Brighton has been a popular seaside town in the UK for decades – if not centuries – and its main beach is frequently voted one of Britain’s most beautiful. For that reason it’s no wonder that the famous Brighton Palace Pier with its bright lights, smells of popcorn and fun rides was recently found to be the nation’s busiest attraction.

Research from Accor found that the pier-cum-theme park on the beach sees a maximum crowd of 4453 people which, considering it’s not exactly enormous, sounds like a living nightmare. There’s nothing you want less when visiting the beach than to head up to the light and sound of a nostalgia boosting pier only to be confronted by thousands of other people fighting it out over hotdogs and air hockey tables.

But, last weekend I found myself needing to be in pretty Brighton and so decided to turn it into a day out while the sun was still shining – and found that actually Brighton Palace Pier, and Brighton itself, really does deserve to be named one of the UK’s best seaside towns. Whether the pier is too busy is obviously down to the day, but on my warm Saturday visit it wasn’t too chocka.

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Walking over to the pier is as much of an experience as being inside, the tide was going out and the stoney beach was wide and sparkling with the sun hitting small tide pools. Dogs were finally allowed back on the beach after their summer ban – from May to September – and they raced with screaming kids to play in the classically freezing English Channel.

Brighton still has lots of the classic seaside attractions like mini golf, fish 'n' chips – for between £11.50 and £12.50 so I’d suggest getting the generously sized children’s meals – and rock shops and buckets and spades. But, it does seem to have modernised too since I was last there around nine years ago.

There are large outdoor-seating bars on the beach that offer live music and cocktails, there’s another bar by the beach that had dozens and dozens of fun boardgames to get stuck into. Plus, while walking to the pier my fiancé and I spotted lots of people running to get headphones from a stand on the beach – then dancing away in the sand to a silent disco. It looked like a lot of fun.

So, Brighton has plenty to offer for those who want nostalgia by the sea or a more up-to-date day out. But, what about the Brighton Palace Pier – first opened in 1899 and apparently so busy? Well, while I wouldn’t say it was quiet, we didn’t have to push past anyone or dodge large groups. We got straight on to play Guitar Hero, Deal or No Deal, the penny slots and the ring toss (which all now cost £1 or £2 bar the slots).

The only thing we had to wait for was air hockey as there are only a few tables – but even that was less than a five-minute wait. Food stands didn’t really have queues either although several of the theme park style rides did have families waiting in line. However, this is likely because they had to wait for the ride to finish before they could get on.

Now, I will caveat this by saying that we were not on Brighton Pier at midday on a school holiday day during a heatwave. It was late afternoon, on a sunny, but not hot, October Saturday and this most likely made a huge difference. However, I would still have expected Britain’s "most crowded" attraction to be busier on a weekend. After all, I’ve been to Oxford Street at Christmas – now that is horrendously busy.

All in all, the pier was fun. We played games like we did when we were children and most people had a grin on their face. The view out from the pier over the beach and towards the shell of the West Pier was gorgeous – dare I say romantic – and even the seagulls didn’t crowd us despite signs saying they might. Well… we did see one man followed by an army of them so perhaps he had the more tempting snacks.

Now, not everything in Brighton is pretty, peaceful and new. As I said above, the fish and chips is very expensive – almost the same price as a restaurant meal for a takeaway with some charging as much as £12.50 for an adult portion on the beach. The hotdogs on the pier are also expensive with a standard sized one costing £8.95 for a flaccid boiled frankfurter in a plain white bun.

However, ice cream was also pricy on the pier at around £3.95 for a 99 (oh, how I miss them being 99p), while a hot chocolate cost about £3.45 with no added extras. We decided to share one ice cream and get an extra flake for 50p – it's more economical that way (although probably less fun).

Parking is probably the worst part of visiting the seaside town too. The cheapest spots let you stay for around £11 for nine hours – but good luck getting a space in those after 9am. Of course, there are several absolutely gargantuan multi-storey car parks in Brighton and signs let you know where there's space – but you're looking at £11 for just four hours while others cost a massive £23 for the same amount of time.

But, all in all, where in the UK doesn't come with expensive food and parking nowadays? What's good about the pier is that it's free to enter and you can choose how much to spend on what you want to do. If you want to blow your wallet and go on all the rides and play expensive games then you can. If you'd rather stick to spending 50p on the penny slots and then enjoy a stroll around for the view then that's nice too. I think it has a great combo of nostalgic seaside vibes and mod cons and bars... just stay out of the way of the screaming hen do parties.