Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, located on Pavilion Parade off Old Steine, is perhaps the most famous building in Brighton.

The Royal Pavilion is open daily from 10am to 6pm June to September and from 10am to 5pm for the rest of the year.

It started life in the 1780s when the Prince Regent (who became King George IV) built a villa for his mistress Mrs Fitzherbert. This original villa was simple in style, designed by architect Henry Holland.

But as the Prince’s flamboyant taste grew, he then commissioned John Nash to rebuild it in a more extravagant style - and the Royal Pavilion is the result.

A bizarre mix of influences, most notably Chinese and Indian, the Pavilion is a unique piece of architecture.

When Queen Victoria took the throne, she disliked the frivolous style of the Pavilion so much that she removed all the furniture and planned to have it demolished. The people of Brighton saved it from this fate by buying it from the Queen and so it still survives today.

Today the Royal Pavilion has been extensively restored, with the interior being transformed back to its 19th century hey-day. Indeed many of the original furnishings are back in place, on loan from the Queen.

Highlights of the interior include the Banqueting Room, the Great Kitchen and of course the Music Room, which, it is said, reduced the Prince to tears when he first saw it!