Best Brighton Activities & Attractions
Your Ultimate Guide to the Best Brighton Activities & Attractions
With its iconic pier, beautiful beach, and lively atmosphere, Brighton is a destination that offers something for everyone. But beyond the obvious, Brighton is also home to an array of fantastic activities, attractions, and things to do that are just waiting to be discovered.
From water sports to shopping, street art to fine dining, there’s an endless array of experiences to be had in this beautiful city. So why not make a weekend of it and book your stay now? Read on to learn more about Brighton’s best things to do and see.
On the map
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Brighton Marina
One of Europe’s largest Marina’s, the Brighton Marina is home to a wide range of bars, restaurants and activities. Have a stroll along the marina and admire the million pound yachts for sale. Have lunch in one of the countless restaurants or maybe a spot of shopping in one of the designer discount stores. From ten pin bowling through to mackerel fishing day trips, Brighton Marina makes a good day out for all members of the family.
Hove Lagoon Watersports
As one of the country’s leading providers of water sports, there’s an activity here for everyone. Sailing, powerboat driving, paddle boarding, windsurfing, water skiing and Zap Cat powerboat driving. You will certainly leave with a fun memory of your holiday.
Brighton i360
Take a flight to the skies and see Brighton and the beautiful South Coast as you have never seen them before. Glide up gently to 138 metres on the world’s tallest moving observation tower, conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects, creators of the London Eye.In a futuristic glass viewing pod, visitors can admire 360 degree views across Regency Brighton, the South Downs and on the clearest days, all the way to Beachy Head and the Isle of Wight.
Sea Life Centre
The Brighton Sea Life centre is an institution in Brighton and has been open since 1872. It is a fantastic and exciting day out for the whole family or groups of friends with over 1500 sea creatures and 50 displays to explore. Watch in amazement as giant turtles and sharks glide above your head whilst you walk in the underwater tunnel. Other activities include a glass bottom boat and behind the scenes tours and a free rock pool experience where guests can touch crabs and starfish. The newest feature is the Octopus garden. There are also free talks and feeds available throughout the day. This is a great place to take the kids to, keeping them occupied for hours.
Brighton Palace Pier
From it’s humble beginnings in 1823 as a landing stage for passenger ships, Brighton Pier has become Brighton’s must visit tourist destination. The Pier offers white knuckle rides, the best fish and chips in the city and some of the best views of Brighton. Make the Palace Pier top of your to do list.
Royal Pavilion & Garden
Built for the Prince Regent, later King George IV, between 1787 and 1823, the Royal Pavilion is remarkable for its exotic oriental appearance both inside and out. This magnificent royal pleasure palace was revered by the fashionable Regency society and it is still a distinctive landmark for vibrant Brighton & Hove today. The extravagant banqueting hall with it’s looming dragons certainly has the wow factor.
Brighton’s North Laine Graffiti
Brighton, and North Laine in particular, is renowned for its street art displays and original, creative graffiti. The tapestry changes from time to time, with new and exciting displays popping up. It’s also great to stumble across something hidden away, left to find by the artist.A mixture of some commissions and a lot of uncurated throwups, the urban art scene is alive and vibrant in Brighton.Here are some of the top street graffiti artworks and spots around the North Laine, Brighton.Frederick Place musicians mural on the side of the Prince Albert pubBanksy’s Kissing Policemen replica. Prince Albert PubRegent Street, including the Angel of Brighton by Cosmo SarsonEl Capitan, mural of Brighton and Hove Albion captain Bruno by Richard Wilson of High Rise Murals, corner of Church Street & Gardner StreetOrange Row including paste ups from MintyTrafalgar LaneSydney Street above the shopsJunction boxes painted by Cassette Lord are a regular sight in BrightonParrot mural on Gloucester Road, corner of Vine StreetCorner opposite The Basketmakers Arms on Gloucester Road & Cheltenham Place
Cuddly Colony
From its unique position as the UK's first dedicated education centre, Cuddly Colony has become the nation's premier destination for sugar glider enthusiasts. The centre offers close-up and educational experiences where you can learn about these creatures, including conservation efforts and rehoming within the UK. Add Cuddly Colony to your list for a truly unique and informative day out.
