Sips & Trips with Molly

Brighton, a beautiful city on the south coast of England. Easily reachable by train from London, it is a fantastic place to spend a weekend with your partner, family or friends. Known for it’s famous pier on the stony beach, there is so much more of Brighton to explore and see.

Where to Stay

A heads up, Brighton can be expensive, we stayed for 2 nights in July which cost us around £400. We stayed at the Hilton Hotel right on the front by the beach. We managed to get an upgrade for some reason which was super lovely and the double room we had was massive. Probably bigger than our 1 bedroom flat in Southampton.

The hotel itself is really big and has a spa, pool, restaurant and event space. I mentioned it was my partners 30th and they sent complimentary chocolate tarts to share their wishes. The staff couldn’t do enough and they were all really lovely. Highly recommend this hotel if you are in Brighton.

Day 1 – Arrive

We recommend to arrive around 3pm so you can check straight into your hotel. If you go in summer, if you are lucky enough it is lush weather – head to the seaside and walk up and down the promenade.

There are plenty of restaurants for you to choose from. I can’t remember exactly where we went but we just quickly had fish and chips before we checked in. After that we strolled around, had a few drinks and went to the hotel restaurant for a quick bite to eat. We packed a lot in Saturday – we recommend you do too and chill on the Friday.

Day 2 – Saturday

We made this our jam packed day. After breakfast we strolled around town and did some shopping in the centre of Brighton. Brighton has some stunning shops and you MUST go down the lanes. There are boutique and independent stores that are famous in Brighton. There are also a lot of engagement ring shops … I’ll leave that there.

Head to the pier (yes it will be busy) and spend £1 to enter the pier itself. There are lots of rides for you to go on and also places for a drink which I recommend you do just to have a sit down.

Once you’ve had a spot of lunch, head to Sixes Brighton. It’s right under the Brighton i360 so you can’t miss it. My partner plays cricket so I booked indoor nets right on the beach. It is so much fun – you get half an hour so get those rounds in. There are also lots of stag do’s there too so it’s great for a number of people.

For dinner, you need to head to The Burnt Orange. They describe themselves as Wood-Fired Flavour and Well-Made Drinks and they are absolutely right. We had the tasting menu for £72 for both of us which included a mixture of dishes, our favourite was the flatbread, lamb cigars and aubergine. Read more about our experience on my other blog. Oh, and their margaritas are just fabulous.

This was a last minute decision, but we recommend heading to a comedy show. £20 a ticket for a night of laughter. It is in a venue that looks like a car park but trust me, it’s a legit location. Out of the 4 original line up, I think just 2 people actually performed. Thomas Green was our favourite, non-stop laughter and we actually booked to see him in Bristol!

Day 3 – Sunday

It’s your last day. I know – it’s sad. But there is still lots for you to do. We left this until last minute, but we went to the Brighton i360. Absolutely incredible. The views are spectacular and as you go up it’s just a surreal experience. There is a bar on board too where you can grab a gin and tonic or whatever you like. There are different ticket types you can do, including an evening one – we had a visit of the i360 with cream tea after.

We were STUFFED from the cream tea, there was scones and so many cakes. I was surprised how much there was and it was worth every penny. That should give you enough time before you have to leave Brighton.

There is so much for you to do in Brighton, these are just our top tips. As I head to Brighton more, I’m probably going to have to do a separate blog post on top activies/places to eat. If you have just a few days to spend, consider doing some of our tips above. Enjoy Brighton!