Before going to Brighton this past weekend, I knew only that (1) it’s a seaside resort popular with London daytrippers since the 1800s, and (2) these days, Brighton is known for a happening nightlife and cool gay scene. For some reason, I thought the happening nightlife/gay scene rep would mean the city was super-cool and chic-looking, but actually, the parts I saw just seemed kind of shabby and sad.
The good news is that going to Brighton takes only an hour by train, and from the Brighton train station, it’s a quick walk to the boardwalk and beach. The bad news is that the boardwalk and beach are kind of depressing and not worth visiting. Don’t go to Brighton thinking you’re going to find a gorgeous crescent of sand or a well-maintained, pretty boardwalk (like the one in, say, San Sebastian). Oh no. Think hard pebble beaches, “beach pubs” that reek of day-old beer spilled on the floor, and a pier packed with seedy arcade games and community-fair-calibre rides that cost £8 a pop.
It’s fair to say I was disappointed in the beach and seaside part of Brighton.
The big tourist “sight” in town is the Royal Pavillion (see photo at top of post), which was built by King George IV when he was still a crazy young prince who liked to have his jollies in Brighton. The palace is of the school of architecture known as “white guy’s fantasy of the Orient.” Onion domes and decorative archways galore. It’s pretty enough, but I’d come to Brighton for the seaside, not for a tour of yet another ridiculously-huge palace. (I think I’ve recently started to suffer from Palace Fatigue. In terms of how often this malady grips me, I think Palace Fatigue comes just behind Gothic Cathedral Fatigue).
There are some cute, winding alleys of shops in an area of Brighton known as the Lanes, which is not to be confused with the other alleys of shops known as the Laines (with an “i”). Laines with an “i” was described by a Telegraph travel article as where all the “cool” shops were, but I think that description is accurate only if you find cheap jewelry and second-hand-clothing stores to be cool. The Lanes without an “i” are closest to the beach, and while many of the shops are chains, at least gems like the ChoccyWoccyDoodah chocolate shop are there.
To be fair to Brighton, I have no complaints about my food experiences there. In fact, the chocolate milk shake at ChoccyWoccyDoodah was so thick and chocolatey (we’re talking good, bittersweet chocolate) that I might go back to Brighton just for the milk shakes.
And our brunch at the bustling, cheery Bill’s Produce was also very good. Bill’s Produce is both a restaurant and a grocery store, and I can imagine that the original Whole Foods must have had a vibe like the wholesome, slightly-chaotic one at Bill’s.
My eggs benedict with smoked salmon was everything I’d want in said dish. Eggs poached so the yolk is runny but the whites are cooked through and not vinegary; a creamy, tangy hollaindaise; thin, savoury slices of nova; and a little extra texture and nuttiness with the unexpected addition of toasted squash seeds. And it looked pretty. And it cost just £7.
Obviously, the next time I go to Brighton, I need to be sure I’ve been invited to a cool party, and before said party, I’ll be sure to eat at Bill’s and grab a milkshake at ChoccyWoccy.
Wow, you’re right – this does sound just like our trip to Hastings, except that you found good food from the looks of it. If I ever go to Brighton, you have actually convinced me to go into a place called “ChoccyWoccyDoodah”.
Yes, ChoccyWoccyDoodah is def a ridiculous name, but I suppose the goal was to be memorable, which it is. : ) And now you’re reminding me how much I would love a chocolate milkshake . . . .
Like so many daytrippers, who think they know what to expect from a place because they have heard its ‘cool’, tend to be disappointed the beauty of Brighton and Hove is that it doesnt fit into your ‘cool’ box. It is many things to many people, what you see as ‘sad’ is anothers melacholy charm, what you see as a beer stained boardwalk was somebody’s good time. Brighton rocks.
John, I agree that beauty/fun/cool is always in the eye of the beholder. Brighton is a popular place to live and visit, so I’m sure there are good reasons for that. But like I said in the title of this post, it wasn’t for me.
Fair point. Like someone once said you can please some of the people some of the time but you cant please all of the people all of the time! I will invite you to a party next time and you can give brighton a second chance.
LOL. Sounds good. : )
hi
There are some tired parts of Brighton as seems to be the curse of the British seaside resort, but Brighton has started to buck the trend and shake off that sad ‘kiss me quick hat’ image and is rapidly becoming one of the cooler seaside resorts in the to visit.There are many nice boutiques that can be found not always on the main tourist routes, junkfunk on gloucester road is worth checking out with its quirky mix of gifts, clothing and art.Well worth checking out also is shoe shop last footwear http://www.lastfootwear.com/ handmade shoes and accessories.
