The Duke of York's is something of an institution. Now owned by City Screen, this independent-style…read morecinema specialises in cult, indie and foreign-language films, as well as re-runs of the odd classic. Opened in 1910, it's one of the first commercial cinemas to still be in operation, and the interior - complete with balcony - is largely unaltered. The main auditorium is decorated in warm, cosy colours, although it suffered during the late 1970s as a venue for early punk rock concerts. Happily, it has now been restored to its former glory. You can tell it's going to be different from the facade - which has a pair of legs sticking out, Folies-Bergeres style, from the top left of the facade. For a start, the auditorium is licenced, so you can takes alcoholic drinks with you to consume during the film. And the choice of films is definitely not mainstream (venues showing foreign-language films are a dying breed, these days). On Saturday mornings there's a Kids club, with activities and a children's film (though presumably they don't take advantage of the alcohol licence...) and they can organise children's birthday parties too. At the other extreme of the age range, on Tuesdays the over-60s can see an early-afternoon film for just £3.50, and receive complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits! It's a membership venue as well (although it is not a requirement to see a film). Members can attend all sorts of specials events, screenings and receive discounts for their £28 a year (2008 prices). The cinema has a pleasant cafe-bar, open during the day, with a balcony for nice weather (although the din of Preston Circus road junction may not be quite so nice) and wi-fi (free to customers). The cinema has limited accessibility for those with a mobility impairment - full details are on its web-site.

Think of cinemas and your head is filled with thoughts of sticky floors and stale popcorn…read more Unsurprisingly, in Brighton, things are different. Gone are the XXL cups of coke that cost more than Antigua, at the Duke of York's the offerings are homemade carrot cake and Czech lager. Celebrating its centenary year, this cinema cannot be missed if you are either living in, or visiting Brighton. The seats are comfortable, the theatre stunning and the crowds electric. Such was the Duke's importance to Brighton that many celebrities donated money to restore the Cinema.The back of the seats are littered with the names of local and national celebrities who helped keep the cinema alive. You won't find Avatar here, nor will you find the latest Hollywood 'romcom', but instead a very studious set of the world's best independent cinema. Special themed 'Lord of the rings' and 'Eurovision' nights mean you aren't just limited to a 90 minute treat, but a host of good nights out. An absolute must.

Ummm... hello. Unlimited films for £15 a month - how can you say no to that?!?! I'm from Canada and…read moreit costs (seriously) around £9-£13 for ONE movie. But this might have to do with the screen size (which are literally 3-4 times the size of the ones at Cineworld) and locations that look like spaceships and movie museums. But, I digress, if you enjoy films and don't mind going to this cinema location then it's kind of a no brainer, really. My boyfriend and I go at least once a week as it's a cheap date idea. You can also save a percentage (10-25%) on concessions with an Unlimited card (e.g. instead of £3 it's now £2 for a large drink).

A great little cinema in the marina village. Seats are comfortable and well air conned. The regular…read moreprice roughly a tenner but I invested in the cineworld unlimited card £16 well worth it. Free parking and links for buses near venue. Staff extremely friendly and approachable. Like all cinemas the snacks are a bit pricey but with unlimited card 25% off

My friend and I decided to go to this pub to meet up with a friend of his. It's at a good location,…read morenear the Royal Pavilion and pretty close to the centre of the city. I definitely agree with Vanessa A.'s review, regarding the fact that the majority of patrons are girls. My friend and I were the only two guys at this place. We hung out with five girls that night (all friends of my friend's friend), and had a pretty good time chatting, and drinking pints of Guinness stout beer and Strongbow cider. Although there was not that much people since we came on a Sunday night, I enjoyed the atmosphere and the camaraderie. This place has a fairly decent pool table. I played a couple of games with the girls my friend knew and also had a good time shooting around the balls. When I think of this place, I think red for some reason, mainly because the red walls. The benches I sat on were not too comfortable, though, the cushions were kind of firm. Despite that, I still had a good time hanging out with my friend and the girls. Overall, this is another decent pub that I had a pretty good time drinking and hanging out with friends and another one of the pubs that made my trip to Brighton memorable.

A good little place hidden away by the pavillion. Me and my friends went in as part of a pub crawl…read more Really lively atmosphere the bar staff made us feel very welcome. Moderate priced drinks but I had more expensive else where. All different walks of life from lgbt community go there well worth a visit.

