Brighton & Hove - galleries & trails

Brighton is one of the most vibrant seaside towns in the UK, with a lively, inclusive, exotic and hip culture to welcome visitors. Beautiful Georgian terraced houses add to the elegance of this fashionable resort. The iconic Royal Pavilion was built for the Prince Regent (later King George IV). It has amazing interior design and collections.

The arrival of the railway in 1841 enabled day-trippers from London to enjoy all that Brighton offers, including the famous pier.

What to see

The Brighton Festival (and Fringe) is the second largest festival in the UK and it runs alongside Artists' Open Houses in May and winter (Nov to Dec) each year. With fabulous guest directors like Anish Kapoor, Vanessa Redgrave and Michael Rosen, it's a truly international, dynamic offering that embraces every art form, with artists new and established.

Make sure to visit the Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, with several amazing galleries, including 20th century design (Pablo Picasso, Eric Ravilious, Grayson Perry), classic items of furniture design (Mackintosh, Arad, Eames, Clarice Cliff), more than 2000 ceramic items, a performance gallery displaying props, sets and costumes, and regularly changing exhibitions. An LGBTQ+ trail through the museum has been curated by Robert White and Kelly Boddington.

There are also plenty of art trails to explore, including the Public Art Trail 1 which starts at Brighton railway station, taking in poem installations, sculptures, Avalon Gate, specially lit street railings, and New England Quarter Artworks and art walls. Enliven Brighton Art Trail is curated by Brighton local Richard Wolfstrome, an award-winning identity and wayfaring designer. This features colourful artwork from a range of professional artists: murals by Dave Pop and Lee Eelus; Kate Forrester's delicate sea-inspired illustrations; Josef Cabey's textual identity work; Liberty Cheverall's playful lamppost drawings; and many more.

Keeping on a design theme, the Community Rail Brighton station partner Brighton Toy and Model Museum is one of the world's greatest toy museums, densely packed into four Victorian cellars under Brighton's main railway station. With more than 12,000 items, there is plenty to explore, including model railways, penny slot machines, model aircraft, dioramas, soft toys, Meccano, dollhouse furniture, toy kitchen items, die cast vehicles and much more. Plus plenty of events!

Good to know

Directions: the venues mentioned here can all be reached from Brighton mainline station. Services from London to Brighton take about an hour, with regular trains from Victoria and London Bridge. Other services come into the city from Gatwick Airport, Ashford International, towns across Sussex, and destinations along the coast.

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Nearby Art Trail points of interest
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