There can be little doubt central Brighton is one of the most exciting places to live in the South East.

With everything on your doorstep and frequent and reliable public transport, there is little need to own a car.

Properties in the area are mostly Regency and Victorian in origin, but there are a few which predate 1800, and others were built in the last 30 years.

Accommodation comes in all sizes and ranges, from studio flats and small apartments, through to two-bedroom terraced houses and four and five-storey Regency town houses.

Prices can range from £300,000 up to the £2 million mark and many central properties are rented.

The area has no real boundaries and includes North Laine, Seven Dials, Church Street and West Hill, although each of these neighbourhoods has its own characteristics.

If you live in this part of the city, you won’t have to go far for shopping, eating out or entertainment and you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to pubs.

Central Brighton has the greatest concentration of pubs and clubs, ranging from traditional locals to super-pubs with live entertainment.

With the recent rise in property values, many of the commercial buildings which once stood empty and derelict have been given a new lease of life as trendy loft-style homes.

Finding a spot to sit in the sun is never a problem, with the beach and Pavilion Gardens close by. St Nicholas’s churchyard, meanwhile offers a quieter space.

The Royal Pavilion, The Dome complex, the Theatre Royal and Komedia are all clustered around the lower end of Church Street, along with the public library.

The choice is wide when it comes to shops, with Churchill Square and Western Road offering most of the large chain stores. The smaller specialist shops, for which Brighton is famous, are in The Lanes, North Laine and Hove.

North Laine was one of five areas of open fields covering the area north from Church Street to New England Road and Viaduct Road.

It was steadily developed in small plots as an area of low-cost high-density housing and as Brighton's industrial heartland in the early 19th century following the railway boom.

Forty years ago the area was threatened with wholesale demolition and redevelopment but mostly managed to escape the bulldozers thanks to a new awareness of traditional townscapes.

Although the areas around Jubilee Street and north of Trafalgar Street have been given new identities they do, apart from the tower blocks, generally fit in well with the city’s traditional architecture.

Back in the Sixties this part of the city was blighted, but now, thanks to the creation of the North Laine Conservation Area it is a trendy place to live with many of its industrial buildings that stood as derelict eyesores for many years converted into modern homes.

Another reason for its renaissance is the area’s unique range of small shops and galleries, offering a mix of locally made and exotic and ethnic goods.

The food shops, cafés and wine bars have helped the area develop its Bohemian character that pushed it to the top of the city’s desirable locations.