England

If ambitious London has an artistic little sister then she is Brighton. Flush with retro boutique shops, cool bars, fabulous restaurants, art galleries and vibrant crowds, this coastal city is one of England's gems and should be a highlight of any visit to this part of the country.

Before the 20th century

Relics and structures have been found to suggest Brighton's origins begin in neolithic times, as early as 3500BC. A villa and various artefacts excavated in the 1930s show evidence of Roman inhabitance around the second century AD. The village's first mention in documented history is as the Saxon village of Beorthelm in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in the fifth century AD; it later gets a mention as Bristemestune in the Domesday Book.

Brighton gained a charter in 1313 and prospered as a fishing village and by 1580, after surviving some attacks by the French, supported a population of around 2500, which by the standards of the time made it a fair sized market town. Its current appellation first appeared around 1660 and by 1810 Brighton became the official name of the town.

The town was ravaged by storms and erosion from the sea during the early part of the 18th century. Its population dwindled until later that century when seawater became fashionable for its theraputic benefits. A visit by Prince Phillip ensured Brighton's popularity and by the beginning of the 19th century, Brighton had again swelled in size and population. In 1883, one of the world's first electric railways was constructed in Brighton.

Modern history

Brighton continued to expand consistently into the 20th century; it gained piers to accommodate fishing and tourism, as well as a hospital, cinema, museum, library and other such amenities. During World War I the elegant Royal Pavilion was used as a hospital for Indian soldiers.

Before the onset of WWII, Brighton received a facelift where many of the slums and fishermen's huts were demolished to make way for a new market, and slightly more aesthetic and thoroughly more sanitary council housing. Though Brighton, as a resort town, was thought to have been safe from bombing - children were temporarily evacuated here from London - it was victim to over 50 raids and suffered some modest damage.

On the morning of 12 October 1984 an IRA bomb exploded in the Grand Hotel, where leading members of the governing Conservative Party were staying. Four people were killed in the blast.

Recent history

At the beginning of the new millennium, Brighton merged with the town of Hove and was made a city. A more cosmetic change, however, was the partial collapse of the West Pier (Brighton's oldest pier, built in 1866) in December 2002, during severe storms, and then a fire in March 2003, which consumed the concert hall.

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Unfortunately Brighton has no magical powers to escape the rest of England's topsy-turvy weather. One thing you can be sure of is that it will most likely be wet; however, fortunately this is less likely during the warm and sunny months of July and August.

Average weather

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Transport

Getting around

Brighton is large and spread out though you'll be able to cover most of the sights on foot if you enjoy walking.

Parking in Brighton can be a nightmare. To park in any street space you need a voucher. They can be purchased from garages and shops around town.

Plenty of cab companies operate in the area, and there is a taxi rank on the junction of East and Market Sts.

Getting there and away

Brighton is 85km (53mi) from London and bus and train services are fast and frequent.

National Express has an office at the bus station and tickets can also be bought at the TIC. Coaches leave hourly from London Victoria to Brighton. Stagecoach buses leave Brighton for Arundel, Chichester, Portsmouth, Lewes and Eastbourne, and tickets can be purchased from the drivers.

There are twice-hourly train services to Brighton from London Victoria and King's Cross stations. For a small additional cost on top of the rail fare you can have unlimited travel on Brighton & Hove buses for the day.

There are frequent services to Portsmouth, Eastbourne, Hastings, Canterbury and Dover.