Brighton Pier is the heart of the town’s seaside entertainment scene. Spend an afternoon eating cotton candy and riding thrilling roller coasters and come back in the evening for a stroll.
Head to the Victorian pier’s modern theme park for its mix of thrill, traditional and children’s rides. Go for a spin on the roller coaster, brace for a splash landing on the log flume, ride the bumper cars and check out the ghostly going-ons in the Horror Hotel.
The pier’s Booster ride offers fantastic views over the pier, taking you up 130 feet (39.6 metres) before dropping down at a rate of 60 miles per hour (96.5 kilometres per hour). Set 0.3 miles (0.5 kilometres) out into the water, the Helter Skelter ride offers views as far as the Isle of Wight.
Play video and other games at the Palace of Fun and at the Dome, two large amusement arcades.
Be sure to enjoy some of pier’s traditional food, such as doughnuts and hot dogs. There are more than 30 food kiosks as well as bars and a fish and chip restaurant.
Enjoy a stroll along the pier and admire its Victorian decorative ironwork features. These walks are particularly lovely on warm summer evenings around sunset, when you can watch the lights come on and illuminate the surrounding area. From here, you can see the remains of the pier's old rival, the West Pier. Storm damage and fires finished off the structure, and all that can be seen today are parts of its metal skeleton.
Brighton Pier and its theme park are open every day except Christmas Day. Admission to the pier is free, although you will have to pay to enter the fairground. Tickets are available for unlimited rides all day long. The pier is located across the road from Brighton’s main bus station, while the railway station is within walking distance. Street parking is available for a fee nearby.