The Ultimate Weekend In Brighton Itinerary

Last Updated on 4th May 2023

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The Best Things To Do In Brighton - Ultimate Travel Guide

I’ve been obsessed with the idea of visiting Brighton ever since I used to watch the OG YouTubers such as Zoella, Pointless Blog and Marcus Butler who all showcased their lives in Brighton and while I’ll admit that I’ve slightly outgrown watching all their daily vlogs now, my longing to visit was still strong!

I was so excited when we started planning our huge South Coast England road trip as I knew that I would finally get the chance to visit Brighton and explore some of the seaside city’s most famous attractions.

From the highly coveted The Lanes to the city’s more recent attraction, the British Airways i360, this remarkable city has so many incredible things to offer and I’m excited to finally share my extensive travel guide to Brighton, including where to stay, what to do and where to eat in Brighton!

If you’re planning to spend a weekend in Brighton, check out my ultimate weekend itinerary below!

Where to stay in Brighton for a weekend

As our visit to Brighton coincided with our Southern England road trip, we actually stayed in our campervan in Preston Park where you can stay for free between the hours of 4pm and 9am.

However, thanks to my many years of obsessing over Brighton, I’ve spent quite a lot of time researching the best hotels in Brighton and the following have been recommended to me many times over the years.

Alternatively, find somewhere to stay in Brighton here!

Booking.com

How to get to Brighton/where to park

Brighton is located on the southern coast of England and it’s a great place to add to a Southern England road trip itinerary (like we did!) as it’s easily driveable from the north, east and west of England.

It’s also a 2-hour drive from London (depending on traffic) and it also has great train connections with Eastbourne and Southampton and of course, London.

If you decide to drive into Brighton, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for parking in most car parks around the city. We parked in the London Road Car Park and we paid £10 for 4-9 hours of parking which we were pretty happy with as some car parks were charging upwards of £30 a day!

A weekend in Brighton – best things to do

We managed to see and do pretty much everything we wanted to do in Brighton in just one day, so if you’re pressed for time during your visit, I do think you can get lots crammed into just one day. However, it’s also a place where you could easily spend a weekend exploring everything it has to offer, or even a week if you enjoy spending lots of time on the beach.

Check out my ultimate guide below on all the best things to do during a weekend in Brighton.

1. Go up the British Airways i360 Viewing Tower

The British Airways i360 is one of the city’s newest attractions as it only opened in 2016. The 162m observation tower offers stunning 360° views of the city itself, as well as out to sea and the English Channel and even all the way down the South Downs.

Prices for the BAi360 start from £16.50 for adults over 25 and £11.10 for young adults aged 16-24 with a valid ID. Children aged 4-15 can go up the tower for £8.25.

2. Play some games on the Brighton Palace Pier

The Brighton Palace Pier is another awesome thing to experience while you’re in the city, particularly if you’re visiting with kids in tow who enjoy spending all your money on expensive rides and attractions 😜.

Unlike many piers along the southern coast of England, the Palace Pier has free admission so you can walk along it and enjoy the views from the pier without it costing you a penny.

While you’ll likely spend a small fortune on the rides and attractions, the pier is home to some truly epic rides such as The Booster which honestly looked TERRIFYING, as well as classic rides such as the Horror House, dodgems and helter-skelter.

3. Enjoy a stroll along Brighton Beach

While I’m not really one for spending too much time sunbathing or playing in the sea while at the beach, I do enjoy walking along the sand and even just enjoying the view of the beach and sea from various viewpoints.

The beach in Brighton isn’t actually a sandy beach like I’d always assumed; it’s a stony beach. This didn’t seem to stop anyone enjoying spending time on the beach however and while it might not be quite as soft and relaxing to sit or even walk on, it is a really lovely beach.

4. Eat delicious vegan food at Purezza Pizza

I think it’s fair to say that there are tonnes of incredible places to eat in Brighton, but as we were only there for one day, we only had one proper meal while we were there and that was at Purezza Pizza; an entirely vegan restaurant, specialising in vegan pizzas.

Neither of us is actually vegan 100% of the time (although we do try to make a conscious effort to choose vegan or veggie options when we can) and we didn’t actually realise that Purezza was vegan at first until the waitress informed us. Even if you’re not vegan, I’d still highly recommend the pizzas at Purezza as many of the vegan substitutes were pretty much undetectable!

Check out my full review of Purezza Pizza here!

5. Admire Brighton Royal Pavilion

When you see the Royal Pavilion for the first time, it’s hard to imagine that you haven’t been transported to an exotic Indian city as the resemblance to the Taj Mahal (albeit on a much smaller scale) is uncanny.

Construction of the Royal Pavilion began all the way back in 1787 and it was built in three stages as a seaside home for King George IV. We didn’t actually go inside the Royal Pavilion, but if you do, you’ll enjoy seeing all the incredible stately rooms such as the Banqueting Room, The Saloon and The Great Kitchen.

