Top 10 Places to See in Brighton

Brighton has a raffish feel, attracting from artists, street performers, to alternative lifestylers. Here is my top list of destinations and attractions:

1) North Lane -- This area exudes a 1960 spirit, with craft and candle shops, tattoo parlors, and vegan specialists.

2) Brighton Museum & Art Gallery -- You will find impressive Victorian paintings, huge collection of Art Deco furniture, contemporary clothing, to a scientific facial reconstruction of a Saxon man.

3) Royal Pavilion -- Concerts are held occasionally in its beautiful Music Rom. On the first floor the bed of Queen Victoria is furnished with 6 mattresses, all made of feathers, hair, and straw.

4) Sea Life Center -- Has a nice walk-through aquarium and the Palace Pier.

5) Brighton Marina -- Is a man-made harbor, reputed to be the biggest in Europe, loaded with shopping arcades, restaurants, bars, cinemas, and supermarkets.

6) Arundel Castle -- It's a fairy-tale type of a castle, which had a Victorian make-over, and is surrounded by two square miles of landscaped parklands.

7) Sheffield Park --was created in 18th-century with waterfalls, lakes, and cascades. Each spring there is a show of bluebells and the Bluebell Railway steam train travels from here to Kingscote(9 mile ride).

8) Brighton Fishing Museum -- Its stalls sell Whelks, Cockles, and other things of the deep. The Old Ship Hotel stands behind it.

9) Bignor Roman Villa -- This site goes back from the 1st century and encompasses over 4 acres, with mosaics portraying cherub gladiators, snake-haired Medusa, and goddess Venus.

10) Wakehurst Place --Located northeast of Nymans, the great botanical garden and center of the Millennium Seed Bank, is the World's biggest seed-conservation project.

These are only my personal favorites. There are other sites worth visiting as well.