Brighton is not for me too. Just too depressing to visit. I have seen better seaside. Coming from Malaysia, I was pretty shocked to discover Brighton.
I adore Brighton! I can’t imagine what there is to not like about it – the fresh sea air, colourful rows of terraced houses, lots of funky boutiques and some incredible places to eat. I see you’ve already found Bill’s (that’s how I found your blog – I wanted to use the photo you took of the interior of Bill’s. I didn’t steal your photo, but I have linked to this post. Hope you don’t mind). Have you been back since your first experience of the town, I wonder?
hi there
i’m glad that you did not like Brighton. if everyone appreciated how cool it is we would be inundated by Americans with bum bags and large cameras, trying to soak up some genuine culture, as their own is trapped within New York and parts of the East coast.
You could stay here for a month and not spot whats good about Brighton. thank god.
Or you could stay 25 years and still not spot it.
bittersweetcity – I did like Bill’s very much, and no, I haven’t been back to Brighton since this blog post.
toby – In defense of my home country, it’s a nation of 300+ million people, so there’s undoubtedly a lot of different cultures to be found there, but I’m sensing you have a narrow definition of what “genuine culture” is.
Heaven save us from reviews by Americans.
Who cares what some American thinks. I used to visit Brigton as a child and enjoyed it ….. PEBBLES TOO! I lived in Brigton while at university and found it a delight still. I visited last year for the first time in over 30 years. Tragically many of the wonderful things of Brighton are gone but the place still has charm and interest – so unlike the miserable Atlantic City and the gruesome Jersey shore.
Heaven save us from Americans. What they want is ‘America’ where ever they go. Open your eyes young man – travel – stop – see – and stop judging everything America – heave save us from America too.
Hi Charles – Tell me what you *really* think of Americans, lol! It’s too bad you have such a low opinion of everyone belonging to a nation of 300 million people, but in any case, if you read my post again, I hope you’ll see I didn’t think Brighton was entirely horrible. It just wasn’t for me. Query whether your view of Brighton might be colored by your fond university memories?
Having been here for five years now (and loving every minute of it), I like to think this devotion to London suggests that I’m not roaming the world hoping to recreate America wherever I go.
Signs of the British inferiority complex popping up in the comments eh? If Brighton is so wonderful then why isn’t it named ‘The Jewel 1 hour away from London by train”?
AmericaninLondon, the way you feel about Brighton is the way I feel about everything this former Empire has to offer. And I salute how politely you responded to those America bashing comments.
I forgot to say, “stars and stripes forever” !
call me hahaha.
Every place has its good and its bad points. The only comment I can make to anyone that doesn’t like our country is you can always leave- be my guest!
I’m American and I live in London. I’ve been to Brighton and lean more towards the “melancholy charm” opinion stated in ‘John Irwin’s’ post, but still I prefer London for it’s vibe and access to the rest of Europe. Thanks for the food suggestions! I’ll check them out next time I go back.
Well said. Shabby and beer stained touting an image for ‘craziness’ that is ill deserved. I was unfortunate enough to live there for some years. The gentleman above states that he’s glad it isn’t inundated with tourists which is a lie. It is jam packed with 6 million a year all pretty much bemused as to what they are actually there to see.
I am English but hate this continual American bashing also. Well said YankeeGirl. At last an American who isn’t too well mannered to say it. The good folk of Brighton feel they have somehow outgrown all forms of racism, (see smugcloud episode of SouthPark for parallel), but North Americans are somehow open season. The jewel 1 hour from London hahaha.
“It is jam packed with 6 million a year all pretty much bemused as to what they are actually there to see.”
Haha, this.
I was there today and was kinda disappointed
I preferred Hastings for some reason. At least it had a proper tourist attraction which was worth visiting. Brighton is so hyped, but to me it just seemed like a duller version of Camden…with a stony beach…
Hastings has everything Brighton has minus the seediness. Hastings actually looks very similar to Brighton except you aren’t expected to demonstrate a commitment to some kind of carefree new age hedonistic woeful lifestyle. Having said this, my friend visited from LA and couldn’t understand why everything was closed so early given that it was supposed to be the hedonistic capital of Europe haha. Mostly it is well off students curiously dipping their toes into the hedonistic philosophy with the option of returning to their upwardly mobile parents at a whim and those who have been thoroughly burnt by said bankrupt philosophy.