It is thought that the name 'Brixham' came from Brioc's village.  'Brioc' was an old English or Brythonic personal name and '-ham' is an ancient term for village.

The town is hilly, and built around the harbour which remains in use as a dock for fishing trawlers; in addition, it has a focal tourist attraction in the replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind that is permanently moored there.

In summer, the Cowtown carnival is held; this is a reminder of when Brixham was two separate communities, with only a marshy lane to connect them.  Cowtown was where the farmers lived, at the top of the hill, while about a mile away, the seamen made their homes near the harbour in Fishtown

Brixham is also notable for being the town where the fishing trawler was invented in the 19th century; their distinctive sails inspired the song "Red Sails in the Sunset", which was written aboard a Brixham sailing trawler called the Torbay Lass.  The trawlers can still be seen coming in and out of the harbour, followed by flocks of seagulls. The fish market is open to the public on two special days in the summer, when the finer points of catching and cooking fish will be explained.  The modern boats are diesel-driven, but several of the old sailing trawlers have been preserved.

The town's outer harbour is protected by a long breakwater, useful for sea angling.  In winter this is a regular site for Purple Sandpiper birds. During the Second World War, a ramp and piers were built from which American servicemen left for the D-day landings.

To the south of Brixham, and sheltering the southern side of its harbour, lies the coastal headland of Berry Head with a lighthouse, Iron Age Fort and National Nature Reserve.

Battery Gardens have a military history leading back to the Napoleonic wars and the time of the Spanish Armada.  The emplacements and features seen here today are those of the Second World War and are of national importance. The site, listed by English Heritage, is recognised as one of the best preserved of its kind in the UK. Of the 116 ‘Emergency Coastal Defence Batteries’ set up in the UK in 1940, only seven remain intact.

The late, former British Prime Minister, Lord James Callaghan was educated partly at Furzeham Primary School.