Brighton Rocks

It might be just an hour's train ride from London, but take one breath of Brighton's tangy sea air and you'll feel a million miles away from the Big Smoke. Throw in a lively café culture, chichi boutiques and a pebble beach that stretches into the horizon, and you have one of the best day-trips you can make from Britain's capital.

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Brighton's large gay population generates an infectious blend of style and fun, but then this Sussex city has attracted pleasure seekers since the Prince Regent and his rakish following decamped there in the early 19th century. Today, boisterous hen parties, clubbers and convention delegates come for dining and nightlife that reach metropolitan levels of sophistication—without the associated expense.

High on any itinerary will be the Lanes, a onetime slum now gentrified into an area of New Age shops, funky restaurants and painfully hip boutiques. Nearby Kemptown, a gay quarter, offers a similar mix but with hot pink accents. Meanwhile, gourmands will make for the award-winning Terre à Terre, tel: (44-1273) 729051, reputed to be the best vegetarian restaurant in Britain, or the superlative French restaurant, One Paston Place, tel: (44-1273) 606960. And if you can't face catching the last train back to London, you have an array of hotels to choose from. Foremost among these is celebrity-favorite the Pelirocco, tel: (44-1273) 327055—a boutique property where every room is decorated like a debauched, pop-culture fantasy. Ask for Betty Page's Boudoir or the Hip Hop Suite to see what we mean.