It’s Thursday afternoon, I moved to London two weeks ago, I’ve seen palaces and bridges, towers and museums but I still feel as though I haven’t seen much country side. So, I’m going to fix that with a weekend in Brighton to create this 8 things to see and do list!
Quick Stuff
Accomodation – £200. mine was expensive and pretty average
Transport – £45. Train from Victoria or Clapham is a pretty quick and easy 45 min journey.
Spending Money – With the outlier of food and the i360, Most is FREE!!!
Brighton for a weekend
I ran a poll with my English friends and myself, of recommendation for what I should do this weekend. Being the analytical person I am, looked for crossovers. One big one popped up, Bath… Bath it is!
So I jumped straight on Airbnb to find myself some accommodation only to find out it was about 300 pounds a night (eek). What’s next on the list? Brighton. I don’t know anything about the place but it’s by the ocean and that’s enough for me. A quick google search and I found some not so cheap (but still cheaper then bath) accommodation and off I go!
Getting There
I jumped on the train, for an expensive but easy hour ride to my destination. Upon arriving I came out of the train station to a hustling and bustling city town. Were’s the beach town I was looking for? Turns out Brighton is more of a place for partying antics and hens nights than it is for coastal lifestyle. I had judged this wrong but never mind, I was here for the experience.
I found my accommodation (a place I wouldn’t recommend so I’m not going to mention here) and set about seeing the sights!
8 things to do
Seafront walk
Cost – Free to walk. $10 to hire a bike
This is hands down my favourite activity. It also helps that I’m a very outdoorsy person, so being able to escape the people and find some sort of solidarity makes me happy. You can hire a bike for £10 from Brighton beach Bikes to get yourself on a cruiser. Set off heading east, and before you know it you’ll be cruising along the bottom of chalky white cliffs. This takes you down to a town called saltdean. Stop for a bite to eat or a coffee and when you’re ready head on back.
The Lanes
Cost – Free
Towards the south eastern side of town you’ll find the vibrant ‘Lanes’ district. A meal, a drink, some diamonds, a 16th century pistol… you’ll find all these things here. It’s a unique area of closely knit pebble stone walkways and vibrant activity.
If anything but to admire the window shopping it’s one of the key area’s of Brighton that must be seen.
See a drag show
Cost – This one varies but it’s mostly around £20
Brighton is known throughout the UK for it’s LGBTQI community and acceptance to be yourself. It’s amazing to see a flourishing, welcoming town that will take you in as you are.
Combine this community and influx of holiday makers and hens nights looking for a good time and you get drag shows. In and around the lanes you can find a handful of drag bars that are guaranteed to make for a good time.
Brighton i360
Cost – Starting at £17.50 for adults
You really can’t miss this thing. The i360 tower stand out as a beacon against the rest of the Brighton foreshore. It guarantees un paralleled views of the English channel and southern coastline. It also guarantees a spectacular sunset. I didn’t partake in the sunset as I was busy taking pictures but I can imagine it being stunning.
Brighton Pier
Cost – Whatever you spend on rides and sideshow attractions
Australia doesn’t really have pier style attractions, hence whenever I see one I’m fascinated by the setups. Brighton doesn’t fail to impress. Here you can find all sorts of rides and attractions, from rollercoasters and water rides to a haunted house. Along with these, are more sideshows games than one would know what to do with.
Esplanade Antics
Cost – Free
Along the esplanade is a hive of activity. My recommendation is to start from the pier and make your way towards the i360 tower. You’ll find street vendors, bars, restaurants, musicians, sports facilities and art installations. Do yourself a favour and find the upside down house.
Mexican Dinner
Cost – Reasonably expensive. I had dinner and a drink for £40.
I only had one meal in Brighton, and it didn’t disappoint. I’ve struggled to find a good margarita or Mexican food since I’ve been in London so I went on the hunt. This led me to Muchachas where I had an amazing taco dinner and one of the best margaritas I’ve had in the last year. Its expensive but if you want to treat yourself I’d highly recommend.
Get a haircut.
Cost – $20
Now I wouldn’t usually recommend this in a trip plan, but, I was in desperate need of a chop. As soon as I arrived I found myself wander through the lanes and came across Jimni’s. Ducking my head in they quickly seated me and got to work. We chatted about the UK, Australia and the differences in between before finishing off with what is one of the best haircuts I’ve received.
A quick getaway
Sure, I was taken aback at first as I was looking for an easy going coastal getaway and ended up in the UK’s party town. However, there’s a lot more to Brighton than just hens nights and stag do’s. Id recommend you find out for yourself. I hope you enjoyed thislist of 8 things to see and do in a Brighton weekend. If you’re still here, please check out some of my other cool stories lately like Switzerland and Iceland.