There's only one reason I go to the Odeon. That's to see the…read moreDirector's Club screenings every Tuesday evening. There's only one screening and sadly the directors are never present - which makes the title a bit misleading I know! - but its a great opportunity to catch films I missed at Duke of York. Occasionally there will be something I couldn't care less about but usually it's great art house, independent and world cinema flicks like Into The Wild, Wendy and Lucy and last night's gem, Synecdoche, New York. The rest of the time, this ugly multiplex shows mainstream movies like Fame, Harry Potter and Fantastic Mr Fox. They also sell extortionate ice-cream, popcorn and hot dogs in the foyer. Never tried them myself and unlikely to start now since one of my pet hates is listening to other people eating through a fab movie!

What can one say? This is pretty much like any other Odeon multiplex cinema. It's part of the…read morecomplex adjacent to the Brighton Centre, and now has a large (and separately operated) bar complex beneath it. As modern buildings of its type go, it's not the worst, but it definitely doesn't work in what is a prime town centre/seafront location. The interior is a warren of mezzanines and stairs, all decked out in the corporate colours with blue patterned carpets and cream walls. There are 8 screens in all, all of which except for screen 7 are wheelchair accessible (ie level access via lifts) and and have wheelchair spaces. On the ground floor there is a shop and snack bar selling confectionery and popcorn, and from 17:30h daily there is a licensed bar open to patrons only. This actually has stunning views of the seafront, but they don't seem to make much of it (a badly placed pillar doesn't help, but you still feel it is a missed opportunity). The film choice is your standard Hollywood blockbuster, and it doesn't stray far from this tried and tested formula. The staff seem pleasant and efficient enough, and some of the screens are quite large, which is good for recent releases. Prices are standard for non-London cinemas, with single adult tickets at £6 off peak and £7 at peak times (roughly week-day evenings and week-end afternoons and evenings). There are all sorts of discounts and concessions listed on the website. One advantage of the central location is that it is very easy to get to by public transport: the main Churchill Square bus stops are 5 minutes away, the railway station 10 minutes, and adjacent are the huge multi-storey car parks of the Churchill Centre. For performances with advertised start times of 17:30h onwards, customers using the Churchill Centre NCP 1 or 2 car parks get the first three hours free, provided they get their car park ticket validated by cinema staff. (This does not apply to the Russell Square NCP car park).

From its origins as a comedy venue, Komedia has expanded both its space and reportoire to become…read moreBrighton's main live entertainment establishment, with over 700 performances a year from an award-winning range of stand-up comedy, music, caberet and theatre, as well as an active children's programme. The Komedia is a little scruffy around the edges, but that's Brighton for you. The building has two performance venues, an independently-run cafe bar and foyer bar (and feels much larger inside than its modest facade implies). They also provide food during some performances with a caberet-style setting. But it's the entertainment you come here for, not the surroundings. The staff seem friendly enough, although not always fantastically efficient - on-line booking isn't always available, for example. Arrive with plenty of time for comedy performances, as the best seating gets taken early on. (You can always have a drink while you wait.) If, like me, you have a large, illuminated, 'pick on me' sign on your head which only the performer can see, you'll need to tuck yourself away somewhere inconspicuous...

Ever wanted to go to a club night where they play nothing but girl groups and girl singers? A night…read morewhere the DJs spin everyone from The Supremes, The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las to Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse? Sounds great, doesn't it? That night is called Da Doo Ron Ron and it takes place once a month at Brighton's coolest arts centre / gig venue / club - Komedia. There's cute girls in cute dresses, handsome boys in cool threads and it's only £4 -£5 to get in. The doors open at 11pm and you're kicked out at 3am. You can check the website for the next date. I'll save you a space on the dancefloor....

The UK has a whole host of brilliant film festivals from Bird's Eye View in London to Viva! in…read moreManchester. One of my favourites is Brighton's annual Cine City. Held every November, Cine City aims to develop film culture in the South East and offer audiences access to films they might not get to see on the big screen otherwise. As well as previews and premieres of new and magical films from Europe, South America, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Brazil, America and the Middle East, there are directors talks, Q&A sessions with producers and cast members and exclusive shorts. Last year's festival included screenings of John Hillcoat's The Road, Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control and Jacques Audierd's A Prophet alongside lesser known gems like Yorgos Lanthimos's Dogtooth and Gerardo Naranjo's I'm Gonna Explode. In short, Cine City = Essential viewing.

