Perth: The Places Worth Your Time

Perth’s pleasures are outdoor and unhurried — a huge park on a hill, a string of west-facing beaches, a river to cross by ferry, an old port town full of character, and a car-free island of quokkas an easy sail away. What follows is how I’d actually spend a few days, with the specific corners worth seeking out. Much of it is free to enjoy; the ferries and day trips are simplest to book on Klook or KKday, and self-guided attraction tickets on Tiqets cover several sights.

Kings Park and the view

Start high, at Kings Park and Botanic Garden — one of the largest inner-city parks in the world, set on Mount Eliza with a sweeping view over the Swan River and the skyline. It’s free and beautiful: the State War Memorial, the giant transplanted Boab tree, the botanic garden of Western Australian flora, and the Lotterywest Federation Walkway, a glass-and-steel bridge through the treetops. Come in spring for the wildflower festival, or at sunset for the city lights below.

Elizabeth Quay and the river

Down on the water, Elizabeth Quay is the revitalised heart of the waterfront — the striking Bell Tower, the pedestrian bridge, and a place to walk, eat, and catch a Transperth ferry across to Mends Street, South Perth, where the classic postcard view of the skyline over the river waits. The Swan is Perth’s spine, and a ferry hop is a lovely, cheap way to feel it.

Cottesloe and the sunset beaches

Perth’s beaches face the Indian Ocean, so the sunset is the show. Cottesloe is the classic — an easy train and short walk from the city, made for an evening swim and a beer at the Ocean Beach Hotel as the sun drops into the sea; in March the beach hosts the free Sculptures by the Sea. Scarborough to the north is livelier with its foreshore pool, and there’s a whole coast of quieter sand beyond if you want it.

Fremantle

A short train ride south, Fremantle (“Freo”) is the port town many visitors love most — a walkable grid of colonial streets and the buzzing Cappuccino Strip along South Terrace. The highlights: the lively Fremantle Markets (weekends), the sobering, fascinating Fremantle Prison (a UNESCO World Heritage convict site, with day and torchlight tours), the WA Maritime and Shipwrecks Museums, the round-tower Round House (the state’s oldest building), and a pint at the cavernous Little Creatures brewery on the harbour. Give it a full day, and let the free CAT bus do the legwork.

Rottnest Island

The signature day out is Rottnest Island (Wadjemup), a car-free island of white beaches, clear bays, and the famously photogenic quokkas — small, curious marsupials found almost nowhere else, and irresistibly willing to pose for a selfie (look, don’t touch or feed). Take the ferry, hire a bike, and spend the day circling the island from The Basin to Little Salmon Bay, with the Wadjemup Lighthouse on the hill. It is, for a lot of people, the highlight of a Perth trip, and simple to arrange as a ferry-and-tour package.

A little further

With more time: the Swan Valley, Perth’s oldest wine region, is a short drive for cellar doors, breweries, and produce; Perth Zoo is an easy ferry-and-walk in South Perth; and the eerie limestone spires of the Pinnacles, in Nambung National Park, make a long but memorable day trip north.

How to hold a first visit

Give each day an easy anchor — the park and the river, Fremantle, a beach sunset, and a full day on Rottnest — and leave room to do very little, which is rather the local art. For getting between it all, see our Getting Around Perth guide and the first-timer’s guide to Perth. Opening hours and ferry times shift, so confirm the specifics close to your visit.

Frequently asked questions

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