Fall in love in Eastbourne this Valentine's Day with Stargazing, Ballroom Dancing and More!

Whatever your budget and whatever your style, if you're looking to spoil someone special this Valentine's Day, Eastbourne is the perfect romantic escape!

For culture and passion on the stage, the Congress Theatre has it covered this Valentine's weekend! On 12 February, Strictly Come Dancing’s Anton du Beke and Erin Boag bring the heat of the ballroom to the stage of the Congress Theatre when their sizzling new dance tour stops in Eastbourne, bringing passionate ballroom dances performed to hits of the golden age! 

If dreamy romanticism is more what you're after, then an afternoon at the Congress on Valentine's Day listening to the London Philharmonic Orchestra perform a romantic classical variety is the one for you. The beautifully relaxing concert will include Schumann's musical love letter to his wife: his Piano Concerto; and Sibelius's beautiful and uplifting Symphony No. 5.

For the most romantic of outdoor activities, head to the Redoubt Fortress on Eastbourne's seafront for an evening of stargazing. In the company of your loved-one, gaze at the sky through the eye of the telescope on Saturday 13 February as the Eastbourne Astronomical Society take you on a romantic guided-tour of the night sky, spotting craters on the moon, stars in the galaxy and the Orion Nebula! It's also a completely free event, so you'll be able to splash out more on dinner later on!

If you're looking for fine dining, The Grand Hotel, the only 5* seaside hotel in the UK, provides the fanciest of settings for a perfect Valentine's dinner! Lovers who lunch can choose between the 'Fine Dining Romance Dinner' in the reputable Mirabelle Restaurant, the 'Garden Restaurant Romance Dinner’ or a ‘Romantic Afternoon Tea’ served in The Great Hall. From just £145.00 per person, dine in the Garden Restaurant and stay at the Grand overnight! Enter our competition for a chance to win a Valentine’s Dinner for Two in the Grand’s Garden Restaurant!

For Afternoon Teas coupled with discovery, an afternoon at either Michelham Priory, an 800 year old country house with seven acres of beautiful gardens or at National Trust run Bateman's will be ideal! Michelham Priory is serving up a luxury Valentines canapé tea, complete with a glass of Prosecco, a special Valentine's gift and full entry to the house on 13 and 14 February. On 14 February visit Bateman’s and enjoy a stroll around the garden at the former home of Rudyard Kipling, followed by a delicious Valentine’s Tea! 

If art is the way to your heart, Eastbourne’s contemporary gallery, Towner Art Gallery has two great exhibitions this Valentine’s weekend; Recording Britain; a collection developed at the outbreak of the Second World War which aimed to document rural and urban

environments under threat, and Peter Sellers: Behind the Camera; a retrospective of the career of his career.

Stay overnight and make the most of the romantic coastal location! Go to VisitEastbourne.com/accommodation for all the best places to stay in Eastbourne and some fabulous Valentine's weekend offers!

Eastbourne joins in with English Tourism Week!

The UK’s sunniest place will be joining in the fun of English Tourism Week from 16 - 24 March, with some great offers and daily prizes to be won. 

Residents and visitors will be able to test their knowledge of tourism in Eastbourne by entering the competition each day on Facebook and Twitter for the chance to win a range of great prizes from concert tickets to fish and chips!

English tourism week was set up by VisitEngland and is a week long celebration of events from 16-24 March. The week will highlight all the fantastic things to do and see in England and Eastbourne.

Eastbourne and Tourism go hand in hand as 4.9 million visitors come to Eastbourne each year and spend an average of £261 million annually. Further more, £102 million is spent just by day visitors alone! Eastbourne thrives on tourism as it brings over 7000 jobs to Eastbourne and a whopping £346 million to the local economy.

Eastbourne was the first town to hire out quadricycles. To celebrate this and English tourism week, Ride and Joy are offering half price hiring on both weekends of English tourism week - 16/17 and 23/24 March. They can be found next to the open air tennis courts on Eastbourne seafront and are a fantastic way to see the delights of Eastbourne.

Also celebrating the week is The Grand Hotel. The hotel, named ‘Downton-by-Sea’, is a white palatial landmark on Eastbourne seafront and are offering a complimentary upgrade for anyone who books a bedroom and a complimentary glass of bucks fizz for anyone who books full afternoon tea from 16-24 March.

Visiteastbourne.com will also be getting involved in English tourism week, showing offers on their website and holding a week long quiz on social media sites, giving daily prizes! Prizes could include anything from fish and chips to Bandstand tickets.

For more information visit www.visiteastbourne.com, Facebook.com/visiteastbourne or Twitter.com/visiteastbourne.

English Tourism Week

We're in full on English Tourism Week mode here in Eastbourne, taking part in the country's first ever week that's all about celebrating wonderful English destinations and recognising what an important year of tourism we have coming up in 2012.

English Tourism Week started on Saturday and runs until Sunday 18 March and we have lots of different celebrations and activities going on in Eastbourne!

Tomorrow is our second VisitEastbourne Tweetup, organised this time to coincide with English Tourism Week and we'd love for businesses and individuals to come along between 4pm and 7.30pm tomorrow for a free networking opportunity and the chance to share feedback on the town too. We'll be asking what you'd like to see in the town as well as asking you to tell us what you love most about Eastbourne in our English Tourism Week competition, but more about that later... We'll also be using it to speak to those of you who expressed interest in becoming a virtual greeter. So, if you would like the chance to meet other Eastbourne tweeters in a relaxing setting, come along tomorrow! 

What do you love most about Eastbourne? Tell us this week for your chance to win £20 to spend in Le Loup, a lovely boutique style store in the Grand Hotel Buildings Shopping Parade. To enter either call into the Tourist Information Centre (25% off Olympic and Diamond Jubilee souvenirs this week too!) and drop your entry in, complete our online form telling us what you love most, or come along and share your favourite aspect of the town at our tweetup tomorrow.

English Tourism Week is a great excuse to indulge in sweet treats and classic English recipes too! We've teamed up with The Really Scrumptious Cake Company in Eastbourne to offer a special edition box of cupcakes to celebrate English Tourism Week. Enjoy strawberries and cream, Victoria sponge, apple crumble and bakewell tart! Personally, I'd recommend the apple crumble - yum!

TV viewers can't have missed the fantastic new VisitEngland ads promoting the GREAT 2012 Offers! We're excited to be taking part in this awesome campaign and have already got plenty of brilliant 20.12% off or better offers on the campaign website.

If you enjoy taking photos on the go then check out the new Smartphone Photography Competition launched this week by Viewpoint Art Gallery. We're pleased to be supporting the competition, particularly the Eastbourne category, and can't wait to see the entries! Good luck and happy snapping!

Emma