It’s always fun at the The Mash Tun
Buy clothes with a grin at Make To Be your Worndigs Again divine with finds from @home Lounge hard in the Pavilion Gardens
or gluten-free? Visit Iydea (17 Kensington Gardens) for a satisfying meal at an excellent price: pick up a wholesome veggie lasagna plus two types of salad with change from a fiver. If you’re a cake fiend, head across town to the Mock Turtle (4 Pool Valley), a twee grandmotherly tearoom with mismatched vintage china, lace-edged tablecloths, and homemade sweets (including spectacular donuts). Time to work off the calories with a brisk walk and some culture. Brighton has several little galleries worth visiting, such as O Contemporary (80 Trafalgar Street) and Fabrica (40 Duke Street), which is housed inside an old church. But for a cosmopolitan mishmash of 20th-century design, Victorian frocks, and Chinese art (depending on the season), explore Brighton Museum & Art Gallery (Royal Pavilion Gardens) inside the spectacular Royal Pavilion in the middle of the North Laine. Once the Prince Regent’s fanciful pleasure palace, it is a formidable facade of Taj Mahal–like domes and minarets, but watch out for the lines of snaphappy tourists. Sit for a bit in the Pavilion’s lovely gardens, and listen to the buskers.
The Royal Pavilion is one in a million
Brighton wouldn’t be Brighton without its piers, even if the locals may be a little jaded when it comes to the Palace Pier’s bright lights, fairground rides, and tacky slot machines. The solitary and brooding presence of the West Pier—which was mysteriously burnt to a blackened shell a few years ago—is worth a few moments’ reflection on the horizon. The beach in itself is entertaining, for although it lacks the sweeping sands of more picturesque British shores, the stones are perfect for picnics in summer and bracing walks in winter. The seafront is crowded with ice cream stands, skateboarders, and stalls selling tons of goods like sarongs and books. Pop in for a cider at the Fortune of War (157 King’s Road Arches), where you can sit on the pub’s outdoor benches and watch the fashionistas stroll past. Brighton has a wide choice of bars, including the superpopular Hop Poles (13 Middle Street), with its famous pub quizzes and hearty sausages and mash, and the Caroline of Brunswick (39 Ditchling Road), where you’ll likely find punks, rockers, goths, and a pounding soundtrack. Grab
Have a panty raid at Frocks Away
a pint at The Mash Tun (1 Church Street), a cheap and student-heavy hangout, or try Pintxo People (95-99 Western Road) for tapas and award-winning cocktails— particularly the Bloody Mary—in glam Edwardian surroundings. If you want to dance the night away, persevere (if you dare) down main drag West Street for cheesy clubs frequented by raucous bachelorette parties. Or wander through the city’s eclectic streets to the Engine Room (5 Preston Street), my favorite sweaty, sticky-floored club featuring rock and rockabilly nights, or Legends (3132 Marine Parade), the seafront gay bar. Spending the night in Brighton can be pretty pricey, but there are a number of affordable travellers’ hostels, like The Grapevine Hotel (75-76 Middle Street and 29-30 North Road). If you’ve got extra cash and a taste for camp extravagance, stay at the Hotel Pelirocco (10 Regency Square), which boasts kitschy rooms including one with a Bettie Page theme and another decked out in Diana Dors décor. No matter who you are, or what you like, Brighton is sure to have something that will tickle your fancy. Who knows, you may even end up staying! // BUST / 037
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