The aristocracy of 18th century London frequently wished to escape the filthy and crowded streets of the metropolis. They began to build large residences along Brighton's cleaner, warmer and more scenic coastline.

There is now a great deal of magnificent Georgian architecture along the seafront, such as Adelaide Crescent and the beautiful Brunswick and Palmeira Squares.

 

You can visit the Regency Town House or elegant Preston Manor, with its refined atmosphere of an Edwardian gentry home to see how these aristocrats used to live. The trend really got going once the Prince Regent (later King George IV) first visited Brighton and Hove in 1783.

His fantastic seaside palace, the Royal Pavilion, with its Indian domes and minarets and its Chinese style interior, has today become the landmark most associated with Brighton.

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Preston Manor Brighton

By the end of the 19th century what had been a small fishing village had grown into a fashionable seaside resort. Once railways were developed everyone began to take holidays by the sea like the aristocrats before them.

You can enjoy traditional English seaside fun on the Victorian pier and have some fish and chips, just like millions of British holidaymakers before you.

Stroll along the recently renovated Brighton beachfront with its Artists' Quarter and Fishing Museum, which celebrates the resort's history as a fishing town.