Access information:
- Accessible Toilet
- Tactile tours of the palace and sign language interpreted group tours can be booked for groups in advance.
Royal Pavilion, The
This magnificent royal pleasure palace was revered by fashionable Regency society and is still a distinctive landmark for vibrant Brighton & Hove today. The Royal Pavilion is home to some of the finest collections and examples of the chinoiserie style (the decorative style inspired by China) in Britain.
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Address:
The Royal Pavilion
Brighton
BN1 1EE
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Phone:
01273 292802
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Web:
www.royalpavilion.org.uk
www.virtualmuseum.info
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Opening Times:
Open Daily 9.30am-5.45pm (last ticket 5pm).
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Entrance Fee:
The entrance fee for those with a disability is £6.50, and a companion can go free.
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Getting There / Parking:
The Pavilion is on the east side of the Pavilion Gardens, and the entrance is in the gardens. It is a 15 minute walk from the main line railway station, mainly hilly. Many buses stop in North Street, a few minutes away.
Nearby in Church Street there are some disabled parking bays. There are also four disabled bays in New Road, on the west of the gardens. This looks like a pedestrian only road but you can drive along it to park. You enter from Church Street and you must park in the marked area only (this does not look like usual parking spaces - you need to park over a metal wheelchair symbol sunk into the pavement) and leave via North Street.
There is an NCP car park about half way up Church Street, and another in Churchill Square.
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Getting In:
There are 2 sets of doors, which are open, and then you turn to the ticket area before starting your tour.
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Getting Around / Facilities:
Using a wheelchair, you can only access the ground floor, but this is where the most magnificent and interesting rooms are. These include: the Banqueting Hall with its extraordinary chandelier, weighing one ton, and suspended from the claws of a great dragon; the Music Room, a spectacular fantasy, and the Great Kitchen, one of the most modern of its time, with gracious stylised palm trees supporting the ceiling. The stairs up to the upper floor are quite shallow, there are two flights, with handrails, but if this is not possible for you, there is a room on the ground floor showing videos that enable you to see much of the upstairs. For those who can make it up, there is the Queen Adelaide Tea Room which overlooks the gardens. The way out leads you through the large Pavilion Gift Shop.
The ground floor of the Pavilion is easily accessible to wheelchair users with wide doorways and no steps to negotiate. Situated on the ground floor are the sumptuous State Rooms, Drawing Rooms, the Great Kitchen, the King's Apartments and the gift shop which leads to the exit.
Also on the ground floor is a specially adapted toilet for wheelchair users.
Access to the first floor is via the staircase only.
Tactile tours of the palace can be booked for groups of visually impaired visitors. Sign language interpreted group tours are available for the hard of hearing. All guided tours must be booked in advance. Wheelchairs are available on request.
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Additional Comments:
The Pavilion began life as a 'modest farmhouse' rented by the future George IV on his first visits to Brighton in 1783, and was then enlarged and transformed into the amazing palace we see today. Its exterior was inspired by Indian architecture, and the interior decorated in Chinese style.
Included in the price of the visit is a handheld audio device that gives an interesting commentary as you do your tour. The staff will help anyone with hearing difficulties to get the best from it, and for those with a visual impairment there is an additional commentary which alerts you when there are ropes across your path etc.
Next to the Pavilion are the Pavilion Gardens - see separate review under Parks and Open Spaces
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Reviewed By:
Pat
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Review Date:
September 2008, updated 3/3/2011 by Pappya
Published in
Attractions - Brighton