Cine-city is the South Coast's foremost film festival, and is put on as a collaboration between…read moreBrighton University, the Duke of York cinema and film agency, Cinecity. The festival is based in cinemas and arts spaces throughout the Brighton and Hove area and runs for a few weeks in November and December. Every year I tell myself I will make more of an effort to go to screenings, and every year I'm lucky if I manage one or two! Everything I've seen as a part of Cine-city has been really interesting and I would highly recommend checking at least one film out if you can! The festival is an impressive mix of previews, premieres and golden oldies that you will rarely get a chance to see on the big screen. Cine-city selects the finest of the year's international cinema and offers up a tantalising programme of new, old, indie and even mainstream films. The majority of the films are little-known to the average person and it can be a great opportunity to discover a wonderfully obscure movie or an emerging filmmaker. The festival is also a great change to catch one-off events such as director Q&As or moving image art exhibitions. Whether you're a film-buff or not, this is a great festival, well worth investigating!

I picked the wrong day to come down to this event, me and a friend came down to watch Jurassic…read moreWorld. Built into the village u.ve got food stalls, drinks and place to buy blankets. The set up is brilliant ibis hotel beds available if you want comfort or sprawl out on the cobbles. Unfortunately it was raining The event has special seating for the weather but puts a dampner on the film if yr sat in high winds and rain. Worth a visit just check the weather forecast

A Brighton institution, The Dome is one of the city's leading gig venues platforming everyone from…read moreestablished rock, pop and funk bands to world music artists from Europe, South America and beyond. In complete contrast to the nearby Brighton Centre, it's a picturesque venue with a grand ceiling, a beautifully arched stage, a generous standing area and two tiers of comfy seats. The sound and sight lines are also top notch. I've seen The Drums, The Macabees, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Gossip, Pete Doherty, Bon Iver and Richard Hawley here in the last 18 months and the atmosphere was incredible at every single gig. Pete Doherty poured his drink over a heckler, Beth Ditto flirted with the audience and Bon Iver shocked everyone by doing a heavy rock number. My favourite memory of a show here however, has to be the Halloween party The Go! Team threw a few years back. They adorned the stage with pumpkins, dressed in weird costumes and had spooky films playing behind them. It was a magical evening and I danced so much, my legs ached for hours after-wards.

This Grade-I listed complex is both a highly original performance venue (with 3 performance areas,…read moreactually), and an historic building with a fascinating past. History The Dome was originally built in 1803-05 for the Prince of Wales (later George IV) as a stable block, adjacent to his then rather modest Brighton seaside villa. The architect was William Porden, and it was he who chose the iconic Indian architectural style (technically Indo-Saracenic) and designed the huge dome - originally covered in glass, 24 metres in diameter and 19 metres high, to cover a circulating area for the horses. Once completed, the new buildings so overshadowed the original villa, that the Prince instructed that they should be revamped into the iconic Brighton Pavilion we see today. The complex was sold to Brighton in the 1850s, and the Dome was developed as a concert hall in 1866. A major refurbishment in 1935 saw it modernised and given an Art Deco interior, and the Pavilion Theatre was added on the site of Mrs Fitzherbert's stables. Over the years it developed an enviable reputation as a Concert and entertainment venue for both classical and popular music, despite its notoriously poor acoustics. Famous names who performed here include Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and the Rolling Stones, and in 1974 it hosted the Eurovision Song Contest, won famously by Abba, singing 'Waterloo'. However, both the interior and exterior were crumbling and a major refurbishment was begun in 1999, costing £22m and taking three years to complete. The revamped complex now houses 3 venues: the 1,850 seat Concert Hall, the 570 seat Corn Exchange (which also hosts non-seated events on its sprung floor) and the 220 seat Pavilion Theatre. The exterior (together with the Museum) provides a suitably exotic backdrop to the Pavilion itself. Events The Dome hosts an astonishing variety of events, from concerts, conferences and performances in the main Concert Hall, to more eclectic drama, comedy and dance in the Pavilion Theatre. I've mostly attended events in the Concert Hall, and I'd agree with others that it's a great place to visit: the seating is comfy and spacious, the acoustics are hugely improved and the unusual shape gives it an intimate feel. Practicalities It's a ten minute walk from Brighton railway station, and just about every Brighton bus route passes close by, either on North Street or the Steine. The venue has level access throughout (and specific spaces for wheelchairs in the auditoria), disabled toilets, hearing loops and printed material is available (on request) in large format. Disabled customers can apply for a complimentary ticket (one per booking) to enable them to bring a companion or access assistant with them free of charge - phone for details. Well worth a visit.