Brighton, UK

Brighton sits on the English Channel in East Sussex with about 277,000 residents, having grown from a fishing village into a seaside resort after Dr Richard Russell prescribed seawater here in 1750. The 1787 Royal Pavilion, designed by John Nash for the Prince Regent, pairs an Indian-style exterior with Chinese-interior rooms. Along the seafront, the 1866 Brighton Palace Pier extends 525 metres and the 1823 i360 observation tower rises 162 metres above the beach. The city hosts the 1957 Brighton Festival, England's second-largest arts festival after Edinburgh. Below the promenade, the 1899 Brighton sewers remain Grade II-listed Victorian engineering.