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See | Stay | Eat | Drink | Buy | Unwind
See
There's rarely a shortage of evening shows – it's sometimes actually harder to find a pub where there is no band or musician hard at work. But if nothing makes you happier than trying to make yourself heard over someone's shyly expressed hopes and dreams, then the open mic nights of Brighton are for you.
Two universities with excellent music facilities and a slew of music schools (one of the top 10 sights of the city must be the wannabes queueing up with their guitars outside the institute of modern music – did Kurt Cobain do this?) mean that there is actually a good chance of catching something worth seeing; well-known local bands include Rizzle Kicks, British Sea Power and the Kooks.
The best-known (and usually busiest) nights are at the Brunswick pub in Hove on Mondays, the Sidewinder in Kemp Town on Tuesdays, or the Victory in the Lanes on Thursdays. And if you're thinking of getting up on stage yourself, a few nights – like the White Rabbit in North Laine on Thursday, have a house guitar to hand too. Some (the Mucky Duck in Kemp Town, also on Thursdays) even give singers a beer.
• brightonandhoveopenmicnights.weebly.com
Stay
Far too many people have fulfilled their lifelong dream of opening a B&B in Brighton and some of them should have stuck to accountancy. There are certain streets pocked, from top to bottom, with vacancy signs; it is not encouraging. Really, a far better way to get a taste of that famously buzzy Brighton lifestyle is to rent one of the gorgeous little holiday flats studded around the centre of the town. How else can you stock up on bacon and eggs for a leisurely breakfast on your seaview balcony, or, better still, an aromatic armful of fish and chips from one of the seafront stands? How else will you dish up a plateful of bangers and mash after a visit to the Brighton Sausage Company (28a Gloucester Road, 01273 676677, brightonsausageco.com)?
Luckily there is an incredible wealth of self-catering accommodation. Brighton Holiday Homes is one of several companies that specialise in holiday flats and offer accommodation that sleeps one, two or 20 people, with views over the sea, the Downs, or some nice local shops. They have flats lovingly resculpted by local architects, pocket penthouses or expansive regency townhouses. Roundwoods (a few miles outside Brighton, to be sure) even has a gigantic treehouse in the garden. In short, they have exactly what you need if you want to head down and just pretend you live here for a few days.
• Brighton Holiday Homes (01273 624459, brightonholidayhomes.co.uk); one week at Roundwoods, sleeps six, from £595
Eat
When Daniel Defoe was touring Britain in the 18th century, he described Brighton (then Brighthelmstone) as "a poor fishing town, old built, and on the edge of the sea". And things just got worse over the next few years as the fishing industry started to fall away, leaving the town even more poverty-stricken. But then, in the early 19th century, the Prince Regent came and fell head over heels in love, sparking a revival and creating a tourist rush that would eventually become one of the town's largest industries.
In a nice combo of both trades, Jack Mills, a retired fisherman, and his wife, Linda, opened up their traditional smokery on the seafront fishing quarter with just over a decade ago. In that short time it has become an essential part of the landscape. They have built their own smokehouse, just across from their shop beneath the arches, and both tourists and locals can be found queuing up along the boardwalk for homemade fish soup or hot mackerel sandwiches. They've been picked up by the foodies too – Nigel Slater brought his TV crew down here to capture him eating their mackerel pâté. The crab sandwich is a particular hit.
• Jack & Linda Mills Traditional Fish Smokers, Kings Road, brightonfishingmuseum.org.uk
Drink
Until recently Brighton was surprisingly short of nice wine bars, but a couple of years ago Simon Broad and Sam Devaney, both already in the trade, decided they wanted to open a place that specialised in unique vintages from unique vineyards. After a few happy trips personally hunting down fine wines in Europe, they opened up shop right in the heart of Brighton, in a bright, thoughtfully laid-out space in the new quarter built around the award-winning Jubilee library.
There are usually a dozen or so wines on the day's menu, from a crisp English Nyetimber to the juicy blackberry tones of a Spanish tempranillo. But if none of those take your fancy, you can choose from the many others (about 250 or more) on the shelves that line the walls. And though most are European, the pair are increasingly exploring the New World too. They've also sourced really good local cheeses and charcuterie to accompany their wines.
• Ten Green Bottles, 9 Jubilee Street, 01273 567176, tengreenbottles.com; an evening's wine tasting starts at £15 a head
Buy
The centre of Brighton is one huge invitation to burn money, but at one of the best-known shops in Brighton – for locals, at least – shopping is a little frowned upon, unless you're doing it for the best possible reasons. The co-operatively run Infinity Foods first opened its doors in 1971, and now fills two generous shop spaces in the North Laine.
The shop specialises in natural and ethical products, sourcing from local farms wherever possible, and there is no meat on the premises (I've seen food labels with suggested meat combinations scratched out). Recycling is – natch – encouraged, and there was a long in-store agony about whether to supply plastic bags or not (a recyclable alternative was eventually found). There are some good beauty products, delicious organic chocolates and a fantastic on-site bakery that turns out an exceptional loaf of sourdough, as well as a gluten-free white.
• Infinity Foods, 25 North Road, 01273 603563, infinityfoodsretail.co.uk)
Unwind
A little doll's house of a treasure repository, Brighton Museum is packed to the rafters with odd and wonderful artefacts collected from random eccentric donors who have almost nothing in common beyond their fondness for a funny little town beside the sea.
The result is pleasing and sometimes discombobulating. Depending on which direction you walk in, you may find yourself contemplating African textiles, a wall of oral history recordings, a moped, or the original founder's collection of popular pottery. Upstairs the lovely bewilderment continues, with the collection rambling from a rustling Victorian dress through Indonesian water puppets through to displays of tattoos and body art.
Housed in the Pavilion grounds in a building that used to be the Prince Regent's stables (although a stables the like of which you have never imagined), the museum also puts on exhibitions such as the current celebration of fashion designer Barbara Hulanicki (Biba and Beyond, until 14 April). And in the first-floor Brighton history centre you can delve much more deeply into local roots.
• Brighton Museum, 03000 290900, brighton-hove-rpml.org.uk
