No visit to Great Britain will be complete without taking in the sea air from the British Channel. Brighton is one of the easiest places to get to from London in a day trip. Tourists have been doing this since the arrival of railways in 1841.
Brighton became a fashionable destination for the British aristocracy a few years before then.
George, Prince of Wales, (Prince Regent) the son of King George III, built a most peculiar royal palace, the Royal Pavilion, as his sea-side retreat and a place for entertainment, in the beginning of the 19th century. On the outside, its domes and minarets are a curious mixture of Indian and Eastern styles, which could only be thought of by a British architect! Inside the visitors can experience the splendour of royal entertainments at the turn of the 19th century. This is a palace like no other in Britain, and is well worth a visit.
A stroll along the pebble beach offers a glimpse of two piers. The late Victorian Brighton Palace Pier features a typical English amusement arcade with gaming machines and a fun fair.
By contrast, the West Peer is a burnt out ghost of its former glorious self, having suffered years of decay, bad weather and a fire to finish it off in 2003. Opened in 1866, it saw the heyday of Victorian and Edwardian pleasure pier boom, with 2 million visitors between 1918 and 1919. It was the first Grade 1 listed building in Britain, but is now deemed damaged beyond repair.
Right opposite this relic of former Victorian glory is the British Airways i360 observation tower, Brighton’s newest visitor attraction, opened in 2016.
From a distance it looks like a post with a flying saucer going up and down. Once inside, you go up a capsule to the height of 162-metre (531 ft) to enjoy breathtaking views of Brighton and the sea. It was designed by the same team as the London Eye, only this one is even taller!
