Brighton Palace Pier: Travel Guide (4.4★)

Boards, bulbs and open sea

Brighton Palace Pier opened in 1899, and much of its Victorian ironwork is still there. The walkway is timber decking. Through the gaps between the planks you can see the Channel moving underneath. The pier stretches more than half a kilometre out to sea. Along it you’ll find amusement arcades, food kiosks, bars and rows of striped deckchairs facing the water.

The fairground rides are packed onto the far end, out over the sea. Walk all the way to the end and turn around for the best view on the seafront. You’ll see the Regency terraces of Kemptown, the burnt-out skeleton of the West Pier and the British Airways i360 tower beyond it.

Reaching Madeira Drive

The pier sits where Old Steine meets the seafront, at Madeira Drive, BN2 1TW. From Brighton station, walk down Queen’s Road and West Street to the sea, then turn left along King’s Road. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes, all downhill.

Nearby, within a few minutes’ walk:

• Sea Life Brighton, across the road, a Victorian aquarium
• Volk’s Electric Railway, running east along the beach from near the pier; it opened in 1883
• The Royal Pavilion, five minutes north up Old Steine
• The Lanes, the narrow shopping alleys just west of the Pavilion

Plan on one to two hours. That’s enough to walk to the end, ride something and eat on a deckchair.

Hours and timing

The pier is open from 10am to 9pm Monday to Friday and from 10am to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. It’s one of the busiest attractions on the south coast. Sunny weekend afternoons and school holidays fill the decking fast. Arriving at 10am opening usually beats the day-trippers coming off the London trains.

Evening is the other good window. Thousands of bulbs light up the pier against the darkening sea. On weekends you get an extra hour before closing.

From roughly November to February, come at dusk. Huge flocks of starlings swirl over the pier before settling to roost in the ironwork underneath. Watch from the shingle beside the entrance.

Playing the pier properly

Walking onto the pier is free. You pay for rides, arcade games and food separately. Ride prices and any wristband options are posted at the kiosks on the pier. Check them before you queue, not at the turnstile. Cards and contactless payments are accepted widely along the seafront.

• Guard your chips. Herring gulls here will take food straight out of your hand. Eat facing the railings or under cover.
• Bring a layer. The far end is fully exposed to wind off the Channel, even on a warm day on the beach.
• Grab deckchairs early. On busy days the rows by the railings fill first. Take one, then go and order your food.
• Take a photo from the beach. The shingle to either side gives you the full length of the pier, which you can’t see from the deck itself.

Doughnuts fried to order and sticks of Brighton rock are the classic pier snacks. Eat yours, then walk east on Madeira Drive under the green Victorian arches of Madeira Terrace. The crowds thin out fast once you leave the pier entrance.