The story of Royal Pavilion

Domes like onions, slender minarets, arches from Mughal India – in the middle of an English seaside town. This was the pleasure palace of George, Prince of Wales, who later became Prince Regent and then King George IV. He first came to Brighton in 1783, aged 21, drawn by his uncle's taste for fine food, gambling, theatre and fast living – and his doctor advised that the sea water and fresh air would help his gout.

Building began in 1787 in three stages, and from 1815 the architect John Nash transformed it into the Indian-inspired fantasy you see, with bulbous domes and minarets topped by little pavilions. His successors, William IV and Victoria, also used it, but Queen Victoria preferred Osborne House for her seaside retreat, and in 1850 the Pavilion was sold to the town of Brighton.

Walk around the gardens first, then step inside a king's dream.