Upside Down House
Marking its first coastal location in the UK, the Upside Down House is an unmissable, luxurious turquoise beach house situated right on the Sea Front. This whimsical attraction invites you to step into a world where everything is the wrong way around. Its chic interior is inspired by the diverse cultural, music, and arts atmosphere of Brighton and Hove, boasting creatively designed rooms that include a bespoke gaming area, a jukebox, and even a vintage bicycle suspended from the ceiling. The surreal experience is guaranteed to transform your camera roll and leave you with gravity-defying photos.
The Last Drip Studios
Tucked into Brighton Square in the heart of The Lanes, The Last Drip Studios is exactly what it sounds like: a splatter art studio where you throw on a poncho, throw paint at a canvas, and walk out an hour later with a finished piece. There are no skills required and no rules, just bowls of paint, water guns, stickers, an unlimited refill on every colour, and your canvas heads home in a pizza box. It is BYOB, the studio is open Thursday to Sunday, and slots start at £20 per person, which makes it equally strong as a date night, a kid-friendly afternoon, or a solo Saturday. Founder Aaron started the place with his wife after a teacher once told him he wasn't good at art, which feels to us like exactly the right energy for somewhere built around the idea that anyone can create. It's the kind of session that makes you forget your phone for an hour, this is one of the more genuinely different ways to spend an afternoon in Brighton.
Pinot & Picasso Brighton
Pinot & Picasso is the purple-fronted studio on Gloucester Road in the North Laine where a local artist walks you from a blank canvas to a finished painting in a couple of hours, brush stroke by brush stroke. You don't need to have picked up a brush since school: every session is built for beginners, all the materials are laid out for you, and the licensed bar keeps the wine, cocktails and soft drinks coming while you paint. Sessions start from around £39 a head with family slots at £20, and the themes change constantly, from Neon Nights to Paint Your Pet, so there is usually one that suits whoever you've brought along. Groups of six or more get a discount and the studio takes private bookings for hens, birthdays and work dos, which in our view makes it one of the easiest evenings to organise for a mixed crowd. You leave with a canvas you painted yourself, and it is a short walk from the station, so it slots neatly into a first or last night in the city.
The Hummingbird at Brighton City Airport
The Hummingbird is the cafe inside the terminal at Brighton City Airport, better known as Shoreham Airport, the oldest purpose-built commercial airport in the world still flying. Truffles Bakery runs it, so the breakfasts, lunches, cream teas and cakes are good, but the reason to go is the terrace, where you sit a few feet from the runway and watch light aircraft and trainee pilots take off and land all afternoon. Children are transfixed, and a short walk along the River Adur gives you an even better view of the approach, with Lancing College chapel and the Downs behind. It is about half an hour from Brighton on the 700 bus and there is nothing to pay beyond your coffee, which makes it one of our favourite cheap days out with kids.
Sussex Butterfly Gardens at One Garden Brighton
The Sussex Butterfly Gardens opened in May 2026 inside the restored 1952 Palm House at One Garden Brighton, on the edge of Stanmer Park, one of only three glasshouses of its kind left in the country. Inside it is warm, humid and full of hundreds of tropical butterflies, moths and other invertebrates living among the plants they feed on, so expect one to land on you. It is a joint project between Plumpton College and Sussex Butterfly Gardens and doubles as a teaching space, which shows in how well everything is explained. It opens daily, tickets are sold in advance through butterflygardenbrighton.co.uk, and One Garden's cafe, shop and walled gardens plus the whole of Stanmer Park are outside the door, so make a day of it. A short bus ride from the centre and one of the best wet-weather options in Brighton for families.
VRROOM Racing
VRROOM at Brighton Marina is a racing bar with twelve full-motion simulators, each wrapped in three 55-inch screens, so you get the pitch and lurch of an F1 car or a Nurburgring lap without a headset on your face. Sessions run around two hours and you race the rest of the room, which makes it ideal for stag and hen groups, birthdays and work outings; private hire takes up to a hundred with food laid on. There is a sports bar alongside for whoever is waiting their turn, evening sessions dim the lights, and school-holiday sessions open it up to children. It opens daily from midday on the Waterfront, book online, and expect to leave arguing about lap times.
