Fun Things to Do in Brighton on a Hen Do
The night out tends to sort itself. These are thirteen daytime ideas worth booking for the group, from a BYOB splatter-art studio in the Lanes to fizz at the top of the i360.
By Stephen · 8 min read · June 2026
The big night out more or less plans itself. It's the daytime that turns a hen weekend into a proper getaway rather than one long pre-drinks, and Brighton is built for it: the seafront, the Lanes and the North Laine all sit within a stroll of one another, and most of this list is a short walk from the houses. From a BYOB splatter-art studio in the Lanes to a glass of fizz at 138 metres, here are thirteen ways to fill the hours between brunch and the bar, whatever the group's energy that day.
Brighton Marina
One of Europe's largest marinas, and a stress-free afternoon for a big group: the harbourside is lined with bars, restaurants and enough to do that nobody gets bored. Wander past the million-pound yachts, settle in for a long lunch with the water in front of you, then take the party ten-pin bowling or out on a mackerel fishing trip if the mood turns competitive. It's a short taxi east of the centre, which makes it a good call for the afternoon before everyone heads back to change for the night. There's room for 8 to 22 without much fuss, though the bigger restaurants will want a heads-up for a table your size.
Q Leisure
4.8 ★If your hen party is the competitive sort, this is the morning to book. Six miles out of town, Q Leisure runs go-karting, quad biking, clay pigeon shooting, paintballing and archery on one site, so you can pit the whole group against each other and still be back in Brighton for lunch. It's a proper day-out rather than a quick stop, and it rates 4.8 from over 450 reviews, so the organisation holds up for a big booking. Ring ahead to get a slot for your full numbers, and warn the bride she's the obvious target on the paintball field.
Hove Lagoon Watersports
4.8 ★Over in Hove, the lagoon gives you flat, sheltered water to learn on, which is exactly what you want when half the group has never held a paddle. Stand-up paddleboarding is the obvious crowd-pleaser, but they also run windsurfing, water skiing and the Zap Cat powerboats for anyone after the faster end of things. Sessions are instructor-led and rate 4.8 from over 200 reviews, so beginners are in good hands. Book the group in together, then walk five minutes into Hove for lunch on Church Road to warm back up.
Brighton i360
4.5 ★There's a reason this one makes nearly every hen list: you glide up to 138 metres in a glass pod with a cold drink in hand, and the whole South Coast opens up beneath you, on a clear day all the way to Beachy Head and the Isle of Wight. It's the work of the architects behind the London Eye, and the pod has its own bar, so book the flight for golden hour and let the group toast the bride with the sunset behind her. The photos do the rest. It's a per-person ticket and a short seafront walk from town, and a 20-minute flight slots neatly into the afternoon before dinner.
Painting Pottery Café
4.8 ★Bring your own fizz and nibbles, pick a piece of pottery and spend a couple of hours painting it badly and laughing about it: this is the low-key activity for the group that wants a sit-down rather than a sprint. It's on North Road in the North Laine, it takes larger groups happily, and everyone leaves with something they actually made, glazed and posted on later. We'd put it down for the afternoon after a big night, when nobody wants anything more strenuous than a paintbrush and a prosecco. Book ahead so they can set aside a long table for your numbers.
Sea Life Centre
4.2 ★Hear us out: the world's oldest operating aquarium, open on the seafront since 1872, is a surprisingly good shout for a tender Sunday morning. You walk through an underwater tunnel while turtles and sharks glide overhead, there's an octopus garden and a rock pool you can actually put your hands in, and it's all dark, calm and blessedly indoors. It won't headline the weekend, but for an hour of something different that asks nothing of a fragile group, it does the job. It's a per-person ticket on Marine Parade, a two-minute walk from the Palace Pier.
Brighton Palace Pier
4.4 ★No hen weekend in Brighton is complete without an hour on the pier, and you know it. It's free to walk on, so you get the helter-skelter, the white-knuckle rides at the far end, a bag of chips and the most recognisable photo backdrop in the city for nothing but the cost of the dodgems. Drag the bride onto the waltzers, lose a few pounds in the arcade, and line the whole group up against the sea for the picture that ends up as the group chat header. It's right at the bottom of the Steine, so you'll pass it anyway.
Royal Pavilion & Garden
4.6 ★Brighton's showpiece, and the most photogenic building you'll stand in front of all weekend: a domed, minaret-topped palace built as a seaside pleasure-house for the future George IV. Inside, the banqueting hall with its looming dragons and the music room are pure theatre, while the gardens around it are free to wander and a lovely spot to regroup mid-afternoon. The full house tour is a per-person ticket and worth it if your group likes a little history with their photos. Either way, the front lawn is where the elegant group shot happens, the Pavilion behind you doing all the work.
Dukes Lane
4.5 ★A pretty pedestrian courtyard threaded through the middle of the Lanes, lined with independent boutiques and a few smart names along a winding cobbled walkway. It's the spot to peel off for half an hour of browsing while the group splits between the shops and the nearest coffee, and it spills straight out into the rest of the Lanes' jewellers and antique stores. There's no ticket and no plan needed, just window-shopping with the bride and somewhere to duck into if it rains. It folds neatly into a morning wander before lunch.
Brighton’s North Laine Graffiti
4.6 ★Brighton's street art is some of the best in the country, and the North Laine is its open-air gallery, which makes a self-guided wander between the murals a brilliant free morning with a camera. Start at the Prince Albert pub for the Banksy Kissing Policemen replica and the musicians mural down its side, then loop past the Angel of Brighton on Regent Street and Richard Wilson's giant El Capitan mural on the corner of Church Street and Gardner Street. The displays change as new pieces go up, so half the fun is stumbling on something nobody has posted yet. Every backdrop is a group photo waiting to happen, and it costs nothing but the time.
Cuddly Colony
5.0 ★For the group that wants a story to tell rather than another round, this is the one. Cuddly Colony is the UK's first education centre dedicated to sugar gliders, the tiny, big-eyed gliding marsupials, and the close-up sessions let you meet them while you learn about the conservation and rehoming work behind the place. It's small, hands-on and unlike anything else on this list, with a perfect 5.0 from over 250 reviews to show for it. Sessions are per person and book up fast, so lock it in early; it's right on East Street in the centre.
Upside Down House
4.4 ★Exactly what it says: a bright turquoise beach house on the seafront where every room is built the wrong way up, so your photos come out looking like the whole group is standing on the ceiling. Inside there's a jukebox, a gaming corner and a vintage bicycle hung overhead, all themed around Brighton's music and arts scene, and the whole thing takes about twenty minutes to walk round. It is unashamedly built for the camera roll, which is precisely why it works for a hen party. It's a per-person ticket on the Kings Road arches, a few steps from the i360, so pair the two up.
The Last Drip Studios
5.0 ★If you only book one thing off this list, make it this. Tucked into Brighton Square in the Lanes, The Last Drip is a splatter-art studio: pull on a poncho, grab the water guns and bowls of paint, and spend an hour flinging colour at a canvas with no skills and no rules, unlimited refills, and your finished piece sent home in a pizza box. It's BYOB, slots start at £20 per person and it's open Thursday to Sunday, which keeps the whole-group cost right down. The founder started the place after a teacher told him he wasn't good at art, which is exactly the right spirit for a room where the bride ends up wearing more paint than the canvas. The most fun you'll have indoors all weekend, with a perfect 5.0 to back it up.
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