Eastbourne sits on the Sussex coast where the South Downs meet the English Channel, a Victorian seaside resort that still feels like one — in the best possible way. The seafront is grand: a long promenade, carpet gardens, a bandstand, and a pier that has survived fires and storms since 1870.
The real draw is the landscape. Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, rises 162 metres just west of town. The view from the top is genuinely dramatic — white chalk dropping vertically to the sea, with the red-and-white lighthouse far below. The Seven Sisters chalk cliffs continue westward toward Seaford, and the walk along them is one of the finest coastal paths in England. The Belle Tout Lighthouse halfway along the cliffs has its own remarkable story.
The town itself is pleasant without being exciting. The Towner Gallery, a striking modernist building near the station, has the largest collection of Eric Ravilious in the country. The old town, slightly inland, has more character than the seafront — independent shops, a few decent pubs, and the medieval church of St Mary. The Devonshire Park complex hosts the Eastbourne International tennis tournament each June, a week before Wimbledon.