Paignton doesn't get the name recognition of its neighbours Torquay and Brixham, but this Devon seaside town might be the most practical pick of the three. It sits on Tor Bay, about 25 miles south of Exeter, and has been doing the resort thing since a railway and pier arrived in the late 1800s — before that it was a quiet fishing village.
The beaches do most of the talking. Paignton Beach (aka Paignton Sands) is the central one: shallow, swimmable water, warm red sand, and the 740-foot Victorian pier, complete with arcades, bumper cars and trampolines near the far end. South of town, Goodrington Sands is where the action shifts to watersports — kayaking, paddleboarding, windsurfing — and to Splashdown Quaywest, billed as the UK's largest outdoor water park, with high-speed slides and a pirate-themed aquaplay area for younger kids. Broadsands, further south again, is the calmer option, with red sand backed by cliffs and parkland. Tuck in a couple of coves while you're at it: Fairy Cove sits under sandstone cliffs, and Oyster Cove exposes rock pools at low tide.
There's more than sand. Paignton Harbour dates to the 18th century and is a good spot to watch fishing boats over a café breakfast, with boat trips running out to spot dolphins, seals and seabirds. A mile and a half inland, the 80-acre Paignton Zoo is the town's top-rated attraction, housing over 1,800 animals and around 1,600 plant species. Culture-wise, the Palace Theatre hosts live shows in the town centre, and the Paignton Picture House — one of Europe's earliest purpose-built cinemas, opened in 1914 — is being renovated with a planned reopening in spring 2027.
Time your visit around the town's events calendar if you can. The Paignton Festival runs nine days each July and has been going since 1908, with a car show, carnival procession and lots of free events. June brings the three-day English Riviera Air Show, and August is Torbay's Children's Week — reportedly the UK's longest-running children's festival, with free activities and performances.
Why it matters: Paignton works as a base as much as a destination. The whole English Riviera is slated for a £300 million regeneration, and the town sits conveniently between Brixham's fish market and beaches to the south and Torquay's seafood coast to the north, with Exeter a short train ride away. For families wanting a classic British seaside week — pier, waterpark, zoo, beach-hopping — it ticks a lot of boxes without the premium prices or crowds of better-known resorts.
