Tag Archives: Royal Pavilion

With the return of summer weather this past weekend, Kevin and I visited Brighton & Hove to experience an English coastal town and to enjoy the sun.

Brighton & Hove is located on the South coast of the UK—about an hour from London by train.  It is a lively place with a Bohemian vibe, offering tons of shopping, museums, arts & culture and, of course, a pier…

…And Brighton Pier definitely serves up the kitsch—arcades, amusement park rides and loads of people.

Although the coastline is lovely, Brighton Beach is one of the rockiest we’ve ever seen.  It will toughen up your pretty feet!  Ouch!

A highlight of our day-trip was the tour of the Royal Pavilion.  The Royal Pavilion was King George IV’s palace.  With its Indian-style structure and its lavish Asian-themed interior complete with dragons on crystal chandeliers, this palace is unlike any other we’ve seen. (No photography is allowed inside—too bad!)  George IV enjoyed hosting parties here and loved to impress his guests.  The massive kitchen displays a menu dated 18 January 1817 and lists the 100 dishes offered at one of his grand affairs.  (It would have been fun to be on that guest list!)

The Pavilion was sold to the town of Brighton by Queen Victoria in 1850 and it soon became a tourist attraction.  The beautifully manicured grounds are widely used by townspeople and visitors alike.  We ended the day on a bench enjoying the view above as well as (the much-needed) sun.  It was a great day.