In contrast to last weeks entry, Brighton has been a popular destination for visitors since the late 18th century, when it was both a fashionable health resort and the preferred leisure spot of the Prince Regent, who built the cities iconic Royal Pavilion as a holiday palace.

These days the town is a mecca for the young, cool and creative, with a thriving artist quarter and sizable media industry. This atmosphere is reflected in the city’s unique shopping experience, where you can find an abundance of funky antiques and curios alongside gorgeous original art and hand-crafted items and top-name designer stores. It also adds to it’s reputation as one of the UK’s top night-life spots, particularly the Victorian beachfront arches which are home to some of the hottest clubs and bars.

However, this does mean that the heart of Brighton can appear about as child-friendly as Las Vegas, and even the traditional entertainments around the famous Brighton Pier seem more like hiply ironic atmosphere for the surrounding cafes and bars than family orientated.

But a short walk up the seafront promenade will find you in the formerly separate town of Hove, with a far more laid back and traditional seaside resort atmosphere, including wide boulevards lined by Regent period buildings, colorful beach huts and the King Alfred Amusement Park. And if you feel like getting even further away from the crowds, less than five miles out of town in virtually in direction will find you in part of the over 14,000 acres of countryside that is in the Brighton area.

Our top picks for places to stay in Brighton include the Cavalaire, the Miami Hotel and the Twenty one.

Beach Huts, Hove Promenade

Beach Huts From Back, Kingsway, Hove

Brighton from Whitehawk Hill

Terraced Houses

Chapel, Woodvale Cemetery

The Royal Pavilion

To start our semi-regular blog entries of great holiday destinations, we thought we’d start with somewhere a little different. Birmingham is not often thought of as a tourist mecca, and in fact has somewhat of a maligned reputation, both in England and abroad.

But the fact of the matter is, as well as being centrally located for trips to more popular destinations, Birmingham is a place well worth visiting in its own right.

For art-lovers, Birmingham is the home of the Pre-Raphaelite movement and the Birmingham Art Gallery holds the largest public collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings in the world.

For music-lovers, Birmingham has both a top-ranked university music department and conservatoire meaning that there are always exciting chamber, orchestral and jazz events happening, often at the acclaimed Symphony Hall. And if your taste is a little more contemporary, Birmingham’s reputation as the home of both Heavy Metal and UK Reggae is both well known and justified!

For nature and horticulture-lovers, Birmingham has an astounding number of public parks and gardens including Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Aston Park, Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens, Charlecote Park, City Centre Gardens & Kings Heath Park. The hidden gem however, is Martineau Gardens, a small but stunning organic community garden located near the Botanical Gardens.

For shopping-lovers there is the renowned Bullring shopping precinct in the very heart of the city. Rght next door are outdoor, indoor and rag markets, where you can find bargain and specialty foods, fabrics and so much more. And for those more precious items, Birmingham’s renowned jewellery and metalworking heritage is alive and well in the Jewellery Quarter, where more than 40% of the UK’s jewellery originates from.

And for party-lovers, the fact that Birmingham has the youngest population of any city in Europe, means that the nightlife is incredible. Most of the action is centered on Broad St, but as the city has over 4000 pubs and bars, that still leaves plenty of places for those after a more refined evening to enjoy a real ale and perhaps some live folk or jazz.

Of course, there is also plenty of great B&B accommodation in and around Birmingham too! Our top recommendations being Awentsbury Hotel, in the leafy green area of Selly Park just outside of the city centre, and A1 The White House, in the village of Marston Green, near the international airport.

Cannon Hill Park

Birmingham Council House, Victoria Square

Birmingham Canal

Iron Man, by Anthony Gormley, Victoria Square

St Stephen's Church, Selly Park