How to spend a day in Brighton

June 2, 2021

On a May bank holiday Monday, Michael and I took a day trip from London to Brighton to spend a day on the beach.

As I only spent a day in Brighton this isn’t a blog post that suggests the only or most important things to do in Brighton, instead it’s an account of how we spent our day visiting Brighton. In this Brighton travel guide you’ll find a few classic things to do such as take a leisurely stroll along the promenade and the Brighton Palace Pier, touristy adventures such as window shopping in The Lanes and taking a flight up the BA i360 and tips on parking and where to take pretty photos for Instagram.

Read on for my quick travel guide for spending a day in Brighton by the beach.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach

Parking in Brighton 

If you’re spending most of your time in Brighton by the seaside, the best car park/parking lot for a short walk to the beach is The Lanes NCP car park.

If you’re planning to visit Brighton on a sunny day you should expect very long queues into all the car parks. To guarantee a space and avoid needing to stalk other people in car parks in the hopes that they’re leaving, you need to arrive and park by 8.30am. 

We got to The Lanes car park at 7am and there were plenty of spaces. It did however say full on the sign outside but it wasn’t so try your luck even if the sign says otherwise.

Google Maps might send you the wrong way to the entrance of the car park like it did for us, so to avoid going around in circles, when you get close stick to the A259 (the beachfront road) and follow the road signs to The Lanes. If you aren’t familiar with UK road signs, look for a blue box with a white “P” in it.

Cost of parking at The Lanes car park in Brighton

Weekdays

1 hour £4 

2 hours £8 

4 hours £17.50 

9 hours £24 

24 hours £29  

Weekends

1 hour £4.50

2 hours £10

4 hours £18.50

9 hours £24 

24 hours £29

A backup car park that’s close to the beach is the Churchill Shopping Centre car park.

Brighton Beach Bandstand

Getting photos isn’t the most important thing to do on any trip but if it is something important to you for work, Instagram or simply creating cute mementos (all the good reasons why I create my Instagram guides) then Brighton’s bandstand is a really cute spot. 

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 1

This gorgeous Victorian bandstand was originally built in 1884 and restored in 2009. From this pretty little piece of the past you can look out to sea and dream of a time gone by.

Throughout the summer months you can catch musical performances at Brighton’s Bandstand.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 2

Stroll along Brighton promenade

As you can expect, on a sunny day Brighton beach is packed so I recommend taking a leisurely stroll along the promenade early in the morning. Between 7am – 9am is your sweet spot, at this time Brighton’s beachfront is quiet and romantic and it’s your best chance to enjoy the centuries old architecture to the soundtrack of gentles waves lapping upon the shingle shore. A stark contrast to the afternoon, particularly in summer, where it is more reminiscent of Ocean Drive in Miami: sure there’s the beautiful architecture and the lovely beach but there’s also multiple seafront venues pounding out karaoke hits much to the amusement of many piddled adolescents.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 3

If you aren’t bothered with crowds then by all means avoid the early bird walk, but if you want to experience a peaceful Brighton beachfront that feels like it’s been created just for you then go early.

Where to get coffee in Brighton

If you followed my advice and arrived early to guarantee parking, then you’ll possibly be flagging by this point and in need of a caffeine fix. I wasn’t in Brighton long enough to try enough coffee to say where you should go but we enjoyed the two places we went so I’ll happily share those. 

The first was The Flour Pot Bakery on Sydney Street where there’s both outdoor and indoor seating. They have a small but delicious selection of homemade pastries including vegan options, I had a vegan croissant and Michael had a vegan coconut pain au chocolat. The Flour Pot bakery has 4 other locations including one on the beach. Make sure you bring your reusable coffee cup as they aren’t currently serving mugs.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 4
The other bakery café that we went to was Gail’s Bakery, which I do want to mention isn’t independent to Brighton. I was tempted in by their wide selection of sweet and savoury pastries and so, so many dainty cakes including pistachio, rose and lemon cake and a citrus marmalade and ricotta slice, there was a salted caramel, banana and pecan cake that looked exciting too.
PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 5

I spotted a a few cafés down Kensington Gardens whose cakes looked enticing too.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 6

The Lanes

The Lanes is a neighbourhood in Brighton made of narrow alleyways that wind through an assortment of restaurants, pubs and many, many jewellers. I’m talking diamonds on diamonds on diamonds. Even if you’re not there to shop, window shopping all the sparkles is a fun thing to do whilst in Brighton.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 7

British Airways i360

As a travel blogger who hasn’t stepped into an airport let alone an aeroplane for over a year, checking into the BA i360 with staff dressed in cabin crew uniform was an absolute delight and no doubt I was giddier than a 30 minute ride in a bar warranted.

The glass pod offers 360° views of Brighton and Hove and on a clear day you can see all the way to Isle of Wight. Inside is a bar serving local gin cocktails but I recommend getting your drink from the bar on the deck outside (if it’s not raining) so you can beeline for the edge to guarantee a good view.

