Don't think when summer has ended all the crowds disappear from the south coast.

Not so. Londoners and tourists come down to East Sussex all year round. Ask any B-and-B or hotel owner.

If you scratch your head when a would-be visitor asks for recommendations, suggest a computer. The most obvious port of call is The Argus-linked thisisbrightonandhove web site.

It has a comprehensive visitor guide with details on local events, local history, day trips, city life, seafront attractions, museum and theatre listings, outdoor events and hints on getting to and from the south east coast.

It can search for your seaside accommodation too. There is an indispensable hotel directory giving one to five-star choices as well as the low-down on more than a dozen different gay-friendly hotels.

For the street-wise kidz (sic), there is the Knowhere web site. This is cool (especially the Eighties computerised type-face). Listed are Brighton's best hang-outs and the best places to go skateboarding.

You'll find the latest on the city's best chippies and curry houses, a favourite building list, best and worst things about Brighton lists (these are funny) and local heroes.

My parents had difficulty finding somewhere to stay where their two well-behaved dogs would be welcome. They eventually found a delightful B-and-B called The Beacons Hotel, in Worthing (18 Shelley Road, Tel: 01903 230948) on the Smooth Hound web site, where you'll find listings for accommodation across the country.

This week's column would not be complete without the very amusing and clever Cheeky Guide To Brighton. Any self-respecting beachcomber should own the hard copy but the web site has charming cartoon characters illustrating information on university life, sections on discos, watering holes and cinemas.

A must for every gay girl and boy visitor is a trip to the gay Brighton web site. It has lifestyle tips, an indispensable gay map showing where the best gay haunts lie, including shops, cafes, clubs and hotels. Click on tourist information section for the best update.

For an all-round virtual tour, go to the Virtual Brighton web site. Try downloading the 3-D panoramic postcards. Talk about feeling like you're really there! As Blondie sang: "I'm not living in the real world".

www.thisisbrightonandhove.co.uk
www.knowhere.co.uk/59.html
www.cheekyguides.co.uk
www.smoothound.co.uk
www.gaybrighton.com
www.brighton.co.uk