Hastings and St Leonard’s-on-Sea, neighboring seaside towns on the East Sussex coast, offer an inviting mix of maritime heritage and contemporary culture. From the cobbled streets of Hastings Old Town, a shingled, working fishing beach (the largest in Europe) and Hastings Contemporary, an important art gallery to independent shops and destination restaurants in St Leonard’s, Hastings is a special coastal getaway.

What to See and Do - Exhibitions

One of the best reasons to visit the Hastings area now is to see three exhibitions that have just opened at Hastings Contemporary. The gallery, currently headed by former Royal Academy director of exhibitions, Kathleen Soriano, sits directly on the seafront in Hastings, overlooking the English Channel. Two “sea themed" exhibitions, on until 13 September 2026, complement each other in adjacent main floor galleries. In the upstairs gallery, a third exhibition features works by Lucien Freud and Henry Moore.

Brazilian artist Janaina Tschäpe’s “Conversations with the Sea” explores fluid, dreamlike interpretations of coastal environments, drawing on abstraction and organic forms, with semi-abstract paintings and works on paper inspired by water, movement and coastal landscapes. Her large scale paintings, created specially for Hastings Contemporary, after visiting a wet and stormy Hastings in the winter of 2025, draw the viewer in, alongside a series of smaller works. The works are loose, gestural and atmospheric, often evoking the sea as a shifting physical and emotional force rather than a fixed image. Gallery director Kathleen Soriano, says “Janaina Tschäpe brings the swell of the English Channel and the immensity of the world’s oceans into the heart of Hastings Contemporary where its power and majesty fill the Foreshore Gallery with glorious color, light and dynamic movement." An older video work, Blood, Sea (2004) ties in perfectly with the show as it documents the artist’s visit to Blackpool on England’s north western coast and is evidence of the artist’s long standing fascination with the sea and coastlines.

The first solo show in a major UK gallery from Argentinian-born artist Miguel Rothschild’s “Undercurrents,” deals with the hidden forces beneath the surface of the sea, both literal and metaphorical, using installation, photography and sculptural works that reference movement, tension and instability. The central installation, From the Depths of the Sea (2026), features a large photographic image of the ocean suspended on fishing lines, creating a surface that appears to ripple and shift with the viewer’s movement. While the image seems in constant motion, sinker fishing weights anchor the fabric in place. Described by Rothschild as a “floating silence”, the installation invites viewers to look beyond appearances and consider the deeper connections between perception, nature and sustainability.

In the upper galleries, “Moore / Freud,” is the first exhibition to examine how Henry Moore and Lucien Freud drew inspiration from family and close relationships. Featuring around 20 works, including maquettes, drawings and paintings, it brings together two major 20th-century artists through a shared and deeply personal theme. Moore’s wartime Shelter Drawings depict families sheltering in the London Underground during air raids, while foreshadowing the abstract, organic forms of his later sculpture. In contrast, Freud’s portraits of his children, Bella, Esther and Ali present close, psychological studies of individual children within private domestic space.

Live Music

Hastings has an active music culture with everything from jazz, folk and blues to indie, punk and electronic music, with venues ranging from pubs and small clubs to larger arts spaces. The scene is largely independent and community-driven, which gives it a more eclectic and grassroots feel than larger coastal destinations such as Brighton. The quality is unexpectedly excellent. Watch for established bands like Rob Corcoran & the Necessary Evils or Dr Savage and The Hot Sauce, both favorites at the Jenny Lind pub on the High Street.

Where to Eat and Drink

In Hastings, on the beach near Hastings Contemporary, Maggie’s serves some of the best fish and chips in the UK. Or, across from the gallery, Rock a Nore features Modern British cooking from locally sourced produce including a daily catch from Hastings fishing fleet.

Head down the boardwalk from Hastings to St Leonard’s where you’ll find a great selection of independent restaurants and bars. Bayte’s Modern European seasonal menu blends influences from across the globe, with particular reference to Italian recipes, hand-rolled pastas and wood fired dishes. The atmosphere is inviting with simple but thoughtful décor and well-spaced tables and the service is welcoming and always accommodating. And from the same owners of Bayte is the delightful new Dora’s, a casual cafe close to the sea front, offering great wood oven pizza, delicious ice cream and cocktails on a buzzy outdoor terrace or inside in a cosy, laid back space.

The Royal, dating back to the 1860s when it was a hotel, is today an excellent gastropub opposite Warrior Square station. The seasonal menu includes dishes like sea bream with lentil dahl, spinach and onion salad; confit duck leg with puy lentils, black pudding and apple or pork belly, with cannellini beans, chorizo and saffron aioli. A menu favorite is the Panzanella salad, the classic Italian dish featuring crispy bread chunks, tomatoes, shallots and basil.

Recent arrivals to St Leonard’s, Paul and Sara Robinson, who run the popular art website Artlyst recommend two established restaurants: St Clement’s Restaurant, a delightful seafood restaurant with a menu dependent upon the daily catch from local day boats and La Bella Vista, a modern Italian restaurant located on the seafront, offering an impressive range of pastas, risottos and more.

For coffee or breakfast, two cafes on St Leonard’s beachfront are recommended by locals. Goat Ledge serves great coffee from a series of colorful beach huts on the lower promenade while Starsky and Hatch within the quirky “bottle alley” is halfway between Hastings and St Leonard’s.

Where to Stay

In Hastings, The Old Rectory is an excellent choice with six individually designed rooms, named after local streets and areas of Hastings. In St Leonard’s a good choice is St Benedict’s BnB, a quirky guesthouse filled with Victorian memorabilia. You’ll feel like you’re staying in a museum, with each of the six guestrooms individually styled with antiques and fascinating objects by owners Paul Oxborrow and Stephen Groves. A lovely, welcoming touch is the delicious homemade cake and tea offered on arrival.