*Note: There may be affiliate links in this post*

In typical England fashion, I had to wait for a nice day to go to Brighton. I went on a day trip to Brighton from East Preston, a little village where I was house sitting. I took a train from Angmering station to Brighton, which took about 30 minutes and cost 9 pounds to return. For those coming from London, this is still a great day trip. It only takes about an hour depending where you’re leaving from in London. When I looked it up, prices started from £6 depending on what day, time of day, etc.

I stayed in Angemering with Trusted Housesitters. This app allowed me to stay for free in someone’s home while watching their dog. It is similar to Air B’n’B, but there are background checks and insurance involved too. It’s great option for budget travelers who are also animal lovers.

If I hadn’t been house sitting, I would have loved to stay in Brighton for a couple of nights! Hotel du Vin Brighton is great budget option with good reviews, and of course, you can’t go wrong with the Double Tree Hilton.

Cafe Coho

My first mission when I got to Brighton was to find a coffee. I came across Cafe Coho pretty quickly outside of Brighton train station. I ordered a latte and a biscoff blondie bar. Both were good. I wish I’d had time to spend hanging out there. It was really cute inside and would’ve been a great space to work in. I’d definitely go back.

Little did I know, there are a million and one coffee shops around Brighton. If you’re here and looking for a good coffee, I don’t think you’ll have troubles, even if you don’t stop at Cafe Coho. They do have a second location closer to the ocean, too.

The Brighton Museum and Art Gallery

This was one of the highlights of the day for me and I would highly recommend anyone visiting Brighton to go. The Brighton Museum and Art Gallery cost £9 to go in, but I found that well worth it. Plus, the ticket is good for entry for an entire year if you return.

Inside initially, there is a room full of old paintings, furniture, dishes, etc. I walked through this part fairly quickly. It was not my favorite exhibit. But as you continue through the room, there is another exhibit with Egyptian mummies and artifacts inside. I have seen quite a few of these in the museums in England, but it is always cool to see. Another room had old puppets, costumes, and theater things. See Punch and Judy below.

One of my favorite exhibits was the installation that is there until September this year. It is the photography and history of one of England’s most famous photographers, Roger Bamber. Although he passed away in 2022, he had been around to see some of the most intense changes and events occur in British history. The photos hanging in the rooms are incredible to see.

At the time of my visit, there was also an exhibit called “Queer the Pier”. This is a local LGBTIQA+ installation, showing some of Brighton’s history and why it is home to the highest population of LGBTIQA+ in Britain. People have come from all over the UK to move to Brighton for that reason. It was really cool to read about some of their stories.

The Royal Pavilion is also on the grounds here, and is incredible to look at on its own. You are free to wander the area, take a break on one of the benches or in the green space. I wish I’d had more time here, but I booked a ticket for the i360 and had to get down to the pier for my ride!

The Brighton i360

I decided to go ahead and get a ticket for the Brighton i360 because it was one of the most recommended things I found to do online. It cost $22, so I decided to book before I went. It was actually pretty cool. There are a lot of other options for taking this “bubble” 138 meters into the air! You can jump out of it, climb around the top of it, do yoga inside, have a party. The list is endless.

One of my favorite features (besides the bar) was how they create the electricity it takes to run the tower. On the way down, it creates half the electricity to run it going up, so every 3rd trip is fully powered on its own! The rest is all solar or wind powered.

Back to the bar… There is a bar you can get a drink at before going into the pod, but there is also a bar inside the pod. I ordered the Brighton Gin and rock tonic, which surprisingly was only £7.50. It is local gin with normal tonic, but they add a chunk of minty rock candy. The rock is a traditional candy in Brighton. I was going to buy some but it slipped my mind before I got to the station.

Overall, I thought this was a cool thing to do and a nice way to see Brighton from a high vantage point. You spend about 30 minutes in total in the pod, so I had plenty of time to see the 360 degree views. The only con I had was the horrible glare on the pod windows. You can see in the photos I took that they aren’t great. There really was no angle to get pictures without some glare on them. It would have been nice to do this with a group of friends.

West Pier and Brighton Palace Pier

In 2003, there was a petition to restore the West Pier in Brighton. After funds had been approved for the restoration, the pier was set on fire by some arsonists. The remnants of the West Pier remain just off the shore right by the i360. It is a sort-of iconic spot to snap a photo in Brighton, so I couldn’t help myself. It was a gorgeous day and the stark outline of the old pier was an interesting contrast.

The Brighton Palace Pier is the new pier where the arcade, rides, etc are all at now. The walk between the two spots is about 10-15 minutes, so again, it is an interesting contrast. I didn’t actually go onto the Palace Pier since I wasn’t planning on riding rides, but the whole area was bustling with people out and enjoying the nice day.

I did stop at the Brighton Music Hall where I got a half pint of beer and sat to relax and listen to the live music going on. It was a nice way to get off my feet for a bit and decide where to go before I had to head back to the train station.

The Lanes/North Laine

The Lanes is the main shopping area of Brighton. I walked through The Lanes and North Laine, but didn’t actually buy anything. I was limited on time, and after my i360 trip, many of the shops were closing by the time I got down. From what I’ve heard, this is one of the main reasons to come to Brighton, though.

Mixed in with the shops are restaurants- a lot of Italian and, of course, pubs. I stopped at Knoop’s Chocolate, a cafe where you can order different types of hot (or cold) chocolate drinks. I ordered the 43%- basically the display board tells you what percent of chocolate and what it will taste like (ex: notes of hazelnut and vanilla). It was one of the best hot chocolates I’ve probably ever had.

I would highly recommend a stop in here if you are in Brighton or any of their other locations! If I knew they had a location in Cambridge and one in Oxford, I’d say this would have been my third stop!

Brighton Chippy

Okay, so after the hot chocolate I had to head back towards the train station. I wasn’t hungry, but after all the snacks and drinks I’d had, I knew I should probably have some actual food. When I got back to Brighton station, I noticed a fish and chip shop on the corner. It wasn’t anything special, but John had been telling me to go into one sometime to have a proper English fish and chips.

I got a small and it was huge, but only £6.50. I saved it until I got home, but it was actually really good. The chips were super chunky and the fish was nice and salty. It was a good quick stop before ending my time in Brighton.

Have you been to Brighton? What did I miss? Do you feel like you need more than one day? Let me know in the comments!