Blackpool (town)

Blackpool (town), town, north-western England, on the Irish Sea. Although geographically part of Lancashire, the town is also a unitary authority in its own right (see Blackpool (borough)). Blackpool is the most visited seaside resort in England, with sandy beaches, an ice rink, golf courses, swimming pools, amusement parks, three piers, an aquarium, and a zoo. The seaside promenade (11 km/7 mi long) is dominated by the Blackpool Tower (158 m/518 ft high), built in 1894 and modelled on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Pleasure Beach is the site of the Pepsi-Max roller-coaster, which is one of the highest in the world (78 m/256 ft). In autumn the Blackpool Illuminations decorate the promenade.

Blackpool became a bathing resort in the 1780s and grew rapidly in the 19th century with the arrival of the railway. Today it is also a major conference and convention centre. Population 142,283 (2001).