Guides · United Kingdom
Brighton tickets
Ticket and booking rules for Brighton: timed entries, closing days and official links, checked September 2026.
Checked September 2026 against official sources
Brighton
Bookings and opening rules
Follow the official link before you buy. Full walking days: Brighton itinerary.
Brighton i360: the new owner and the new website
- The tower now trades as the Brighton i360 and its official site is brightoni360.co.uk; the former britishairwaysi360.com address no longer belongs to the attraction. The official site states that local resident tickets at £7 are available exclusively to residents of the BN1, BN2, BN3 and BN41 postcodes, that children under two go free with any adult ticket purchase, and that the café is open every day from 8am.Source: Brighton i360 — official site · checked Sep 2026
- The Sky Walk and the Climb — standing on top of the pod at 450 ft — take place every Saturday at 09:00, alternating week by week, and a 60-minute experience runs every Saturday and Sunday at 9am.Source: Brighton i360 — Tickets · checked Sep 2026
The Royal Pavilion
- Brighton & Hove Museums advertises an Official Tour of the Royal Pavilion every Saturday at 2pm, in addition to general admission.Source: Brighton & Hove Museums — Royal Pavilion & Garden · checked Sep 2026
On the day
What to watch at each stop
Royal Pavilion
- Ticketed, open daily with seasonal hours; the official guided tour runs every Saturday at 14:00. Allow two hours, and the Great Kitchen and the music room are the two rooms not to rush
Brighton Museum & Art Gallery
- Ticketed, and a combined ticket with the Royal Pavilion is cheaper than the two separately; it is two minutes from the Pavilion across the garden and generally open Tuesday to Sunday
Brighton Dome
- Free to look at from the outside and from the Pavilion Gardens; to get inside, book something — the programme runs year-round and the Brighton Festival in May fills all three rooms
Brighton i360
- Book online; residents of the BN1, BN2, BN3 and BN41 postcodes get a £7 local ticket, children under two go free with any adult ticket, and the Sky Walk and Climb — standing on top of the pod — run on Saturday mornings at 09:00, alternating week by week
Preston Manor
- Ticketed and run by the same trust as the Royal Pavilion, generally open in the afternoon on a limited number of days a week, so check before going; it is 3 km north of the centre and the bus up the London Road stops outside
Questions
Quick answers
What is the best time of year to visit Brighton?
May to September for the sea and the long evenings, and May in particular for the Brighton Festival and the Fringe, which take over the town for three weeks. Pride in early August is enormous and books the town out. The quiet secret is winter: the starling murmurations over the West Pier run from about November to February, the Pavilion is at its best without crowds, and hotel prices halve. It is exposed to the Channel and the wind is a real factor all year.
How much does Brighton cost per day?
Less than London and more than most of the south coast. A hostel bed runs £25 to £45, a mid-range hotel £100 to £180 outside the festival and Pride weeks and a good deal more during them. The Royal Pavilion and the museum are cheaper on a combined ticket, the i360 is the big single expense at around £20 for an adult, and the Fishing Museum and the beach are free. A pub lunch is £14 to £20 and dinner in the Lanes £30 to £50 a head.
Is the Brighton i360 still open?
Yes, but under new ownership and a new name. The tower opened in 2016 as the British Airways i360, the operating company went into administration and closed it in December 2024, and it was bought and reopened in 2025 as simply the Brighton i360. The practical consequence for visitors is that the old britishairwaysi360.com address is no longer the attraction's website and should not be used; book through brightoni360.co.uk. Residents of the BN1, BN2, BN3 and BN41 postcodes pay £7.
The days these rules belong to
3 days in Brighton
Brighton was a fishing town called Brighthelmstone, in decline and half washed away by storms, until a doctor published a book in 1750 arguing that sea water cured things and the Prince of Wales arrived in 1783 to test the theory. He built a palace, the railway arrived in 1841, and the town has been London's seaside ever since — genteel in the morning, disreputable by evening, and quietly proud of both. It is now a city of about 280,000 with Hove, the most secular and one of the most liberal places in Britain, with two universities, a famously independent high street and a chalk ridge of downland immediately behind it. Almost everything worth seeing is within twenty minutes' walk of the pier.
