Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
HITTING THE
heights
The
360 Tower,
a new Brighton land-
mark being built on the seafront, just
opposite the Hilton Metropole, is due to
open in the summer of 2012. It's on the
site of the entrance to the now-derelict
West Pier. The slim tower's circular,
spaceship-like, viewing deck is also its
elevator, carrying crowds up to the
6
150-m (492-ft.) summit. It will be Brit-
ain's highest viewing tower, and is by
the same team that created the London
Eye (p. 107), the iconic big wheel by
the Thames in London. The website
(www.westpier.co.uk) has the latest
information.
complex. Yet the place is a pleasure palace of another kind. This was the royals' idea
of a seaside hideaway. It's a phantasmagoric collection of Oriental architecture, fur-
niture, and fittings; a playful place that fitted in with the resort's somewhat wild
reputation even when it was built. Everywhere you look, mythical creatures roar and
writhe on ceilings, walls, and artwork. It was created for the Prince Regent, later King
George IV, between 1787 and 1823. Queen Victoria later stayed here, but both it and
Brighton were a little too much for her prim and proper tastes.
The dining room is simply superb, the 24-seat table under a domed roof (painted
to resemble a palm canopy) from which hangs the most amazing chandelier you'll
ever see: a huge dragon breathing fire over floral lights and shards of mirror. The
music room is hardly less breathtaking: eight chandeliers, and a fireplace from which
another dragon emerges.
The Pavilion is also an example of the Industrial Revolution that was starting to
sweep Britain at the time; the original wooden farmhouse construction was sur-
rounded by an innovative iron framework on which the rest was built (part is visible
through holes where restoration work takes place). The Pavilion was a hospital for
maimed Indian soldiers after World War I (there's a fascinating exhibition), and nar-
rowly escaped being demolished after World War II. A cafe upstairs allows you to rest
amid the Regency wonders. The Pavilion is at the city's heart, surrounded by pro-
tected gardens, in which there's a skating rink at Christmas. Entry includes a free
audio guide.
&
01273/290900.
www.royalpavilion.org.uk. Admission £9.80 adults, £7.80 students and seniors,
£5.60 children 5-15, £25 family ticket, free for children 4 and under. Apr-Sept daily 9:30am-5:45pm;
Oct-Mar daily 10am-5:15pm.
The seafront
WALKWAY Brighton's promenade exists on two levels: There's
the wide path and cycleway that runs along King's Road, above the level of the beach;
and there's the beachfront path, down some steps, which is awash in candy sellers
and mini-carousels, bars, and shellfish stalls. It runs from Brighton Pier (a Victorian
structure now featuring a fun fair with roller-coaster and other hair-raising, over-water
rides, bars, and restaurants) to the entrance of the old West Pier (where the I360 is
being built), with businesses occupying arches under the road. Star attractions are
the
Brighton Smokehouse,
where fish are smoked in a beach hut, and you can buy
a hot kipper sandwich for £2.80; the free
Brighton Fishing Museum
(
&
01273/
723064;
www.brightonfishingmuseum.org.uk), with fishing boat and lots of memo-
rabilia and old photos; the
Fortune of War
(
&
01273/205065
), a run-down pub
