City Sightseeing Brighton

The City Sightseeing Brighton open top tour is one of the most enjoyable ways to take in this colourful, characterful seaside city. Boarding at Brighton Palace Pier, the bus sets off along the seafront with the English Channel glittering away on one side and the long parade of Regency terraces, hotels and amusement arcades on the other. The salt air, the cries of gulls and the rumble of the open top deck overhead set the scene for a circular ride that loops together almost every Brighton icon in just under an hour.

Heading west along Kings Road, the bus passes the skeletal silhouette of the West Pier, still standing in the surf as a romantic ruin and a reminder of Brighton's Victorian heyday. The route continues into Hove, gliding past the elegant cream-painted facades around King's House and the leafy garden square at Palmeira Square. The atmosphere shifts here from boisterous Brighton to the calmer, more genteel Hove, with its wide pavements and quietly grand seafront mansions.

Turning inland, the bus climbs through Seven Dials, a busy junction of independent shops and cafes, before sweeping down to Brighton Station. The Victorian trainshed and its great arched roof come into view briefly before the route heads back into the heart of the city. Past the Clock Tower it goes, threading through the shopping streets towards the unmistakable onion domes and minarets of the Royal Pavilion, George IV's seaside fantasy palace and one of the most extraordinary buildings on the south coast.

From the Pavilion the route climbs again, past the curious Pepper Pot tower and up to Race Hill, where the open top deck rewards you with sweeping views across the rooftops to the sea and the South Downs beyond. The bus then drops back down into Kemp Town, rolling along the waterfront past the pastel-painted Regency squares of Lewes Crescent and Sussex Square, and on through Paston Place. By the time you arrive back at Palace Pier you will have circled the entire city, sea, Downs and Regency Brighton all framed from the top deck.

A day out built around the City Sightseeing Brighton tour is a perfect way to taste the whole city without wearing out your feet. Start at Brighton Palace Pier with a stroll along the boards, a turn on the helter-skelter and a paper cone of chips eaten while dodging the seagulls. The pier is the natural pivot point of the tour, so leave the car at home and arrive by train, walking down Queen's Road to the seafront.

Hop on the open top bus and stay aboard as far as the West Pier and on into Hove. Step off near King's House and Palmeira Square for a wander along Hove Lawns, where the candy-coloured beach huts line up against the shingle. A coffee at one of the seafront kiosks is a fine way to soak up the calmer, more residential pace of Hove before rejoining the tour.

Back on board, ride up through Seven Dials and past Brighton Station to alight at the Royal Pavilion. Give yourself a proper hour or two here to explore the Banqueting Room, the Music Room and the astonishing kitchens. The neighbouring Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, set in the former Pavilion stables, is well worth pairing with a visit, with its collections of fashion, decorative art and Sussex archaeology.

From the Pavilion gardens it is a short walk into The Lanes, the warren of narrow alleys packed with jewellers, vintage shops and tucked-away pubs. Pick up lunch at a seafood bar or one of the long-standing fish and chip shops, then dip into the wider North Laine for independent boutiques, record stores and street art.

Rejoin the bus for the climb up to Race Hill, where the views back across Brighton's rooftops to the sea are the best of the whole route. Continue round into Kemp Town and step down near Paston Place to wander the Regency set pieces of Lewes Crescent and Sussex Square, then drop down to the seafront for an ice cream by the Volk's Electric Railway, Britain's oldest operating electric railway, which runs along the beach back towards the Palace Pier.

Finish your day where it began, with a drink on a Palace Pier terrace as the sun sets over the West Pier ruins. By bus, foot and a little electric railway, you will have seen Regency Brighton, bohemian Brighton and seaside Brighton all in one go.