The Best Hen Party Ideas in Brighton for 2025

Brighton is the UK's undisputed queen of hen weekends. It has the beach, the bars, the independent shops, the restaurants, and enough activities to fill two days without anyone needing to get in a car. It is also home to one of the most popular hen party life drawing bookings in the country.

This guide walks you through how to build a Brighton hen weekend that actually works — from the first activity to the last taxi home.

Why Brighton for a hen party?

Brighton punches well above its size. For a city of under 300,000 people, it has more restaurants per head than almost anywhere in the UK, a nightlife scene that goes until early morning, and a culture that genuinely welcomes big, loud groups without making anyone feel like a nuisance.

The geography helps too. The train station, the beach, The Lanes, North Laine and Kemptown are all within 20 minutes on foot from each other. You can run an entire weekend without ordering a single Uber.

It is also one of the most LGBTQ+ friendly cities in the UK, which matters for hen groups that want to feel comfortable wherever they go.

Start with life drawing

A hen party life drawing class in Brighton is consistently one of the highest-rated activities groups book. The format works because it gives the group something to do together rather than just sitting at a bar — and the results (the drawings) become instant keepsakes.

The session runs for 90 minutes. The first 45 are proper life drawing, with everyone sketching the butler as he poses. The second 45 are a mini butler service where he takes drink orders, games begin, and the drawings get judged. It is both an activity and an icebreaker in one.

Book it for mid-afternoon, after everyone has arrived and had lunch. It sets the tone for the evening without burning out the group too early.

Butlers in the Buff cover the whole of Brighton and Hove. If you are staying in an Airbnb or a hotel with a private room, the butler comes to you. Just make sure there is space for everyone to sit in a circle with a drawing surface.

The Lanes and North Laine

If the group has a free morning or early afternoon, The Lanes and North Laine are worth an hour or two of exploring.

The Lanes are the oldest part of Brighton — a tangle of narrow alleyways packed with independent jewellers, antique dealers, vintage shops and wine bars. It is ideal for anyone who wants to browse without committing to a schedule.

North Laine sits just north of the station and has a different energy: more eclectic, younger, with record shops, second-hand bookstores, independent cafés and vintage clothing. Bond Street and Sydney Street are the two main drags.

Neither area is appropriate for a full afternoon with a large hen group if the aim is to stay together, but for a loose couple of hours where people can split off and regroup, they work well.

Where to eat

Brighton's food scene is genuinely excellent. A few options that work well for larger groups:

• Cin Cin — Italian small plates on Vine Street. Book well ahead. Perfect for a group dinner before a night out.
• The Salt Room — seafood on the seafront with proper views of the pier. Good for a relaxed Saturday lunch.
• 64° Brighton — tasting menu format on Ship Street. Impressive, but better suited to smaller subsets of the group.
• Burnt Orange — Middle Eastern small plates on Middle Street. Loud, fun, takes groups well.
• Bill's — reliable, takes large groups, open all day. Good fallback if booking elsewhere falls through.

Brunch on Saturday morning is worth planning. Mange Tout in Hove, Café Rust in Kemptown and Small Batch Coffee on Ship Street are all well regarded and open early enough for a pre-activity meal.

The evening out

Brighton's nightlife works in tiers. Start early at a cocktail bar, move to a live music venue or club, and finish wherever takes your fancy.

For cocktails, The Plotting Parlour and Stick & Twist on East Street are both popular with groups. Neither is the cheapest option but both deliver on quality and atmosphere.

Kemptown's St James's Street is where many groups end up later in the evening. It is livelier, less tourist-focused and runs later than venues closer to the Pier. Audio nightclub at the bottom of West Street is one of Brighton's largest club venues if the group wants to dance.

The beach itself is worth a moment at dusk, particularly in summer. Most groups pass through without planning to linger, then stay for an hour.

Where to stay

For groups of 6–12, a large Airbnb or holiday let in Kemptown or Hove is usually the most practical option. It gives you a base for the life drawing session, somewhere to get ready together, and a kitchen for the inevitable post-night-out breakfast.

If the group prefers hotel, the Blanch House in Kemptown is boutique and genuinely stylish. The Drakes Hotel on Marine Parade has rooms with sea views. The Hotel du Vin is reliable, central and handles groups well.

Avoid anything directly on the seafront near the Pier unless you are specifically booking a big party hotel. The area around the Pier runs late and loudly, which is brilliant if that is what you want, and less brilliant if anyone wants sleep before midnight.

Sample weekend timeline

Here is a framework that works well for a Brighton hen weekend:

Saturday: Arrive and check in by noon. Brunch or lunch in The Lanes. Life drawing session at 3pm back at the accommodation. Get ready, dinner at 7:30pm at Cin Cin or Burnt Orange. Cocktails from 9:30pm, move on to Kemptown by 11pm.

Sunday: Late breakfast at the accommodation or a nearby café. Walk along the seafront toward Hove. Explore North Laine before heading home. Train back to London from Brighton takes 50–60 minutes.

It is a tight two days but it covers everything. The life drawing session sits at the pivot point of the weekend — it marks the end of the lazy afternoon and the start of the night.

For more detail on the life drawing side of things, read our guide on what happens at a hen party life drawing class.