Welcome to Southend-on-Sea

Town, shore and so much more

With seven glorious miles of seafront, the longest pleasure pier in the world and a host of exciting events and festivals all year, it's no wonder Southend-on-Sea leaves visitors smiling time after time.

Here you'll find all the traditional seaside pleasures as well as exhilarating watersports, theme park thrills, top shopping, thriving arts and culture, dazzling night-life and a feast of seafood. Choose from more than 300 great places to eat, and quality accommodation from luxury hotels to guest houses and bed & breakfast.

All just an hour's train ride from London, and easy to reach by rail, road or air.

Let the Visit Southend Official Tourist Information website help you to plan every aspect of your visit.

Southend-on-Sea in the Olympic year

Southend-on-Sea is ideally situated to enjoy the Olympics. Outside of the Games themselves, where better to enjoy England at its best with seaside fun, events, parks and open spaces, exhilarating water sports and fascinating local culture. All topped off with some great dining options, theatres, casinos and of course the world's longest pier.

Many outstanding events take place every year in Southend such as the Air Festival, Barge Match and Film Festival but for 2012 there's even more such as our Sparks Will Fly Southend event on 23 June and the visit of the Olympic Torch on 6 July.

Find out what's going on

Film Festival

The Annual Film Festival is set to bring the silver screen to Southend this May, with a jam-packed schedule of premieres, classics, shorts and international films, as well as guest question and answer sessions from industry experts.

See film listings

Visiting Tallships

Ever wanted to sample the thrills and excitement of being under sail on a Tallship? Then Southend Pier has the answer, as tickets are now on sale for the Tallship Atlantis, which is visiting there in June 2012.

More details

Air Festival

Pier View Guesthouse wins best B&B/Guesthouse at Essex Tourism Awards

2012 will be the 27th year that Southend-on-Sea has staged one of Europe's largest free Airshows. The two day event is undoubtedly the most spectacular in Southend's calendar, and 2012 will be no different.

Find out more

Accommodation search

There's so much more besides the seaside in Southend-on-Sea, which is why you may need to stay longer than you first thought. If that's the case, then we have a range of fantastic places to stay, just enter some details below to discover what we have to offer...