It's small enough to walk across with a backpack, in your most constrictive party gear, or with a family in tow. Yet you'll find more things to do in Brighton and Hove than will ever fit on the back of a novelty postcard (some of which, given its reputation for inventing the dirty weekend, you may want to keep to yourself).

The sea exerts a magnetic pull on day-trippers, who stream from the station straight down the hill to the beach. Here the gaudy, candy floss-scented Brighton Pier and starling-haunted skeleton of the West Pier (which was destroyed by successive collapses and fires between 2002 and 2004) crouch on the city's shoulders fighting over its soul. In 2016, the controversial i360 tower will join them.

For shopping, take a left out of the station instead, into the warren of independent restaurants, second-hand record and vintage clothes shops collectively known as North Laine. These lead lazily to the sudden regency splendor of the Royal Pavilion and neighboring Brighton Dome arts complex, home of the Brighton Festival.

To the east, Kemp Town, affectionately dubbed Camp Town, offers Brighton's best gay clubs and boutique hotels. A few years ago, the city's reputation for alternative culture had become as faded as a third-hand pair of tie-dye trousers. The recent London Road and Circus Street area redevelopments are refreshing it in new and unexpected ways.

Brighton is a great base for exploring the traditional English countryside and it is the largest and best-known seaside resort on the English Channel. In Brighton there are many specialist shops, lively art scene, and Regency architecture everything's in walking distance, so take time to explore and join