Brighton nightlife

You want it, Brighton’s got it. Nightlife here is renowned, thanks to the city’s eclectic, anything-goes attitude, fun-by-the-seaside air and sizeable student and LGBT populations.

Every night out in Brighton should start in one of its characterful pubs, where you can mingle with the locals and maybe catch some live music too. Old favourites include The Basketmakers Arms (12 Gloucester Road), which serves traditional surroundings and real ales in North Laine, The Coach House (59 Middle Street), where there is a good wine list, and The Great Eastern (103 Trafalgar Street), which prides itself on a lack of fruit machines and TVs and an abundance of whiskies.

Students find their entertainment in establishments such as The Prince Albert (48 Trafalgar Street), right by the station and with live rock upstairs, East Street Tap (74 East Street), where you will find craft beers and DJs playing indie tracks, or The Marlborough (4 Prince’s Street), a popular lesbian haunt with a theatre upstairs. Elsewhere, The Font (Union Street) is a fun bar in a converted chapel, and The Dorset (28 North Road) is something of an institution in North Laine.

Brighton’s oldest pub is The Cricketers (15 Black Lion Street) in the heart of Brighton’s Lanes, and still one of the city’s favourite boozers.

Brighton is one of the world’s most LGBT-friendly cities and its pumping heart is Kemptown, with St James’s Street a particularly lively hive of nightlife and entertainment. Legends (31-34 Marine Parade) is home to one of Brighton’s most cherished gay bars, as well as a seaview terrace and basement club. The Bulldog (31 St James’s Street) is the town’s longest-running gay bar and remains one of Brighton’s most popular nights out.

Concorde 2 (Madeira Drive) is a famous live music and nightlife venue in an iconic building on Brighton’s seafront – it was home to the Big Beat Boutique in the 1990s, where Fatboy Slim was frequently to be found. Patterns (10 Marine Parade) is a trendy seafront venue for nights out in Brighton, with a roof terrace for sunset cocktails and a small club below for dancing into the small hours.