Brighton, British city located on the south-east coast counts at the moment with 115.919 habitants and it is considered as one of the most sunny and full of live cities in the country. We have had the pleasure to jump over there for a couple of days to discover what it is all about and, of course, it is our pleasure to share with you all our experience, pictures and recommendations, so keep reading!
The city of Brighton is located at approximately 20-35 min by train from London Gatwick Airport. Trains depart very often from the airport, having one every 20 min more or less and prices round the £10 for a return ticket. As you approaching the final destination you can feel how the temperature start changing and it is getting sunnier. It is the believing of many people that Brighton has a special micro-climate, and that combined with the fresh breezed coming from the sea, make the perfect combination for a relaxing and enjoyable ambient.
The place is known for being all the time full of life on streets, pub and shops and you can also find several street markets full of colours, noise and good atmosphere. It is also recognised for being not only an important GAY friendly community but also cosmopolitan, it is very nice to see how homophobia or racism barely have place to coexist, which in our opinion, this fact makes out of the city a very modern town.
Just opposite to the Brighton Wheel you will find the Brighton Aquarium, a highly recommendable experience, specially for the kids, they will love it, 100% guaranteed and on the other side of the aquarium the Brighton Royal Pavilion, is a former royal residence. It was built in three stages, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, who became the Prince Regent in 1811, beautiful building, specially at night when different colour lights decorate its walls.
Accommodation wise, we stayed at Legends Hotel, a gay friendly hotel situated at a couple of min walking from the pier. We have to say that we really enjoyed our stay there, all staff are very friendly and for £35 per night, double room and breakfast included you can have a good time there and enjoy a beautiful sunset on the sea from the comfort of your room. At night, downstairs, you can fin a karaoke bar and sometimes you can also live night shows. Although it is a very popular meeting point, we have to say that noise was not a problem when we were trying to rest as the room are very good noise insulated. In the morning, breakfast is served in the same room where the bar is and you can also go out to the terrace in you want to enjoy your full English Breakfast in the sun and taking the morning breeze from the sea, quite relaxing experience, or if you prefer it, you can also order room service.
The promenade along the sea its full of bars of all types, spanish, english... and they are open until quite late in the evening. For dinner you have a huge selection of restaurants all in the nearby area and also from different types of food, our recommendation, Aguadulce Restaurant, very friendly staff and good price and quality of food! Once the belly is full you can head straight away to the local discos which are normally open until 7:00 in the morning. After a good night out there is nothing like being laying by the sea watching the sunrise and have a hot chocolate with churros.
We certainly have had a great experience and we fully recommend it to you all, if you have the opportunity, do not hesitate to visit Brighton, you will love it!
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