Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England 14 Dec 2025

Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England

No, we"re not in "Arabian Nights"—but the Royal Pavilion in Brighton makes you wonder whether someone accidentally dropped a palace from a far-off fairy tale onto the Sussex shoreline. The Prince of Wales (later George IV) came to Brighton for sea air, but he didn"t just want a quiet retreat—he wanted a statement. With architect John Nash, he turned a modest villa into a grand palace full of domes and minarets. Step inside, and you"ll find dragons curling across ceilings, chandeliers blooming like lotus flowers and the wallpaper leaning heavily into the decorative style of Chinoiserie. The Banqueting Room feels like it"s always ready for a performance.

© by Andrea Pucci/Moment/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

On the edge
14 Dec 2023Boreal owl
14 Dec 2024Christmas Bird Count turns 125

More Desktop Wallpapers:

24 Sep 2024Skaftafell, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
27 Feb 2025International Polar Bear Day
26 Feb 2026Grand Canyon and the Colorado River, Arizona, United States
23 Jun 2024Dhaka, Bangladesh
14 Apr 2024Bowling Ball Beach, California, USA
31 Dec 2024Hogmanay
31 May 2026Everglades National Park, Florida, United States
19 Nov 2023Alam-Pedja Nature Reserve, Estonia
1 Oct 2023Lake Bled, Slovenia
11 Sep 2025Gdańsk on the banks of the Motława river, Poland
24 Mar 2026Cherry blossoms at East Lake Cherry Blossom Park, Wuhan, China
6 May 2025An ultralight aircraft flying over the sands of Namibia
Misty mountain hop
25 Nov 2025Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy
The dog days of summer
8 Sep 2024Great North Run
11 Oct 2024Grasmere, Lake District, Cumbria, England
A future built on the past
4 Nov 2023Playa del Silencio, Spain
8 Aug 2024Spotted owlet, Bangkok, Thailand
14 Jan 2026The staircase of the Fortress of Palamidi, Nafplio, Greece
13 Nov 2024Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
24 Apr 2024The white trilliums in Ontario, Canada
Festival fever
3 Mar 2025World Wildlife Day
23 Dec 2023Festivus
Last night of the Proms
Season of light in the City of Light
One on land, a million in space
8 Feb 2026Corfu, Greece