Royal Pavilion

Royal Pavilion, Brighton

The most architecturally bewildering building in England sits on the seafront in Brighton and was built for George, Prince of Wales – a man who spent money that wasn’t entirely his on pleasures that weren’t entirely respectable, and whose architecture reflects that personality exactly. The exterior is Indo-Saracenic: onion domes, minarets, and arabesque detailing on a building facing the English Channel. Inside, the style shifts to Chinoiserie: flying dragons, lotus-petal chandeliers, simulated bamboo columns, and painted panels in every state room. There is no historical logic connecting the styles. George simply liked them, had the money to commission them through John Nash between 1815 and 1822, and built one of the most singular interiors in Europe.

Brighton Council now owns the building and uses it partly for events; the main rooms are open as a museum, which is the right outcome for a building this strange.

Visiting

Adult entry is around GBP 18.50, with audio guide included. The main rooms – Saloon, Music Room, Banqueting Room, and the kitchen – take 1.5 to 2 hours at a considered pace. The kitchen is one of the most interesting sections: designed for large-scale royal entertaining with cast-iron columns disguised as palm trees, it was considered technologically advanced for its time. The Banqueting Room chandelier weighs approximately a tonne and is suspended from a gilded dragon – it was the largest gas-lit chandelier in England when first illuminated.

The Pavilion Gardens surrounding the building are free and open daily. Worth a summer afternoon regardless of whether you pay for the interior.

Brighton

The Royal Pavilion is 5 minutes’ walk from Brighton Pier and 10 minutes from Brighton Station. The Lanes – a network of narrow streets southeast of the pavilion – have independent shops, jewellers, cafes, and decent pubs. North Laine (different from the Lanes, despite the similar name) is the arts-and-vintage-heavy neighbourhood north of the station.

Brighton Museum and Art Gallery in the same complex as the pavilion has collections covering Art Nouveau, Art Deco, local social history, and world cultures. Entry is free. The ceramics and decorative arts sections are strong and tend to be quieter than the pavilion itself.

Brighton has one of the most active LGBTQ+ communities in the UK, particularly visible around St James’s Street and the Kemptown neighbourhood. The Pride festival in August is one of the largest in Europe.

Getting There

Trains from London Victoria and London Bridge take around 50 to 55 minutes (GBP 17 to 25 return off-peak). Brighton Station is 10 minutes’ walk from the Royal Pavilion. The seafront is another 5 minutes further south.