Tickets to the Royal Pavilion cost £16 for adults and £10 for children aged 5-18 and your ticket allows to you revisit the Pavilion as many times as you like for a whole year, so it’s worth the money if you plan on frequenting Brighton often.

6. Check out all the awesome street art

The street art scene in Brighton is vast and varied and while I don’t have exact locations or addresses to help you find these particular pieces of street art, I’m sure that you’ll stumble across a fair few simply just by walking around the city.

Some of the pieces of street art are absolutely huge and so incredible and despite not being a fan of “traditional” art and the fact that I’m utterly dreadful at anything visually creative like painting or drawing, I always really appreciate and admire epic street art creations like the ones above.

7. Mooch around The Lanes – weekend in Brighton itinerary

The Lanes are another area of the city that are incredibly famous and well-loved by both locals and tourists. The collection of tiny streets and narrow lanes comprise some of Brighton’s most cherished antique, vintage and charity shops and it’s here that you’ll find some of the city’s coolest and wildest people hanging out.

Visiting The Lanes during the peak summer months can be a task in itself as they’re normally teeming with people all trying to find a bargain or a vintage gem, but if you can brave the crowds and you’re willing to be pushed and cramped a little bit, The Lanes are well worth a visit.

8. Get some yummy doughnuts

Of course, doughnuts aren’t exclusive to Brighton in the slightest and you’ll find these sugary delights in every single seaside town in the country, but the ones I had in Brighton from Kash’s Beach Cafe right outside the Palace Pier were utterly scrumptious and they only cost £1.90 for two!

9. See the Upside Down House

The Upside Down House is an eccentric combination of experiential fun and unique street art and I think it’s awesome to see from the outside alone, but you can also purchase tickets to go inside this weird and wonderful topsy-turvy house.

It only costs £5 to go inside the house, although be wary of the ridiculously long queues during the summer months as it was wrapped all the way around the house when we were there!

10. Take a stroll through Preston Park

As I mentioned in the section above about where to stay in Brighton, Preston Park is where we pitched up our campervan for the night to sleep.

However, Preston Park itself is also a great place to hang out in the city if you want to get away from all the excitement and busyness for a little while. Here you’ll find teams playing sports of almost every kind and we spent a good half an hour just chilling in the park (and resting our feet after walking over 25,000 steps in the day!) and people-watching.

11. Explore the Marina – how to spend a weekend in Brighton

If pizza at Purezza doesn’t take your fancy, then you’ll be pleased to know that the Marina has plenty of awesome places to eat and drink such as Bella Napoli, Chez Mal Brasserie, Malika Indian Restaurant, plus lots of chain restaurants as well.

The Marina also has plenty of shops and entertainment to enjoy and while you probably won’t need to spend too much time here, it’s probably worth popping by for a quick snoop.

12. Browse antique knick-knacks at Snoopers Paradise

Speaking of snooping, Snoopers Paradise is one of Brighton’s most prized treasure troves. It’s a renowned flea market that’s home to more than 90 different antique and unique traders.

You’ll find vintage items of all kinds at Snoopers Paradise, so if you’ve got a particular penchant for peculiar possessions, you’re sure to enjoy this vintage haven.

13. Enjoy sundowners along the seafront

There are ample places along Brighton’s seafront to enjoy a sundowner, especially on a lovely summer’s evening. Check out West Beach Bar & Kitchen or the Tempest Inn for some fab food and drinks right on the seafront.

14. Watch a show at Komedia

If your visit to Brighton coincides with bad weather, then it won’t be too much fun hanging out on the beach in the rain, but thankfully there are plenty of things to do on a rainy day in Brighton, including spending an afternoon watching a show at Komedia.

Komedia is a live entertainment venue that hosts over 700 performances of live comedy, music, theatre, cabaret and more and it’s the perfect place to hang out on a rainy day, or even just on an evening if you’re looking for something a bit different to do in the city.

Bonus things to do during a weekend in Brighton

While I’m super happy with all the things that we managed to see and do in Brighton, there are obviously some things that we didn’t quite manage to do, so I’ve included a brief list of bonus things to do below in case you plan on spending a little longer there.

Watch a show at Brighton Dome
Ride along the seafront on the Volk’s Electric Railway
Visit Brighton Toy and Model Museum
Discover the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery
See the old West Pier

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Have you ever been to Brighton? Is it somewhere you’d like to visit one day? Let me know in the comments or on Instagram at @imjustagirl_16.

2 Comments

Rachel Wuestsays:
15th September 2021 at 2:59 pm

I lived there for two years and can’t wait to go back in November and do all these things with my partner!

1. chloedickensonsays:
  16th September 2021 at 1:39 pm
  
  Ah that’s amazing, I hope you have the best time!