The Best Weekend in Rye Itinerary: Where to Eat, Drink, Be & Sleep

I recently spent the weekend in Rye with my parents and toddler son. We had a brilliant few days relaxing in this charming town, and pootling around trying some of the best places to eat and drink. We also stayed in one of the coolest Airbnbs I’ve ever seen – take a look…

If you’re after a weekend getaway that’s both quaint and full of character, you can’t go wrong with a trip to Rye. Visitors flock to Rye for boutique shopping, olde cobbled streets and pretty village scenes with half timbered houses. It’s just so pretty!

As well as having lots of things to see, there are also lots of things to do in Rye.

Here’s what my parents, my two year old son, and I, got up to on a weekend in Rye to help inspire your future weekend in East Sussex.

Weekend in Rye Itinerary

What to do in Rye for 2 days of fun. Where to eat, drink, be & sleep.

Friday afternoon / evening in Rye

We arrived in Rye after the 2-3 hour drive from Portsmouth, and parked at The Strand car park, strategically chosen to be near The Mermaid Street Cafe for a celebratory ice cream. You can enjoy the cafe downstairs and outside here, or the restaurant and licensed bar upstairs.

Just by The Strand Car Park you’ll see the second hand shops in the Old Grain Stores. Talullah Rose and Halcyon Days were two of my faves – offering all kinds of things I couldn’t look at properly as my attention was fully on my enthusiastic toddler.

Once you’ve exhausted them, you can wander up the cobbled street a few minutes to get to The Mermaid Inn. This is one of the oldest pubs in the UK, and an essential stop in Rye. Last time I visited we just enjoyed the foliage outside, but it was too cold and wintry for that – so in we went for a glass of house wine by the fire.

This was a great way to settle in to our weekend in Rye, with a good seat by the window watching the Rye tourists go by. Think I made it into quite a few photos that day!

Come 4 o’clock and we were ready to check into our airbnb, just a few minutes drive away. It was a careful and cautious walk down the cobbled street back to the car, but a fun one admiring the houses along the way. We particularly enjoyed the house names ‘The House With the Bench’ and ‘The House Opposite’ (The Mermaid Inn).

Rye dinner at The Globe Inn Marsh

Just a few minutes walk from our airbnb, was The Globe Inn Marsh. One of the most-loved and highly-rated pubs in Rye. I booked us a table for the first night, although they do keep some tables for walk ins.

Such a great pub…

After some deliberation, given the chairs and tables were all different, we chose our seat in the corner. Great, because it had a partition which gave my toddler son a sort of barrier that he knew not to cross, and kept his noise in!

So first, cocktails, then an amazing seafood, fish and chorizo stew for me, and fish and chips for Reggie. Mum had scallops and beetroot salad, and dad had the Catch of the Day (seabass).

We loved the vibe of The Globe Inn Marsh, in fact, so much so, we went back again the next day. It was just so easy from our airbnb on a cold and wet weekend. We all loved it, so why not?!

The next night dad and I had beef burgers, and mum and Reggie both had the kiddie fish and chips. With a carafe of wine to wash it down with, we were all happy!

Evening in Rye

The Globe Inn does do live music nights, so check the listings for your date. But, if you want some evening entertainment, I’d suggest The Grapevine Champagne and Jazz Bar in the centre of Rye. They have plenty of selection to drink from, and live music 5 nights a week.

• READ MORE: Fun Days Out in the UK

Saturday morning in Rye