The Palace Pier in Brighton is Britain’s most visited tourist attraction outside London, a survey by Visit Britain has found.
An estimated 4,650,000 people went to the pier last year, according to Visit Britain’s annual survey of visitor attractions.
Only three venues in the capital attracted more tourists than the pier. They were the British Museum, with 6,420,395 visitors, the National Gallery, with 6,262,839 visitors and the Tate Modern, with 5,839,197.
The most visited paid attraction was the Tower of London, with 2,741,126 visitors.
The Palace Pier was only six outside London to make the top 20 list of free attractions.
Visit Britain said: “The survey is carried out through a mix of online and postal interviewing.
“This approach means we’re unable to verify results provided by individual attractions beyond a very basic ‘sense check’.
“Survey users should also be aware that the lists of English attractions included in the report only feature those that choose to participate and make their results public.”
Tourism is worth an estimated £800 million to £1 billion to the Brighton and Hove economy.
This is one of my favourite day trips from London. I visit several times a year. A short journey from Mill Hill, Thames Link to Kings Cross, a change of train on the same platform to Brighton. Approximately 1 1/2 hours. A delight I never tire of. So much to see and do. The Lanes, shops, the pier and so many restaurants. *****