Brighton Palace Pier

The Palace Pier opened in 1899, the third pier built at Brighton, and it is the only one still standing: the Chain Pier was destroyed by storm in 1896, and the West Pier, a more elegant structure of 1866, closed in 1975, partly collapsed, and burned twice in 2003, leaving a rusting frame in the water that has become the more photographed of the two. The Palace Pier runs about five hundred metres out and carries a funfair at the seaward end, two arcades, fish and chip stands and a helter-skelter. It is decorated with thousands of bulbs at night. Around three and a half million people visit a year, which makes it one of the most-attended free attractions in Britain. Starling murmurations gather around the West Pier ruin at dusk from autumn.

What you actually see

• The funfair end - rides on the seaward platform, charged individually.
• The West Pier skeleton - the burnt 1866 frame standing in the water offshore.
• The arcades - penny-falls and slot machines along the deck.
• The starling murmuration - autumn and winter flocks over the ruined pier at dusk.

When to go

April to September for the full funfair; the pier is open year-round and winter afternoons bring the murmurations, which are the better spectacle. Weekends and school holidays are extremely busy.

Honest expectations

Walking on is free but everything on the pier costs, and the funfair and arcade prices add up quickly. Seagulls take food aggressively from hands. The pebble beach either side is uncomfortable to sit on and the sea shelves steeply.

Nearby

The Royal Pavilion and the Lanes are five minutes inland; the i360 tower stands by the West Pier.