Last Updated on 14 May 2026 by Dave King
Brighton street art is one of the reasons the city looks and feels different from anywhere else on the south coast. It is not tucked away in galleries or hidden behind admission charges. It is on pub walls, telephone junction boxes, backstreet car parks and seafront bins, and it changes constantly. Most guides either list vague “areas to explore” without telling you what you will actually see, or they focus entirely on the Banksy that is no longer there. This guide covers the specific streets worth walking, the artists whose work you will recognise, and a practical route that starts at the station and takes about an hour.
Table of Contents
Quick Reference Table
| Area | What to expect | How long to allow |
|---|---|---|
| Trafalgar Street and Trafalgar Lane | Prince Albert pub “Icons” mural, Banksy replica, concentrated backstreet art | 30-45 minutes |
| Kensington Street | Large-scale murals on both sides, known locally as graffiti alley | 15-20 minutes |
| North Laine backstreets | Dense mix across Gloucester Road, Regent Street, Sydney Street, plus Cassette Lord junction boxes | 45-60 minutes |
| Kemptown and St James’s Street | The Postman paste-ups, LGBTQ+ themed pieces | 30-45 minutes |
| London Road and Elder Place | Larger facade pieces, UnBarred Tap Room wall, Hobgoblin pub | 20-30 minutes |
| Seafront promenade | The Postman celebrity paste-ups on bins from Brighton to Hove | As long as you want to walk |
The Best Streets
Trafalgar Street and Trafalgar Lane
Walk out of Brighton Station, turn left, and within a minute you are looking at one of the most photographed walls in the city. The side of the Prince Albert at 48 Trafalgar Street is covered in a mural called “Icons” by local artists REQ and Sinna One. It is a tribute to dead musicians painted in monochrome against a vivid multicoloured background, featuring figures including Bowie, Prince, Freddie Mercury, Amy Winehouse and Jimi Hendrix. The mural was first painted in 2013 and has been updated several times since. The pub itself is a proper live music venue, and the building has been a pub since around 1860.
On the Frederick Place side of the same pub, you will find a replica of Banksy’s Kissing Coppers behind a perspex screen. The original stencil appeared here in 2004, was removed and transferred to canvas in 2008, and was sold at auction in 2014. The replica is worth seeing because the pub without it would feel wrong, but the real draw at the Prince Albert is the “Icons” wall, not the Banksy.
Keep walking past the pub and take the first alleyway on the right after the Lord Nelson. This is Trafalgar Lane, and it is the single best concentrated spot for Brighton street art. The entire lane is covered. You will see work by SNUB23, whose robot characters and isometric block designs have been a fixture in Brighton since the late 1990s. Sinna One’s cartoon animals show up here regularly, and the walls turn over fast enough that you will see something different each visit.
Start point: Brighton Station. Walk left down Trafalgar Street. Trafalgar Lane is the alleyway on the right after the Lord Nelson pub.
Kensington Street
Running between North Road and Gloucester Road, Kensington Street is known locally as graffiti alley. One side is office buildings, the other is car park walls covered in large-scale murals. This is where you find the bigger, more ambitious pieces rather than the quick paste-ups and stencils of the North Laine backstreets. The murals change, but this street has historically hosted some of Brighton’s most recognisable work, including large commissions connected to the Brighton Festival.
It is a short detour from the main North Laine shopping streets and takes less than five minutes to walk end to end.
Location: Between North Road and Gloucester Road, just west of the North Laine shopping area.
North Laine Backstreets
The North Laine is where Brighton street art is at its most dense and varied. Walk along Gloucester Road, Regent Street, Sydney Street and the alleys connecting them and you will see everything from small stencils and paste-ups to full building-side murals. New work goes up regularly and older pieces get painted over, so what you find depends on when you visit.
One thing that does not change is the junction boxes. Cassette Lord, the street name of Brighton artist Martin Middleton, has been painting telephone junction boxes across the city for over a decade. His signature design is a pixelated cassette tape stencilled in high-contrast spray paint. In a 2017 Brighton Journal interview, he estimated there were around 20 to 30 cassette artworks across Brighton and Hove at that time. The North Laine has the highest concentration. They are easy to walk past if you are not looking, but once you notice one you start seeing them everywhere.
Hanningtons Lane in the Lanes area also has commissioned street art murals and is worth a detour if you are already nearby.
Location: The streets between North Road and Trafalgar Street, centred around Sydney Street, Gloucester Road and Regent Street.
Kemptown and St James’s Street
Kemptown is where The Postman do most of their work. This anonymous Brighton duo have been active since 2018 and their style is instantly recognisable: bold, colourful pop-art paste-ups of cultural icons from music, film and fashion, often hand-finished with spray paint. Marilyn Monroe, Basquiat and Bowie are recurring subjects.
St James’s Street is the main strip through Kemptown and the best place to spot their pieces, though their work also appears on London Road, Elder Place and the seafront. The Postman have created a large-scale wraparound mural on the construction hoardings for the new NHS Sussex Cancer Centre at the Royal Sussex County Hospital on Eastern Road. The Postman’s press release described it as their largest mural to date, with over 50 individual panels spanning approximately 60 metres, and the charity says the artwork will remain in place throughout 2025 and 2026.
Kemptown also has a lot of LGBTQ+ themed Brighton street art, particularly around Pride season, which makes sense given the area’s history as the city’s gay village.
Location: St James’s Street runs through the centre of Kemptown, starting from the Steine and heading east towards the Marina.
