Hastings East Sussex

What time of year are you going and will you have a car?

Not sure Hastings would be my first choice. Many people here rave about Rye but it’s quite small. Lewes is interesting but a few miles inland.

Hastings is nice, but I would probably go for the Kent coast instead (Whitstable/Margate/Broadstairs/Ramsgate/Deal). Whitstable in particular has great food (and you can do a nice walk to eat at The Sportsman, which is amazing- but you need to book way in advance). They have little fisherman's cottages right on the (pebble) beach you can stay in. You're also within easy reach of Canterbury if you haven't seen that already. In Broadstairs you have Charles Dickens' house. The great thing about these towns is they're linked by rail and bus so if you have several days you can see a few of them- or enjoy a nice walk or cycle between them.

I'm going to vote for Lewes, as I have stayed there several times (and will be doing so again this spring). If you want to see the ocean, you'll have to take a train to somewhere like Brighton or Seaford. Train ride is about 15 minutes. There are several nice pubs, a castle on the High Street, Southover Grange (beautiful old home with gorgeous gardens), Charleston House (home of Vanessa Bell and the Bloomsbury Group), a very walkable town. You will need to take a bus if you want to visit Charleston as it's out in the countryside.

If you have any questions about Lewes, feel free to PM me.

Don't discount Hastings - it isn't on the normal tourist itinerary but is an attactive town with a lot to offer from its ruined castle, fishing heritage ( two good museums covering fishing and shipwrecks), smugglers (don't miss the caves), cliff railways, old town with narrow streets filled with small independent shops...There are also old fashioned seaside entertinments.

Have a look at this video which gives a flavour of what you can do in hastings.