Paignton can be found in official records dating back to the Domesday Book of 1086 AD. The town's name has also been spelled as Peynton and Paington and is derived from Paegna's town, the name of the original Celtic settlement. The historic part of Paignton is centred around Church Street, Winner Street and Palace Avenue and contains fine examples of Victorian architecture.

The railway line to Paignton was built by the Torbay and Dartmouth Railway, and was opened to passengers on 2 August 1859. This  gave Torquay and Paignton a reliable link to London for the first time and the area became a popular destination for wealthy Londoners.  The people of Paignton acquired the nickname of pudden eaters when thousands turned up hoping to obtain a piece of a huge pudding that had been baked to celebrate the arrival of the railway.  A new Paignton Pudding was baked in 1968 to celebrate the town's charter, and another was baked in 2006 to mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Oldway Mansion is a large house and gardens in Paignton that was built in in the 1870s for Isaac Merritt Singer, who had amassed a considerable fortune as a result of his improvements to the sewing machine.  The building now acts as the local council offices and the meeting place of Torbay Council.  Other Singer legacies in Paignton include the Palace Hotel and the Inn On The Green, which were built as homes for Singer's sons Washington and Mortimer respectively.

The seafront area is dominated by Paignton Pier, a 780 foot long structure opened in 1879. It was designed by George Soudon Bridgman, the local architect who also designed the original Oldway Mansion.  The Festival Theatre opened in 1967 and was once a seafront theatre capable of staging large summer shows, but in 1999 it was converted into a multiscreen cinema. Regatta Week during early August is the peak holiday season, and during this period there is a funfair on Paignton Green, along with a large fireworks display.  Later in August is Children's Week, which includes a wide range of events and competitions.  Paignton has a variety of holiday accommodation, and there are numerous pubs, nightclubs and restaurants in the town.

The Palace Theatre in Paignton was subject to a complete refurbishment in 2006.  It is the venue for some great shows throughout the year.

Paignton Zoo, one of the largest zoos in the United Kingdom, is situated on the outskirts of the town. The Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway operates steam trains from Paignton to Kingswear, from where a ferry can be taken across the River Dart to Dartmouth. The line was closed by British Rail during the cutbacks of the Beeching era in the 1960s, and is operated today as a heritage railway line.

Paignton railway station is situated close the shops and a short walk from the beach along Torbay Road. Queen's Park Station for the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway is adjacent to the main railway station on the beach side of the level crossing. The bus and coach station faces the main entrance to the railway station.