London Road and Elder Place
London Road is scruffier than North Laine and the art reflects that. The walls are more layered, the work is less curated, and you will see everything from large commissioned facades to raw graffiti that appeared overnight. The Hobgoblin pub on nearby York Place is one of the more prominent examples, with its exterior regularly repainted with new work.
Just off London Road, Elder Place is home to the UnBarred Tap Room, which keeps an ever-changing rotation of street art on its exterior walls. It is worth checking even if you have visited before.
SNUB23 and his partner Sprite both have work along this corridor. SNUB23’s isometric robot designs and Sprite’s animal and mental health themed pieces are distinctive enough that you will start recognising them once you know what to look for.
Location: London Road runs north from the edge of the North Laine towards Preston Circus. Elder Place is a short walk east off London Road.
The Seafront
This one catches people off guard. Walk the promenade from Brighton towards Hove and look at the bins. The Postman have pasted celebrity portraits onto seafront bins along the route, turning a mundane walk into an unexpected gallery. It is not the most important Brighton street art, but it is the most charming.
There is also a tunnel near SEA LIFE Brighton dedicated to musicians, and scattered pieces along the lower promenade arches that change with the seasons.
Location: The seafront promenade from the Palace Pier heading west towards Hove.
The Artists Worth Knowing
You do not need to know who painted what to enjoy Brighton street art, but recognising a few names makes the walk more interesting.
Cassette Lord (Martin Middleton) has been painting his cassette tape stencils on junction boxes for over ten years. He originally came to Brighton to run the Artscape Project, teaching graffiti art to young offenders, and started painting boxes after being offered permission by the council. He also works from Studio 45 at the Open Market.
The Postman are an anonymous duo who formed in Brighton in 2018. Their pop-art paste-ups of cultural icons appear across the city and internationally, including in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. They have collaborated with photographers David LaChapelle and Dave Hogan, and their work has been featured by the BBC and the Saatchi Gallery.
SNUB23 (Seth) has been Brighton-based since the late 1990s and is one of the most prolific street artists in the city. His robot character Mongrel, inspired by the comic 2000 AD, and his isometric block designs are found on Trafalgar Lane, Gloucester Road and London Road. He also painted the interior of Wahaca Brighton.
REQ and Sinna One are responsible for the “Icons” mural on the Prince Albert, the single most visible piece of Brighton street art. Sinna One’s playful animal characters, including a well-known badger on Trafalgar Lane, appear across the city.
A Practical Walking Route
If you only have an hour, start at Brighton Station. This route also works well as a solo activity if you are visiting on your own. Walk down Trafalgar Street to the Prince Albert and see the “Icons” mural and Banksy replica. Continue to Trafalgar Lane for the backstreet art. Cut through to Kensington Street for the larger murals. Then loop into the North Laine via Gloucester Road and Sydney Street, keeping an eye on junction boxes for Cassette Lord’s work. This covers the highest concentration of Brighton street art in the shortest distance.
If you have longer, add Kemptown by walking east along St James’s Street to see The Postman’s work, then head to London Road and Elder Place on the way back. The seafront bins make a good finish if you want to end up by the beach.
Practical Tips
Street art changes constantly. The Prince Albert “Icons” mural and Cassette Lord’s junction boxes are relatively permanent, but paste-ups, stencils and smaller pieces can appear and disappear within weeks. What you see depends on when you visit.
Photography. Most artists actively encourage it. Early morning and late afternoon give the best light for photographing murals on narrow streets. Credit the artist when you share photos online.
Best time to visit. Street art is there year-round, but the Brighton Festival in May and Brighton Fringe often feature live mural painting and workshops. Weekday mornings are quieter for photography in the backstreets.
Respect the work. Do not touch, tag over or deface existing pieces. Some murals are on private property, so be sensible about where you stand and do not trespass for a better angle.
FAQs
Is there still a Banksy in Brighton?
The original Banksy Kissing Coppers appeared on the Prince Albert pub on Trafalgar Street in 2004. It was removed and transferred to canvas in 2008, then sold at auction in 2014. A replica is displayed on the Frederick Place side of the same pub behind perspex. It is worth seeing for the context, but the Prince Albert’s “Icons” mural by REQ and Sinna One is the more impressive piece of art.
Where is the best single spot for Brighton street art?
Trafalgar Lane, the backstreet running between Trafalgar Street and Gloucester Road. The entire lane is covered in work by multiple artists and it changes regularly. If you only visit one place, make it this one.
Are there guided street art tours in Brighton?
Yes. Several operators run walking tours lasting 90 to 120 minutes that cover the main areas with artist stories and context. Tours usually need booking in advance during summer. Check locally for current operators and prices.
Is Brighton street art legal?
It depends. Commissioned murals and council-approved work like Cassette Lord’s junction boxes are legal. Unauthorised tagging is not. Brighton and Hove City Council supports street art as part of the city’s culture but asks people to report offensive tagging so it can be removed.
Final Thoughts
Brighton street art is not something you need to plan a special trip for. It is woven into the city. Walk from the station through the North Laine to Kemptown and you will pass more murals, paste-ups and painted junction boxes than most cities manage across their entire centre. The best approach is to slow down, look up and take the backstreets. Start at the Prince Albert on Trafalgar Street, work through Trafalgar Lane and Kensington Street into the North Laine, and you have covered the highlights in about an hour. Whatever you see today will be different in six months. That is the whole point.