BA i360 ticket costs

Ticket prices start from:

Adult (25+) £16.50

16-24 years £11.10

Children aged 4-15 years £8.25

Under 3 years go free

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 10

BA i360 opening hours

31st May-6th June 10am-9pm

7th June-25th July Mon-Thurs 10am-6.30pm

7th June-25th July Fri, Sat and Sun 10am-9pm

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 11

Brighton Royal Pavilion & Museums Trust

With a keen fascination with the Orient and “exotic interiors”, in 1797 King George IV (before he was crowned the King of England) commissioned the Royal Pavilion to be built in Brighton. It was finally completed in 1823 leaving the King only 7 years to enjoy it before he passed away. 

The exterior was inspired by Indian architecture whilst the interior was influenced by China.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 12

When Queen Victoria succeeded him she used the pavilion a royal residence until 1850 when she sold it to Brighton Town Commissioners. You can learn more about its past including its time served as a hospital during WWI.

PFH Fun Fact: the domes are reinforced with iron birdcages on the interior. The chandeliers hanging within the pavilion were once removed to be placed within Buckingham Palace but they were too heavy and had to return to the Pavilion. The iron birdcages are the only structures strong enough to support them.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 13

Brighton Royal Pavilion ticket costs

Adult £16

Child aged 5-18 £10

1 adult and 2 children £26

2 adults and 2 children £42

Brighton Royal Pavilion opening hours 

April-September 9.30am-5.45pm

October-March 10am-5.15pm

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 14

Brighton Palace Pier

Brighton Palace Pier is packed full of vendors selling all the classic seaside sweet treats you can imagine including cotton candy and rock, arcades and funfair rides. It gets packed pretty early in the day so avoid crowds by visiting early in the morning.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 15

PFH Top Tip: WATCH OUT FOR SEAGULLS! If you get doughnuts, chips or cotton candy on the pier be wary of seagulls. For the second time poor Michael had his food pinched right from his hand by ruthless seagulls.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 16

If you fancy doughnuts (you know the little sugar ring doughnuts found at all beach resort towns in England), don’t get them from the kiosk on the right entrance of the pier. We got doughnuts from here and they were more like waffles and the sugar didn’t stick. After Michael got his doughnut pinched by seagulls we got more on the pier and they were much better.

Chips on Brighton Beach

Eating chips on any beach in England is a classic thing to do and there’s plenty of fish and chippies along the beach front and on the pier. 

Unfortunately we poorly timed getting dinner and could not face those big ass queues so we went in from the beach and found a vegan restaurant called The Vurger Co. It’s a vegan fast food restaurant that serves all your favourites including shakes, fried “chicken” and burgers. Even better than this all their packaging is compostable and they have a zero to landfill policy.

PFHPostcardsfromHawaiiTravelBlogHowtospendadayinBrightontravelguideBrightonBeach 17

I hope you enjoy your trip to Brighton, if you find this guide for how to spend a day in Brighton useful let me know in the comments below!

Do more on & for the planet, Gabriella

Pin this post

Leave a Reply

Get Sharing

Recent posts

Postcards from Hawaii, travel lifestyle blog, the dos and don’ts for proper afternoon tea etiquette from a Brit, scone, clotted cream
The dos and don’ts for proper afternoon tea etiquette so you look the part.
A step-by-step guide for how to get rid of bad smells in vintage & second-hand clothes. Remove the musty odours from old clothes.
How to Get the Snow Bunny Look for Your Ski Trip. Gabriella wears a white ski suit and stands next to a yellow helicopters on top of a glacier on the west coast of Canada.
How to get the snow bunny, mob wife aesthetic this winter. Winter style guide for your stylish ski trip.
header-03 Après-ski gift guide for the ski girls Gabriella Wisdom Postcards from Hawaii Lifestyle Travel Blog Ski fashion snow style fashion blog Fairmont Whistler La Mark Sport
The perfect après-ski gift guide for the ski girls or just for the ski-bunny aesthetic.
A list of the best British department stores in London for Christmas shopping.
Postcards from Hawaii travel lifestyle blog Pumpkin spice hummus recipe for Thanksgiving or Halloween (vegan, gluten free) no cook
A no-cook vegan & gluten free pumpkin spice hummus recipe for Thanksgiving dinner or Halloween parties.

Save for later

Create an account so you can save your favourite blog posts

Instagram

More Like This

The dos and don’ts for proper afternoon tea etiquette from a Brit

March 28, 2024

How to get rid of bad smells in vintage and second-hand clothes

February 22, 2024

How to Get The Snow Bunny Look for Your Ski Trip

January 25, 2024

Après-ski gift guide for the ski girls

December 7, 2023

Best British department stores in London for Christmas shopping

November 24, 2023

Pumpkin spice hummus recipe for Thanksgiving or Halloween (vegan, gluten free)

November 9, 2023

10 ways to cope with and work through homesickness

September 28, 2023

10 Canadian foods to try when you visit Canada

August 10, 2023

6 fun things to do in Osoyoos, British Columbia

July 20, 2023

Pimm’s cake recipe with zesty Pimm’s drizzled glaze

July 6, 2023

postcards from hawaii travel lifestyle blog why you should stay at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise during winter

Subscribe to my monthly newsletter for updates, a round-up of recent blog posts and my PFH 5 faves for the month.

Postcards from Hawaii Newsletter