guide with 67 sights, places to eat and drink, and where to stay across the city.
Narrow shopping lanes, the Palace Pier, the i360 and the pebble beach in the centre of Brighton
Mini-Guide öffnen →
The Royal Pavilion, the Dome and the independent streets between the station and the Old Steine
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Regency crescents, Volk's Electric Railway, the aquarium and St James's Street east of the pier
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Regency squares, beach huts, Church Road and George Street west of the Peace Statue
Mini-Guide öffnen →Sehenswürdigkeiten
A sight from each area. Every area guide lists the rest, with directions and official links.
Narrow alleys of small shops, many selling antiques and jewellery, between North Street, Ship Street and Prince Albert Street.
Seaside palace built in stages from 1787 for the Prince of Wales, later George IV, in an Indian-inspired style. Grade I listed, with gardens.
Aquarium opened in 1872 as Brighton Aquarium on Madeira Drive; it is the oldest aquarium in the world still operating.
Free council museum opened in 1927 in a Victorian villa on New Church Road, with a toy gallery called the Wizard's Attic.
Grade II* listed pleasure pier opened in 1899, with rides, arcades and places to eat; the only one of Brighton's three piers still operating.
Council-owned museum and art gallery in Pavilion Gardens, beside the Royal Pavilion, with permanent galleries and changing exhibitions.
Narrow-gauge line along the beach, opened by Magnus Volk in 1883: the oldest working electric railway in the world. No booking needed.
Grade II listed former market building on the Brighton and Hove border, now an independent arts venue for music, comedy, theatre and film.
1 / 12Animal attractions, railways, science centres, beaches and caves from our Brighton & Hove guide, grouped by type. We hold no age ratings or child prices: check each place’s own site for age limits, height rules and family tickets.
Volk's Electric RailwayHeritage railway, KemptownPractical help: travelling with children and where to stay in Brighton & Hove.
Routen
Kurze Routen, die die Gegenden miteinander verbinden.
Anreise
Brighton has a mainline railway station a short walk from the sea, and Gatwick is the nearest airport. Always check the operators for current times, fares and disruption.
Brighton is the last stop on a line with direct trains from London Victoria, Clapham Junction and East Croydon, and is also linked with London Bridge, King's Cross and St Pancras. Visit Brighton says trains from Victoria can take as little as 48 minutes.
London Gatwick Airport is about halfway between London Victoria and Brighton. Visit Brighton says the train from Gatwick to Brighton takes about 30 minutes.
Ferries run between Newhaven and Dieppe. From Newhaven, Brighton is about 30 minutes by train or 45 minutes by bus, according to Visit Brighton.
Brighton & Hove Buses runs the city network. Every bus has disabled access, and routes run from Hove Lagoon to the Marina and up to Devil's Dyke on the South Downs.
Journey times on this page are Visit Brighton's headline figures. We do not publish timetables or fares. A guide to visiting Brighton from London is in the Britlens Day trips section at /day-trips/brighton/.
The Lanes and North Laine sit side by side between Brighton station and the Palace Pier, a short walk from the beach.
Most areas are within a 15-minute bus ride of the centre and the beach, and all buses have disabled access, according to Visit Brighton.
Hove is one stop from Brighton by direct train, and many bus routes run between the two.
A seafront cycle lane runs from Hove Lagoon to Volk's Electric Railway, and there are bike hire points at both stations and around the city, says Visit Brighton.
Beste Reisezeit
Brighton is busy all year, with a peak on summer weekends and during the May festivals. The museums, the Royal Pavilion and the theatres make it a good winter city break too.
Brighton Festival and Brighton Fringe fill the city in May. Book rooms early for festival weekends.
Lifeguards patrol flagged areas of the beach in the summer months. Brighton & Hove Pride is held in early August.
Quieter after the school holidays, with new exhibitions at Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and a full theatre season.
Short days, but the Royal Pavilion, the museums, the theatres and the cinemas are open, and the seafront is quiet.
Annual multi-arts festival, first held in 1967, with music, theatre, dance, circus, art, film, literature and family events.
brightonfestival.org →Open-access arts festival with hundreds of events in venues across the city.
brightonfringe.org →Tagesausflüge
Ideas for a day away from Brighton & Hove. Check the operators for times and tickets.
A 100-metre-deep dry valley on the South Downs, 5 miles north-west of Brighton, run by the National Trust. The 77 bus runs up from the centre.
National Trust: Devil's Dyke →
The county town of East Sussex, about 7 miles north-east of Brighton on the River Ouse, with a medieval castle above the high street.
visitlewes.co.uk →
Chalk sea cliffs between Cuckmere Haven near Seaford and Beachy Head, with walks over 280 hectares of chalk grassland and river valley.
sevensisters.org.uk →FAQ
Visit Brighton says trains from London Victoria can take as little as 48 minutes, and trains from King's Cross take around 1 hour 15 minutes. Check National Rail for current times.
Yes. The fastest trains from Victoria take under an hour. Britlens has a Brighton day-trip guide in its Day trips section at /day-trips/brighton/.
By train: Gatwick sits about halfway between London Victoria and Brighton, and Visit Brighton says the journey takes about 30 minutes.
No, Brighton beach is a pebble beach, although you may see some sand at low tide. Visit Brighton says the safest places to swim are the patrolled areas marked with red and yellow flags in summer.
The Lanes are the narrow alleys south of North Street, near the sea. North Laine is the grid of streets between the Lanes and Brighton station, a conservation area of independent shops, cafés and pubs.
Visit Brighton says most hotels are on or near the seafront. The Lanes and seafront put you beside the pier and the shops, Kemptown has many guest houses, and Hove is quieter and more residential.
No. The West Pier closed to the public in 1975 and is now a ruin; only part of its metal framework stands in the sea, beside the Brighton i360.
Nearby places
Our closest other guides, by straight-line distance between centres. Road and rail distances are longer: check a journey planner.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, used under the licences shown. All photo credits
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