Sidmouth is a small town on the English Channel coast in Devon. The town lies at the mouth of the River Sid in the East Devon district, approximately 15 miles (24 km) south east of Exeter.

A wide esplanade has been a seafront feature since Regency times. A series of southwesterly storms in the 1980s washed away much of the shingle beach protecting the masonry, and a series of artificial rock islands were constructed to protect the sea front and tonnes of pebbles were trucked in to replace the beach.

Sidmouth has been a frequent winner of the Britain in Bloom awards. Most recently it won the Small Town category in 2001 and the Coastal Resort category in 2005.

Sidmouth is home to the Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium, located on a hilltop site at Salcombe. The observatory, completed in 1912, fell into disuse and ruin but was saved from demolition by the appeals of local enthusiasts to East Devon District Council. The observatory now operates as a science education project and is regularly open to the public.